It’s hard to believe, but the Polk County powerhouse of advocacy in the immigration reform community—Young American Dreamers—will celebrate its eighth anniversary on May 19. To mark the special day the group will be celebrating with a cookout at Lake Blue Park in Winter Haven.

With members ranging from elementary school children to college-aged young adults, YAD volunteers throughout the local community, coordinating with other groups and non-profit organizations. They also do political action on legislative decisions affect our youth, neighbors, and families. YAD members have traveled from Miami to Washington, D.C. to take part in rallies, marches, and demonstrations to support the group’s ideals, showing members firsthand how democracy works.

Mark your calendar and plan to drop in. Here’s more information their birthday celebration:

The Young American Dreamers would like to invite everyone out to our 8th birthday!! The list of events is listed below, with their times & descriptions. At the bottom is also more information on YAD.

ROADWAY CLEAN-UP: In the tradition that our founder Maria Isabel Barajas-Martinez began, we’ll be at the Lake Shipp Park in Winter Haven at 9am for our clean up of our adopted stretch of highway, Lake Shipp Dr. This will take approximately 1 hour.

PICNIC: At 11 o’clock we will gather at Lake Blue Park in Winter Haven to celebrate our 8th YAD Birthday & we would like to invite everyone out to our annual cook out. Food will be promptly served at 11am & will be on a first come, first serve, basis. Feel free to bring a dish.

BLOOD DONATIONS: The WH Hosptial’s Bloodmobile will be at Lake Blue Park with us a well from 9am to 12 noon. IF you can’t make it, you can always go to the Winter Haven Hospital-Community Blood Center to make a donation on behalf of YAD by telling them to use code “PMIB”. These blood credits can later be donated to a patient in need so that the hospital doesn’t charge them.

SCHOLARSHIPS: It will also be at this time that YAD will announce our opening to accept applications for our scholarships that we’ll award out to local students. YAD will award out a $500 scholarship & present another for $1,000 on behalf of the Barajas & Martinez families.

We always do our picnic at Lake Blue in Winter Haven because this is where our original YAD members helped the Polk County Parks & Recreations Division with the revitalization effort that helped construct Lake Blue Park. Our members worked from sun up to sun down to plant the trees and bushes that now decorate the landscape of Lake Blue. YAD is currently planning fundraisers to later build restroom facilities & erect a flag pole there at Lake Blue Park. Polk County’s “Parks & Recreation” department & the Board of County Commissioners have given us an estimated cost of $136,000 for this. We know it’s a lot, but we are driven and dedicated to see that this gets built.

To learn more about The Young American Dreamers, you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @YAD52110. Visit their website www.YoungAmericanDreamers.com