On Saturday, May 2, a 17-year-old from Queens pulled off something that most experienced nonprofit organizers would find daunting: she recruited volunteers from ten New York City high schools, coordinated food drives, built community partnerships, managed logistics across three volunteer shifts — and served food and essential supplies to more than 100 local families facing food insecurity in Elmhurst.

Her name is Chelsy Ovilla, and the event she organized — a Day of Service at 83-22 Baxter Avenue in partnership with Familia Food Pantry — is the kind of community story that rarely makes headlines but matters enormously to the people it reaches.

The Organizer: A Teen Who Decided to Act

Chelsy Ovilla is a youth leader with Projekt NYC, a Queens-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to empowering middle and high school students through creativity, community service, and civic engagement. She is one of just 45 young leaders nationwide awarded a Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation Youth Grant through Youth Service America (YSA) — a nationally recognized organization that activates young people ages 5–25 to find their voice and take action in their communities.

Her initiative, called The Corona Bridge Project, was selected from a national pool of applicants for its youth-designed, youth-led approach to combating food insecurity in one of Queens’ most underserved communities. The grant funded the planning and execution of the May 2 event.

The Day of Service took place on Global Youth Service Day, the longest-running annual youth participation event in the world — now in its 38th year. That context matters: Chelsy’s project isn’t a one-time feel-good moment. It’s part of a global movement of young people demonstrating that youth leadership is not a rehearsal for adulthood. It’s the real thing.

The Event: 30 Volunteers, 100+ Families

More than 30 volunteers — including 25 youth volunteers — gathered at 83-22 Baxter Avenue in Elmhurst and worked across three shifts throughout the day. Students came from ten high schools representing all corners of the city: Benjamin N. Cardozo High School (Red Cross Club), John Bowne High School, Middle College High School at LaGuardia, Millennium High School, Professional Performing Arts School, The High School of Fashion Industries, Thomas A. Edison CTE High School, Townsend Harris High School, William Cullen Bryant High School, and St. John’s Preparatory School.

Chelsy also served as a real-time translator between English and Spanish throughout the event — ensuring clear communication between volunteers, Familia Food Pantry staff, and the families being served. In a neighborhood as linguistically diverse as Elmhurst, that kind of bilingual capacity isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s essential.

“I am proud to announce that we made impactful contributions to over 100 local families and for Familia Food Pantry staff,” Chelsy said after the event. “Each volunteer demonstrated immense dedication and commitment to serving the community.”

About Projekt NYC: Youth-Led, Youth-Run

Projekt NYC operates entirely on volunteer leadership — no member draws a salary — and directs 93% of its budget to direct youth programming. The organization serves more than 2,500 students annually across all five NYC boroughs through programs that include the Teen Voices from the 5 Boros poetry anthology, peer-led financial literacy workshops, a youth-produced Teen Magazine, community service initiatives, and a youth-run club.

The Projekt NYC model is deliberately different from the typical adult-organized youth event. Rather than adults designing programs for young people to participate in, Projekt NYC empowers students to identify community challenges and lead the response themselves. The May 2 Day of Service is a textbook example: Chelsy identified the challenge (food insecurity in Elmhurst and Corona), designed the intervention, recruited the volunteers, and ran the operation.

The organization was founded by Theodoros Psahos, a Greek-American community leader who has built Projekt NYC into a recognized model for youth civic action in New York City.

Food Insecurity in Queens: The Numbers

Elmhurst and the surrounding neighborhoods of western Queens are among the most densely populated and economically diverse areas in New York City. The area gained painful visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic when Elmhurst Hospital became a symbol of the surge in cases — but food insecurity was a serious issue in these neighborhoods long before 2020 and has persisted since. Community organizations like Familia Food Pantry serve as critical infrastructure for families who fall through the gaps of the formal social safety net.

Chelsy’s project addressed that gap directly — and demonstrated that a 17-year-old with a clear plan, the right organizational support, and the trust of her peers can mobilize resources that make a real difference.

What You Need to Know

• Chelsy Ovilla, 17, organized a Day of Service on May 2, 2026, that brought 30+ volunteers to Elmhurst and served more than 100 families in partnership with Familia Food Pantry at 83-22 Baxter Avenue.
• Chelsy is a Projekt NYC youth leader and one of 45 nationally selected recipients of a Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation Youth Grant through Youth Service America.
• Her initiative, The Corona Bridge Project, focuses on combating food insecurity in Queens through youth-led action.
• Projekt NYC is a Queens-based 501(c)(3) serving 2,500+ students annually; 93% of budget goes to direct programming.
• To get involved with Projekt NYC or learn about upcoming youth service opportunities, visit projektnyc.org.
• For broader Queens community resources, see our earlier coverage of Queens Community House and its borough-wide impact.

Source: Queens Gazette, May 14, 2026 (primary); projektnyc.org (primary).