See It: The Community being helped

elevate is a group of young people ages 13 and up who seek to inspire others to new levels of understanding and compassion to the life connection needs of foster care and adoptive teens by sharing their personal stories of hope.

elevate has created “elevate our youth to adulthood day” that will be held on April 26,2008. elevate will do outreach and take applications from youth who have transitioned from foster care to their own apartment and will select 10 individuals in 8 communities in Iowa to receive apartment makeovers. elevate will work with business, schools and other community groups to “adopt” an apartment. These groups will fundraise, purchase items to complete the makeover. Each makeover group will be paired up with youth from elevate to makeover the apartments on April 26th. The goal is to enhance the living spaces and build a connection between the youth, elevateÔ and the community.

See It: The Community being helped

Backpacks to Hope is a project that is very close to me. When I was younger I spent 5 1/2 years in foster care. One of the things I always remember is the feeling of hopeless desperation and embarrassment on the first days of school, because like so many other children in they system I never had any school supplies or a new backpack. Now life is different for me - I have a family. I believe in the idea of "paying it forward" and never forgetting where you come from. I want to give kids in the system some hope and help them feel better about starting school. So this is why, at the end of the 06-07 school year, I began collecting backpacks for the children living in foster care at The Children's Home in Tampa. First, I went to my mom's school and presented my idea to all the teachers that work at that school (Seminole Heights Elementary). I asked for their help to collect backpacks and school supplies for the children at the Children's Home. I collected ten backpack; lots os school supplies (crayons, pencils, folders, and paper), and $120 dollars in bills for backpacks. The total was about $220. Then I presented this project to everyone at my school. I sent flyers home to the students at my school. I ended up collecting more than twenty backpacks, pencils, paper, crayons, markers, folders, erasers, glue, spiral notebooks, notebooks, glue sticks, scissors, and lunch boxes. I estimated everything donated from my school to be worth over $500. This year I am again collecting backpacks and school supplies. My goal is to supply each child living at the Children's Home with a backpack and school supplies.