Project Description

Helping out the community or volunteering can sometimes seem difficult to get started in, especially if you have never tried it out before.ME³ stands for Motivate, Educate, Empower, and Engage. Our goal is to make being an empowered citizen and getting involved in helping the community as easy and fulfilling as possible. That’s what our program, Communities In Action (CIA), is all about.CIA is a 'databank' of individuals in Wake County, NC, who have signed up to get involved in helping the community become a brighter, happier place to live for everybody. Individuals who sign up for CIA work with a "CIA Agent" to identify opportunities to help out that match their skills, interests, and schedules. Meanwhile, the service organizations and charitable efforts they are paired with greatly benefit and get the help they need to make an even bigger difference.Individuals in CIA also get opportunities to meet others helping the community at CIA events, and to receive training to improve skills that can greatly help a local cause in crucial ways, such as training in emergency response, charitable fundraising and grant-writing, or building community leadership ability.CIA is great for individuals who have decided they want to get involved in helping the community somehow. Maybe they are not sure whom to call. Maybe they're not sure where to look. Maybe they are worried volunteering would be boring, or they’d get stuck doing something they wouldn’t enjoy. Maybe they are concerned that they don’t have enough time to truly make a difference.CIA is designed to address all of these issues and more. All individuals have to do is sign up, and tell us a bit about themselves and what they are looking for in their ideal volunteer experience. They tell us when they are available. They tell us if they'd prefer to help out doing an art project, working at a soup kitchen, or being a leader in an exciting new local effort that needs their energy and time. They tell us about their amazing talents and how they'd like to use them to help others. And, if they aren't up for the volunteer opportunity available for them at any given time, they can tell us no.

Project Description

The mission of day of caringis to promote youth service and leadership in a postivie and comfortable environment, encouraging students to become proactive members of the community, to make connections with service organizations so as to continue volunteering and to understand what it means to make an impact. Thirty-eight different projects will be offered throughout Clark County, which will help to make a significant impact on the local community. Day of Caring has grown from a small pilot project five years ago to a school-wide event with over 30 community projects serving children, adults, and animals. Some of the projects for Day of Caring include volunteering at the YMCA, Red Cross, the firestation, assisted living facilities, the Humane Society, local food banks and elementary schools throughout the school district.

Project Description

What do you know about teen hunger? NOT childhood hunger, but teen hunger. Not much? I'm not surprised. While a silent epidemic of food insecurity rages within the population ages 13 to 19 nationwide, little specific data exists and outreach for this group is minimal. Yet: according to national studies, approximately 35 % of those served by food banks are children AND teens; university research has found that food insecure teenagers are twice as likely to have mental health issues and be suspended from school; teens with hunger issues have higher levels of aggression, hyperactivity and difficulty getting along with others; and food insecure teens have impaired cognitive functioning, lower test scores and are more likely to repeat a grade in school. So...why isn't more being done?

As a teen who, thankfully, doesn't have food insecurity, the past 4 years I have developed a passion and a mission to address, with my fellow teens, the problem of teen hunger. Let me start from the beginning...

Approximately 4 years ago, I learned that a teen shelter was set to open in my community. A newspaper article asked for donations of canned food to stock their kitchen. After I led my boy scout troop in a food drive, my father and I delivered the items to Urban Peak Colorado Springs. At that time, I asked if I could volunteer in some other way, but was politely told "no" as volunteers had to be 21 years old. Some months later I learned a friend from school was living at the shelter. I again called to volunteer. This time, I was put in touch with Renae Gannon, their new volunteer coordinator. She had an idea: would my family consider preparing the occasional Sunday evening dinner for teens staying at the shelter (from 10 to 20 at any given time)? I talked to my mom and we agreed to do it; but we committed to doing it not occasionally, but twice a month, on an ongoing basis. Well...that was about 3 years ago, and since that time, we've prepared over 70 meals for the teens. For my younger brother and I, it has meant leafing through cookbooks, planning teen-friendly menus that are well balanced, nutritious and economical (since my family pays for the food), and, of course, preparing the food. While the shelter has a cook Monday through Saturday, before we started cooking there was no regular Sunday night meal. After another volunteer cooked Sunday morning breakfast, the teens had to leave the shelter (it closed for the afternoon). With only the promise of leftovers for Sunday dinner, many of the teens would not return to the shelter, and go back out onto the streets...or worse. Because of our regular Sunday night meals, the teens now know before they leave that a good, hot dinner awaits them, and they return to the shelter. In fact, we now take requests, have planned special events (Easter brunch, Super Bowl Sunday, all German foods, southern favorites, etc.), and developed special recipes just for the teens (favorites are meatball lasagne, carrot slaw salad and "angel delight" dessert).

This led to the next phase of my involvement: writing a cookbook of teen friendly recipes. My brother and I solicited favorites from friends, neighbors, fellow Boy Scouts and others, as well as including those we have developed ourselves for the teens. Divided into three parts: snacks, suppers and sweets, the cookbook has been sold locally, with all proceeds going to Urban Peak.

Perhaps the next part of my mission, though, has also been the most exciting. Several years ago, I asked Ms. Gannon if she thought an event that would raise awareness and funds for teen hunger might be workable. She encouraged me, and I soon found a national restaurant chain that agreed to sponsor an event. After 9 months of planning, and three times of them cancelling the event, the chain finally said they'd "changed their minds" and would no longer help. Discouraged but not defeated, I tried another approach. I formed a community coalition, soliciting members from local government, food banks, Urban Peak, businesses and high schools. Also, Qdoba Restaurants agreed to be the signature sponsor for a teen hunger event. We dubbed the group "TeenFeed" and met at least twice a month for 7 months to first, research teen hunger, and second, create an awareness and fund raising event. During this phase, I wrote agendas, sent e-mails, drafted meeting minutes and did research.

I soon learned to wear some other new hats, as business manager, entrepreuner, marketing director, too! I wrote letters to 4 area high and 4 middle schools, with data about teen hunger and a description of the TeenFeed event, asking for participation. After many follow up phone calls and meetings, all the schools agreed to partipate in various ways. I then drafted announcements that were given at all the schools, with data about teen hunger, and these reached over 10,000 students (ages 11 -19), school administrators, teachers, counselors and staff. At several high schools, Qdoba set up taco bars, to which tickets were sold by school sponsoring groups. Also, student volunteers, wearing TeenFeed t-shirts I designed and had donated, handed out information cards with "help numbers" teens could call for assistance with food insecurity issues. At the middle schools chips and salsa bars were set up by Qdoba, with students again helping spread the word and raise money. Approximately $5,000 was raised, all proceeds going to Urban Peak for their outreach and programming for teens with food and shelter issues.

Also during this time, I drafted a proclamation that was signed by the mayor of Colorado Springs, declaring the last week in October as "Teen Hunger Awareness Week." He signed this at a ceremony with members of the TeenFeed Coalition in attendance. This proclamation was read at the City Council public meeting, which was also televised to approximately 500,000 local homes. Efforts are now underway to have the Governor of Colorado issue a similar proclamation.

Although the last local TeenFeed event was just held a few weeks ago, an incredible outcome now indicates this vision will go to a much bigger audience. Qdoba was so pleased with the outcome of the events, the company has decided to make teen hunger one of its signature philanthropic causes. Moreover, a packet has been put together, including a sample letter to schools, the announcment series, etc., that will be presented to Qdoba's franchisees, as a turn-key operation for TeenFeed events in communities all over the nation. Most importantly, this will allow teens to continue to work for their fellow teens in the causes of hunger and homelessness.

Local news coverage of my family's preparation of meals at the shelter, as well as articles about the TeenFeed events, have not only increased local awareness, but drawn national attention. CNN has now contacted my family to learn more about our work and mission, with some national attention possible.

The photos included in this application, show teens helping their fellow teens at TeenFeed high and middle school events, serving food, handing out "info cards," and marketing the cause. Additional photos show the signing ceremony with Mayor Lionel Rivera of Colorado Springs and the TeenFeed Coalition.

This personal passion has grown from collecting cans to making a difference in the lives of teens who struggle with food insecurity and its effects. I am committed to taking this message forward and outward and making every possible effort to eliminate teen hunger as the soonest possible time!

Project Description

"Every Women is a Beautiful Women" campaign for the Women In Distress Shelter. For this project cosmetics ansd toiletrees were donated from various business to bring to the Women in Distress Shelter around holiday time. This project's main objective is to promote confidence and self worth to these distraught women, and inturn help their children to see life in a new light. Countless women were helped in this effort and more projects have been created and executed from this.

Project Description

Who We Are/What We Do: RFK NEWS is a youth service/youth advocacy program, that teaches and allows kids to have a forum to express their opinions to politicians. We also allow youth from all across the New York area to serve on the issues they feel are key in thier community.  Youth News Now, Keeping Youth Aware!In Youth News Now, Keeping Youth Aware! youth describe an issue in their community eg: Cocaine Needles in my Local Park. We then take that information and give a copy of the description to the local politican in that area. When or if something is done about the problem we do community service on that issue eg: Teaming up with a rehab center and flier the community with drug help information. The outcome is astonishing because youth who are usually told to be quiet or told thier opinion doesn't count get the chance to tell the politican "Since I Live Here, That Makes Me An Expert"