1. Pray about your involvement.

YHSA works because our members work! Your participation and leadership in volunteering will continue to make our organization effective on behalf of homeschoolers in York County.

2. Count the cost.

Membership in YHSA costs only $30 a year; membership runs from July 1-June 30.  

For your money, you receive:

• A YHSA membership card.

Many retail stores will accept this card as proof you are an educator, giving you access to school or teacher discounts. You can also show this card at your public library and get a "teacher's card" at the public library for longer loans.

• Access to the complete YHSA Web Site.

With the click of your mouse, you can get access to information about our programs, where your children will get to interact with other home school children who share similar interests, contact info for all our members, information for the YHSA owned Library/Science Equipment/Curriculum Closet, tips on how to obtain curriculum discounts, mom support groups, a homeschool business directory, among many other perks... but most importantly the constant presence of other home schoolers with substantial experience through our forum and community.

• Access to our Facebook Group.

Click here to stay in the loop.

• The YHSA membership directory. 

On average we have 400 member families, and sometimes you need a reminder of who's who! You will have access to our database of members, where you can ask for names of other parents using your curriculum choices, those living in your school district, and much more!

• Access to YHSA sponsored events. 

YHSA sponsors events throughout the year to help you meet your own established goals for homeschooling. Many of these events are only available for members of our organization. These include field trips, competitions, dances, seminars, an expo, and small groups like Chess Club, Archery, Choir, and more! If you're a member, you are welcome.

• A York County Envirothon Team

Registration is begins in early September.  For more information, please visit the Envirothon page under small groups.  (Non-members, please contact Sheena Lapratt for more information. sheena.lapratt@gmail.com)

• Membership in YHSA Forum Groups.

Connections by email with other members to provide announcement/correction information/event reminders, ask for help or provide guidance for others, to provide a means to announce prayer requests/praises/encouragement, to provide a quick and easy way for home educators to help one another with classified ads for both home education and personal items both to sell and to purchase.

• Group discount rates for HSLDA. 

Homeschoolers all over feel the pressure from those not in support of homeschooling. YHSA membership means you can get the group rate when you join HSLDA, a legal organization to have your back!

• The support of like-minded families. 

Sure, you can develop your own support group, but participating with YHSA guarantees you will have the opportunity to meet and get to know other families with your values, interests and homeschooling commitment. Sometimes it's lonely out there!

• Access to the YHSA library. 

YHSA has many resources for getting started homeschooling, choosing a curriculum, Christian parenting and home education. Along with many wholesome books. These all are available for loan.

• Access to the YHSA Curriculum Closet. 

Curriculum Closet allows you to pick up used curriculum for free, and you can donate your used items to the "Closet" for others to use. Find good quality, fairly recent editions. No reference materials or used workbooks are there, nor can they be donated.  What a wonderful way to be blessed in your schooling journey and again to bless others with your generous donations when you are finished with materials.

• Access to YHSA Science Equipment. 

This allows you to borrow science equipment for free. No longer having to buy expensive items that only get used a handful of times! And, you can donate your used items for others to use. Just another wonderful way to be blessed in your schooling journey and again to bless others with your generous donations when you are finished with equipment and materials.

• Access to the Membership Business Directory. 

Find reliable family owned businesses to support in your day to day lives and be able to post your own business for community support.

• Access to the YHSA Newspaper. 

Stay up to date and participate in the many fun publishing opportunities, stories, articles, and games in this student led community newspaper! 

3. Submit a Membership Application.

Please submit your membership electronically by clicking the REQUEST MEMBERSHIP link on the menu bar.

4. Renew your membership yearly.

• You need to know: 

To guarantee access to all summer programming, members need to renew by June 30th. Renewing by the deadline will also avoid any late fees and having your account be parked.

5. Volunteer.

YHSA is a volunteer-run organization and cannot run without people who are willing to pay it forward. If you would like to volunteer, please reach out to one of our Board Members, and be ready to submit your clearances. All YHSA volunteers must have clearances on file.  We are always looking for new ways to honor our volunteers. Check out our Volunteer of the month page.  Also keep an eye out for early sign-up for some of our programs for YHSA Volunteers!

Volunteer Appreciation is an acknowledgement of the hard work that is essential for YHSA to continue running our many member programs. We greatly appreciate all of our volunteers, past and present, and hope to continue to be able to offer everything we do for many years to come!

6. YHSA Alumni.

• Homeschooled your last child? 

You can opt to become an Alumni Member—no fees. You retain access to the Forum so that you can be a part of the community and share your wisdom! Alumni members cannot sign children up for events.

• Alumni Members: 

Alumni members are defined as members (past or present) who have no child homeschooling due to graduating or aging out of the program.