Our Story
Wendy Wu is a highly accomplished music educator with more than 30 years of teaching experience. Throughout her career, she has mentored countless young pianists and served as Chair of the New Jersey Music Teachers Association Young Musician Piano Competition and the Young Artists Competition of the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra.
Inspired by her passion for music education and youth development, Ms. Wu founded IMPACT in 2011 to enrich communities through music, cultural exchange, and performance opportunities. As she witnessed the positive influence music had on young people, her vision grew beyond the concert stage. In 2013, she established Impact Youth Club (IYC) to empower youth to become compassionate leaders through volunteer service, community engagement, and meaningful projects.
IMPACT Youth Club continues to build on its foundation, carrying forward the values of music, education, service, and youth empowerment into a new chapter of growth and positive change.
Ms. Wendy Wu
Founder of IMPACT & Impact Youth Club
Our Mission
Empowering Youth Through Service
IMPACT Youth Club (IYC) is a student-run youth volunteer group for students aged 5 and up. Our mission is to organize and host the charity activities created by IMPACT 501© non-profit organization for the community. We currently have over a hundred members, and the number is still growing. IYC has hosted many local events, including the 2014 benefit concert for the American Cancer Society, a 2017 Walk-a-thon Pledge for Harvey Hurricane victims, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Open House, the 2015-2018 Market Street Mission to give Thanksgiving dinners for the homeless, a 2019 Alzheimer's fundraising concert, senior center visits, a soup kitchen for homeless solutions, trail clean-ups, and many more. IYC has three branches in New Jersey, California, and Taiwan.
n 2014, Impact Youth Club (IYC) proudly became a certified organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), a national program that recognizes and encourages outstanding commitment to volunteer service.
Our Journey
The President's Volunteer Service Award
IYC members can report volunteer hours so that all the significant contributions are recorded and rewarded. Volunteers will receive recognition according to the hours they contributed to conducting educational activities, organizing good-will events, carrying out community service projects, etc. At the end of each reporting period, volunteers who have accumulated sufficient service hours with IYC are eligible to apply for a certificate for the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA).
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IYC volunteer hours reporting period is from each year’s July 1st to next year’s June 30th.
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By PVSA guidelines, IYC will award volunteer members who are United States citizen or lawful permanent residents of the United States (i.e., green card holder).
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A volunteer’s age on January 1st is his/her age for PVSA.
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IYC volunteer hours will be logged and tracked in the IYC Members Portal by the IYC leadership team. Members can view their hours and send questions to support@impact-usa.org
PVSA Program Update (July 2025):
The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) program has been temporarily paused by AmeriCorps due to recent funding cuts and internal reevaluation. While this may be disappointing to those who have worked hard for this honor, we’re choosing to view this as a time of reflection, growth, and continued action. Although we currently cannot submit hours for PVSA for the volunteer year of 2024-2025, our work and mission haven’t stopped.
What We Can Do During the Pause?
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Keep volunteering! Service doesn’t need an award to matter.
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Share your story. Send us photos or short write-ups to spotlight your service.
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Stay connected via email and Slack. Be the first to know when PVSA returns.
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IYC will continue to issue IYC Volunteer Awards to recognize member service efforts and provide recommendation letters and references as needed.