Presented annually by DFSME to recognize a team of teachers who have collaborated within their school to achieve outstanding accomplishments, not possible without coordinated team planning and execution. The Award recognizes team collaboration within the school; administrative support for collective, interdisciplinary activities; and unique opportunities for students.
As part of YES! being recognized with the 2024 Manon Award, it garnered a $1,000 prize which will go toward expenses related to the expansion of the 2025 summit. In recognizing YES!, DFSME Executive Director Randy Guschl described Delaware YES! as "an organization of high school students from across the state who are passionate about protecting our Earth. Carter Lunsford, the team’s 2024-2025 student co-leader, spoke on the importance of YES! and what it has meant to him. He recognized just how powerful a catalyst youth involvement is in making a difference on environmental issues. Youth involvement in securing passage of single-use plastic bag legislation in 2019 - Delaware was only the fourth state in the U.S. to pass such legislation - launched the start of YES! with the goal of informing and inspiring more of today's youth to get involved."
Senator Tom Carper, in his remarks to the 2020 inaugural YES
Senator Carper encouraged students to continue mobilizing their generation to speak truth to power about the threat of climate change. “The leader that you’re looking for in your life is sitting in your chair,” he said in his remarks, emphasizing the importance of youth leadership to address in the climate crisis.
“We have a generation of young people holding Congress accountable to ensuring we all have clean air to breathe and safe water to drink, no matter where we live in America,” Senator Carper said later in a statement. “When I look at these students, I see great leaders—and I feel confident that America will once again lead the fight against the climate crisis.”
YOU make YES! possible!
Our GoFundMe campaign is just one way of ensuring we can cover all of the summit's costs including the venue, AV, breakfast, lunch and transportation. Won't you please join us in making it possible for even more schools and students in 2025? Please join other generous donors and sponsors to inspire and empower Delaware's future environmental leaders through their GoFundMe Campaign.
Donate now at our GoFundMe page! Together, we can make the 2025 YES! Summit our biggest and most impactful year yet!
Thank you for your generosity and support of this impactful event!