Welcome to Vienna/Oakton

Mothers & Sons Serving Together to Impact Their Local Community 

The four years of high school go by incredibly fast. Finding time to spend together with your teenage son gets harder and harder. When you join YMSL, you commit to spending quality time together with your son serving your community.

In these moments, he sees your dedication to serving others. You see his eyes and heart become open to the world around him. These are memories to last a lifetime and service projects that impact our community forever.

In addition to service, YMSL offers valuable leadership opportunities and a four-year curriculum that covers topics such as car repair, interview skills, cooking, hazing prevention, and more.

We hope you will consider joining us. The time to start the membership process is during your son’s 8th-grade year. We look forward to meeting you and serving together. Scroll down for more details

 

We are proud to share…we have already served over 2488 hours of community service between May and August of 2023. We are so grateful and proud to serve our local Philanthropies.

We are proud to announce…that the YMSL Vienna-Oakton Chapter was designated a “Chapter of Excellence” for the 2021-22 year!

We have been granted this year-long designation as one of only 5 chapters nationwide that exhibited exemplary chapter management. We met 100% in each area of business criteria while also serving with spirit and heart. Congratulations to all the members.

 More good news… Between May of 2022 and January of 2023, we served 4830 hours in service of our Philanthropies. 

 The Fairfax County Government Department of Family Services has named the Young Men’s Service League of Vienna-Oakton (YMSL-VO) the 2022 Star Partner Award Recipient! Congratulations to our chapter on their hard work and dedication!! Below is the write-up about YMSL-VO as well as a link to the Golden Gazette’s article about YMSL-VO.

“The Young Men’s Service League of Vienna-Oakton (YMSL-VO) members are mothers and sons who volunteer together to serve their local communities during the sons’ four years of high school. Their community service projects help these teens develop leadership skills and foster increased connection in the mother-son relationships. YMSL-VO members have been volunteering with Volunteer Solutions since 2016, when they began assisting with annual yardwork clean-up in our Helping Hands program. They’ve helped in several other ways over the years, and remained flexible and committed to volunteering throughout the covid-19 pandemic, even with the shift to virtual volunteering. Here’s a 2021 Golden Gazette article highlighting some of their many community contributions, bit.ly/YMSLVOinGG.”

 YMSLVO was also selected as the 2021 Outstanding Youth Volunteer Team by Loudoun Cares!

From Loudoun Cares: “Every year we are humbled and amazed at the selfless work of our nominees. This year we received 59 nominations and we thank them all for their time, dedication and efforts.”  Click here to read the full press release. 

YMSLVO’s 2021 Ultimate Gift Project was a huge success! Dozens of moms and sons joined forces with the Fairfax County Park Authority to clean up the Nike Missile Site in Lorton. Click here to read about in in The Patch. 

About YMSL

The Young Men’s Service League is a 501(c)(3) non-profit national organization. Members of YMSL are moms and their teenage sons who volunteer together to serve their local communities during his four years of high school. YMSL currently represents over 25,000 members and young men as part of more than 145 chapters across 18 states. 

YMSL offers moms service opportunities and time together with her son(s) to grow their relationship and to instill in him a heart of service to last a lifetime. In addition to service, as part of its four-year comprehensive program, YMSL teaches leadership and life skills to develop our young men to become the capable, confident, and compassionate leaders of tomorrow.

The pillars of the YMSL experience are service, learning, and leadership. YMSL is a four-year comprehensive program. Requirements for membership include:

YMSL Sponsor

YMSL is a sponsorship organization; a prospective member needs to be sponsored by a current member of the chapter she wishes to join. Contact membership for guidance. Enrollment is during the son’s 8th-grade year. 

4-Year Commitment

Joining YMSL is a four-year commitment. Young men and their mothers are expected to remain active in the chapter during his four years of high school. An annual Volunteer and Senior Recognition Banquet is held each spring.

20 Hours of Service

A minimum of 20 service hours is required annually at a variety of chapter-approved philanthropies. Half of these hours must be served as a Mother/Son team.

Job within the Chapter

Each mom and son must individually serve in a job or leadership position within the chapter. Positions rotate annually. Roles offer valuable experience and leadership opportunities.

5 Meetings

A structured four-year curriculum for young men covers a variety of life skills and brings in local speakers. Young men must attend at least 5 meetings per year. Moms must attend at least 3 meetings per year.

Membership Fees

YMSL annual chapter dues and banquet fee.

Contact membership for more details.

Joining YMSL

Ready to take the next step?

Enrollment for new members takes place in January/February/March of the son’s 8th-grade year.

If you do not know anyone in YMSL, please contact us to assist you.

YMSL is a sponsorship organization, which means a prospective member needs to be sponsored by a current member of the chapter they wish to join.

If you would like to learn more about joining, please click the contact membership button below to send us a message. 

Our Chapter’s Membership Dates & Deadlines for Enrollment:

    Contact Membership

    Testimonials

    It has been such a gift to work along side my son to help and serve others in our community. This opportunity has been so rewarding for us both!
    Amy WilliamsOakton, VA
    Working side by side has given us a reminder to be grateful for our good fortunes while doing all we can to help in our community. The lessons of gratitude, humility, and generosity will last long after we have graduated from YMSL.
    Claire RowanVienna, VA
    I have loved being a part of YMSL and volunteering with my son! It has been great to be able to have this quality time together during high school as he is becoming a young adult.
    Gizelle GorkowskiVienna, VA

    Leadership

    Our Chapter’s Leadership Board

    Diana Nash

    Board Member: President

    Lynn Otto

    Board Member: President Elect

    Laureen Matta

    Board Member: First Vice President

    Bethany Molter

    Board Member: Parliamentarian

    Alison McKee

    Board Member: Secretary

    Jennifer Elder

    Board Member: Treasurer

    Marcie Martin

    Board Member: Treasurer

    Denise Ramsey

    Board Member: VP Communications

    Bradley Vineyard

    Board Member: VP Membership

    Gayle Job

    Board Member: VP Philanthropy

    Claire Rowan

    Board Member: VP Website

    Donna Kakarala

    Board Member: VP Young Men Coordinator

    Meredith Temple-OConnor

    Board Member: Assistant VP Membership

    Amy Wenger

    Board Member: Assistant VP Philanthropy

    Caren Suarez

    Board Member: Assistant Treasurer

    Caty Keeler

    Board Member: Assistant VP Young Men Coordinator

    Philanthropies we Serve

    Some local philanthropies that we currently have the honor of partnering with

    • Belong Vienna
    • BRAWS (Bringing Resources to Aid Women’s Shelters)
    • Britepaths
    • Children’s Science Center
    • Committee for Helping Others
    • Community of Faith
    • Cornerstones
    • Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia (DSANV)
    • Enterprise Community Development
    • Fairfax County Government (Seniors)
    • Fairfax County Park Authority
    • Food for Neighbors
    • Food for Others
    • Habitat for Humanity of NV – ReStore
    • Historic Vienna Inc
    • Honor Flight Network
    • KEEN Greater DC-Baltimore (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now)
    • Lift Me Up
    • Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS)
    • Oakton Pantry
    • Operation Gratitude
    • Reading is Fundamental
    • Rebuilding Together- AFF
    • Ronald McDonald House
    • Second Story (Alternative House)
    • Special Olympics
    • The Lamb Center
    • Women Giving Back
    • Wreaths Across America

    If you are a philanthropy interested in partnering with our chapter, we would love to hear from you. Please use the contact our chapter button below. 

    Contact our Chapter

    We look forward to hearing from you about membership or how our members can serve your philanthropy and our community. Click the button below to contact our chapter.

    If you are interested in joining our chapter, please use the contact membership button in the Join section.

    To learn more about the YMSL National organization visit: YMSL.org

    To see a full list of chapters visit: YMSL.org/find-a-chapter

    Contact Our Chapter