Believe In Youth

Social Entrepreneurship

2008-06-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today's BIY is not an article, but rather a thought. I would love this to be the start of a discussion.

Over the last 2-3 years, I have been working on a couple different start-up companies. As a result, I have taken a lot of enjoyment from studying the markets for products--particularly consumer goods and internet services. When I started this blog, the idea was to eventually become a non-profit run in a for-profit business model. This week, I came across a Design 21 Competition called Power to the Pedal.

"The DESIGN 21 series challenges designers of all disciplines to find solutions to social and global issues. It’s guided by UNESCO’s premise that education, science, technology, culture and communication are tools to spread knowledge and information, build awareness and foster dialogue."

Inspired by the plot, I think this can be taken to the next level to create a phenomenal project in social entrepreneurship. Read on...

THE IDEA
Providing innovative solutions to everyday problems in poverty stricken regions.

SUMMARY
When people believe in ideas, they do not need to be monetarily compensated for their effort. Think Wikipedia. Think the translation of Facebook. With this in mind, I want to create a worldwide network to design and develop products that will solve everyday problems in poverty stricken regions.

People in poverty stricken regions face countless problems that those in developed nations take for granted--access to food and water, transportation, medical supplies, power supplies, shelter, and many more categories come to mind. Creative minds around the world have a plethora of ideas to help solve these problems economically. This business will connect the two.

HOW TO DO IT
1. Use an open social platform to create a network of product designers who will create solutions to everyday problems in poverty stricken regions.
2. Take investment to develop the best solutions--as decided by the network.
3. Create an e-commerce solution to sell the products before manufacturing, and mass manufacture based on demand. Products will be purchased by people around the world for those in poverty stricken regions. All revenues over manufacturing costs will be put back into the company for product development.
4. When enough units of a product are ordered to create economies of scale, manufacture using an approved facility in a developing nation and distribute in the specified regions.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL IT TAKE?
1. To begin, one full time person to coordinate all elements. This person must be able to build and maintain both the networking platform and the e-commerce solution. He/she must also be able to oversee the production and distribution of products. As we start to manufacture more products at the same time, more people may be necessary.
2. Marketing Department: Members of entrepreneurship clubs worldwide
3. Designers: Worldwide volunteers interested in seeing their designs developed and manufactured
4. Manufacturing: Approved facility in developing nation

HOW MUCH MONEY WILL IT TAKE?
I believe this project can begin under $100,000 and become self-sustainable thereafter.

WHY WOULD THIS BE A GOOD NON-PROFIT?
There are tons of charities out there--too many to count. For a person who wants to give to a charity, it is very difficult to decide. Moreover, when giving to a charity, it is even more difficult to know where your money is actually going. This project would be completely transparent--every cost would be broken out and made readily accessible to the public. For every purchase someone made, they would see exactly how much money goes to the manufacturing and distribution of a product, where the product is going and how it is helping, and how much money is going to future product development.

So, this is a fairly brief synopsis of the idea. But, what do you all think? Ridiculous or realistic?

NAACP Detroit Deputy Director

2008-06-02T21:50:00.001-07:00

Who: Donnell White
Age: 31
What: NAACP Detroit Deputy Director

After a week-long hiatus, BIY is back with a great story about the NAACP Detroit Deputy Director. This story is from The Detroit News.
Be sure to check out the blog as well, where we just installed a great google gadget pulling stories about people making a difference.

Monday, June 2, 2008
Desire to make a difference runs in the family
Detroit NAACP deputy director represents next generation of leaders.
Candice Williams / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- During the mid-1980s, young Donnell White watched as the city's elite arrived for meetings at his great-grandparents' home in the historic Boston-Edison neighborhood.

Shelton Tappes, a former United Auto Workers executive board member, and his wife, Louise, also active in the community, opened their home to the likes of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, civil rights activist Rosa Parks and former Mayor Coleman A. Young.

Even with a family heavily involved in community activism, it wasn't always apparent to White, who today is deputy executive director of the Detroit NAACP, that he would follow the same path. But, at 31, he's quickly building a reputation as an emerging leader in Metro Detroit.

"I used to want to be a pediatrician, on the SWAT team, and my real passion was to work for an accounting firm," said White, who had a change of heart when he began volunteering at the NAACP. "I found everything I wanted to accomplish careerwise I could do here. The work we do really makes a difference."

Since becoming deputy director last year -- the youngest in branch history to hold the position -- White has led event panels and helped organize the Detroit NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner, which draws 10,000 people to Cobo Center each year.

Friends, co-workers and community leaders describe him as informed, kindhearted and a voice to be heard.

"He is a perfect representation of the next generation of leaders," said Tonette Bryant-Carter, senior development officer for the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. "He's very involved in the community."
Making his own job

White's career path began as a volunteer in 2001 at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Detroit branch, the country's largest.

"He was pretty impressive because he created a job for himself," said Heaster Wheeler, branch executive director. "I was wondering why he kept showing up. I said, 'Since you're sitting there, you may as well answer the phone.' And all of a sudden, we learned that he had very good skills with people."

White worked as an office assistant for a couple of years. Then he became director of youth and education programs and coordinated a youth competition, ACT-SO, which stands for the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics.

He was promoted to deputy executive director shortly after working on a campaign against Proposal 2, a state constitutional amendment that banned affirmative action in Michigan's university admissions and in government hiring. The position had been vacant for a couple of years.

In this role, White oversees the branch's day-to-day operations, meets with community members and is branch spokesman.

"If I decided to move on, I would feel very comfortable that a power succession would be in place," Wheeler said, adding that White brings balance to the organization.

The 21-year age difference between them is an asset, she said.

"We view our lives and community through different eyes," Wheeler said. "His way of viewing the world helps bridge what would have been a generational divide."
Encouraging others' activity

Recently, White visited Westside Academy, where he talked to a group of high school students at about racial profiling, prison population growth and expansion and the importance of being active in the community.

"I told them, 'If you don't join the NAACP, join your block club. If you don't join your block club, join one of the auxiliaries at church,'" he said. "And if it isn't one of those, just try something that you're fed up dealing with and make a commitment that you're going to make a difference about that."

Albert Jones, a member of the parent group at Westside, said it's inspiring for the young people to see White in a high position at the NAACP. Jones has known him for about 10 years.

They attend Fellowship Chapel in Detroit, where White is a worship leader.

"We have some boys that haven't been so good," Jones said. "They're beginning to see some men they want to look to as role models. (White) is one of those persons."

Born during a family trip to Chicago, White lived briefly in Detroit, grew up in Taylor and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School before earning a finance degree from Michigan State University in 2001.

Last year, White led a group of about 100 Metro Detroiters to Jena, La., to protest the treatment of six black high school students accused of beating a white classmate. Months before, in August 2006, nooses were hung from a tree at the school. In January, when the master of ceremonies couldn't make it to a Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at the Charles H. Wright Museum, officials turned to White to bail them out.

"He stepped right in and didn't miss a beat," Bryant-Carter said. "He stayed on task. He asked the right questions of the panelists. He was there as ... a guest, but then he put on another hat and did his thing."

When asked if people are dismissive because of his age, White notes that King became involved in the civil rights movement in his 20s.

As for the future, White would consider running for a public office. City clerk, county clerk or secretary of state would be a good fit for him, he said.

"I come from a family that wanted to make a difference," he said. "That makes the work I do worthwhile."

You can reach Candice Williams at (517) 552-5504 or cwilliams@detnews.com.

WWF Volunteers

2008-05-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Who: Martina Lippuner
Age: early 20's
What: WWF Volunteer

This week's story is about a WWF Volunteer in Madagascar. Martina took part in the Simpona Project, Andapa, Antsiranana, Oct-Dec 2007. There is also a great video in the link. Enjoy.

ABOUT ME

I am in my last year of Environmental Engineering with focus on Environmental Education. As part of my studies we are allowed to go abroad to get some practical work experience. The WWF Explore Programme offered me exactly what I had hoped for. Having traveled a lot in southern Africa, I was very keen on getting to know more of that corner of the world. And also did the “Projet Simpona” give me the amazing opportunity to see first hand how environmental education works in a developing country. I couldn’t believe it when I got accepted. An amazing experience was about to start…

My advice

Volunteering with the WWF is a once in a lifetime chance. You get to see places a normal tourist hardly ever sees. You meet people you would not, if it was not for WWF. You really get to know how conservation works in a country very different from yours. And last but not least, you gain unforgettable memories and – if you are lucky – friends for a lifetime.

To share is a basic principle of Malagasy life and you will learn that even a poor person may invite you for dinner. Expect to have a funny tummy most of the times – but learn not to concentrate too much on it. Be sure to be fed up with rice at some point – but look forward to how much you can enjoy a plate of pasta after a while.

Do not be scared that you will face a mountain of work – rather plan what you will come up with when you have to wait. Do not expect people to tell you what you should do, you will have a lot of freedom to participate and be creative.

You are not guaranteed to see wildlife at its best – the WWF works where there is need, so you will see a lot of threatened landscapes and maybe no lemurs.

You can be sure to learn a lot of Malagasy – if you want to. But do not think you can have a philosophical debate with a wise old person in this language. Expect to see shocking things but do not let people see that you are shocked. Be prepared to meet people that might change your life, and be aware of the possibility that you change a person’s life, too.

Do not expect to change the whole world though, especially not in three months. Be prepared to slow down big time and focus on only a few goals, those that mean most to you. Expect to deal with misunderstandings – not only with the local people where the language barrier might be big – also within your explorer team everyone comes from a different country.

Be prepared for an incredible experience and so much inspiration for your future!

Video Friday: Youth All Stars

2008-05-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

This week we bring you a quick video about youth volunteers in Minnesota.

Seminar focuses on youth sports

2008-05-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

Who: Coaches
Age: Various
What: Making the Youth Sports Experience Better

This article isn't about the youth and what their doing, but it is about what Coaches are doing to make Youth Sports experience even better. Coaches gathered for this seminar getting to learn how to better enrich the Student-Athlete experience--which I think is vital for our youths of today and thought that it would be a little different change of pace BIY article. This article can be found at The Times Tribune.

Seminar focuses on youth sports
BY ASHLEY TEATUM / SPECIAL TO THE TIMES-TRIBUNE
05/21/2008

With the motto " Helping Coaches, Helping Kids," the Joe Bocchicchio Foundation, formed at The University of Scranton, hopes to better educate coaches to serve their student athletes.

"The foundation is our initiative to promote coaching education to all levels, particularly the youth sports level," explained Dr. Jack O'Malley, professor of sports psychology at the university.

With this in mind, O'Malley organized Tuesday's seminar in Brennan Hall at the University of Scranton.

There, several faculty members and representatives discussed the benefits of the involvement of the American Sport Education Program ( ASEP) for high school sports and youth sports in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Simultaneously, on another level of Brennan Hall, coaches trained for eight hours to receive coaching certification.

ASEP provides classroom workshops and training for those who wish to coach throughout the United States. O'Malley and the university are helping to "get the ball rolling" in Pennsylvania's District 2.

"Our dream is to ask people to be trained to be ASEP instructors and be volunteer teachers," O'Malley said. " We're not addressing a problem. The goal is to do this to enrich the student-athlete experience as much as possible, to make the most positive student- athlete experience possible. It's not like we have all these problems we have to solve. That's not the perspective."

O'Malley invited superintendents and other administrators from area high schools, including Pam Murray, principal of Abington Heights High School, to discuss ways to implement the program within the region. " We're looking to better serve our student- athletes," Murray said. " The program would be a tool in which we could educate our coaches with the philosophy, again, to put student athletes first, wining second, and to better serve our student-athletes."

An administrator and the athletic director from Abington Heights received the training Tuesday as well. Murray said they would "go back and discuss the information" once training and the seminar had ended.

ASEP focuses not just on the " x's and o's" of coaching, explained Robert Buckanavage, the executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association.

"We all believe that if you better prepare your coaches, you're going to have a better opportunity that the student will have a positive sports experience," Buckanavage said. " It's about training, educating and learning."

The five aspects of the program, he continued, include coaching principles, psychology, pedagogy, training principles, and risk management, like first aid and AED operation.

"If ( coaches) learn those things, they're building a good foundation," Buckanavage added.

Several superintendents expressed concern about the amount of time or the cost that such a program would require. According to Buckanavage and Jerry Reeder, a national program consultant for ASEP, the cost for the program would be $ 60 a coach. As compared to some clinics that require upward of $ 300, O'Malley added, this inconvenience is minimal.

ASEP also offers an online course for training to be completed at a coach's own leisure. That option eradicates the face- to- face instruction that Reeder felt was necessary for training. In workshops, veteran coaches, new coaches and other staff members interact with one another.

"That's the one thing you cannot duplicate in an online course," Reeder said.

Other University staff members started to build that strong foundation on the first floor of Brennan Hall. University of Scranton women's basketball coach Mike Strong, for example, aided in the discussion and led training for the coaches receiving certification.

"The more we get together, the more we share," Strong said. " It's not like one person knows more than someone else. It's all about giving back to your sport. It's this Jesuit school: It not only personifies, but it promotes this."

ASEP, founded by Rainer Martens in 1981, believes that coaches hold the key to making the sports experience a positive one for student athletes. The Joe Bocchicchio Foundation and District 2 schools are looking into how to continue this mission through its sports programs in the coming school year.

"This region has a real distinct opportunity to make a difference," Buckanavage said. " It's going to be different, but it'll be very special. Every region has traditions. This northeast region has deep traditions in sport, and the community identifies with that."

Young Leaders in New Zealand

2008-05-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

Who: Young Leaders in New Zealand
Age: Under 35
What: Leading the Way in NZ

This week's Sunday article is about young leaders in New Zealand who are changing the face of business and doing good while they are at it. From Find Articles.

COVER STORY : 35 BELOW - Young leaders to watch
Ruth Le Pla

These 17 young leaders are just the tip of an iceberg of talent. They, and others like them, will shape our country's future. They front up. Dig in. Speak out. Give back. They see the future and go make it happen. They challenge assumptions and galvanise change. Their vision ripples out into their communities.

They represent a cultural smorgasbord running the full gamut of leadership styles: From unassuming, consultative, introspection to dynamic, full-frontal assault. Some lead through quiet action. Others dream audacious dreams and magnetise those around them to their cause.

To select these young leaders we went out to organisations that have robust mechanisms in place to spot, assess, nurture or reward our nation's emerging leaders: The Sir Peter Blake Trust, Leadership New Zealand, the New Zealand Institute of Management, the Aspiring Leaders Forum, Creative New Zealand and Excelerator. It's our part in the inaugural New Zealand Leadership Week www.nzleadershipweek.org which kicks off later this month.

The final selection of these leaders remains ours. While there is a strong tilt towards business, their involvement spans every niche: from working with at-risk youth, to the environment, politics, education, cross-cultural communications, design, sport, law, art and even aeronautics.

Most remain refreshingly open and receptive. They are keenly aware they've still got lots to learn. Some are being nurtured, stretched and challenged on formal leadership programmes. Others are going it alone, shoulder tapping people they admire to mentor and guide them.

They are all aged below 35. We present them here in a gloriously random order.

KIM ACLAND

As its general manager, Kim Acland heads up the "fervently New Zealand and artistically adventurous" Auckland Theatre Company.

Admirers say she is not afraid to confront challenges, address them and move on. In a testing environment she focuses on the long- term good of the organisation and has the courage to make important and difficult decisions. All this on an ego the size of a pinhead.

In her few years in the role she's already placed the company on a much firmer financial footing. She has managed the company's recovery and ensured its survival. Importantly for the company's long-term prospects, observers say that she works in a genuine partnership with the Auckland Theatre Company's artistic director Colin McColl.

EMELINE AFEAKI-MAFILEO

Described by one observer as compassionate and a woman of stature, Emeline Afeaki-Mafileo sees a need and gears up for action. People who know her say her humble and unassuming approach belies her strong convictions and ability to get things done. Afeaki-Mafileo's forte is her ability to gather people around her, encourage, train and then mobilise them for action.

She's making a significant contribution to the economic transformation and development of young people in South Auckland through her company Affirming Works, a Pacific youth mentoring and training organisation.

Afeaki-Mafileo, who now has a Master of Philosophy majoring in social science from Massey University, first hit the streets as a youth worker when she was 19.

Her work has also led to the establishment of the Fofola Consultancy which contributes to policy development and played a vital part towards the Pacific Youth Development Strategy for Auckland which Prime Minister Helen Clark launched last year. Afeaki- Mafileo is now being asked to help write policy internationally for Pacific Island nations and is said to be highly esteemed by our current Government.

Afeaki-Mafileo also takes a leadership role in the Pacific community by serving as an advisor to a number of community organisations: Community advisor to the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs Phil Goff; member of the National Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Social Development, Family and Community Services; Youth Court and Youth Court Pacific Community Liaison Service; and Pacific representative on the Youth Mentoring Association.

Most recently she's been working as a "youth collaborator" as part of a government-funded response to growing gang problems in South Auckland's Mangere, Otara and Flat Bush, where a man was killed last November.

MARCUS AKUHATA-BROWN

Renowned for his compelling speeches and great motivational skills, Marcus Akuhata-Brown has spent much of his working life addressing the needs of young people.

He has travelled extensively internationally as both a national and international representative and delegate on youth-related concerns. He was a director on the international board of the World Alliance for Citizen Partnership (Civicus), an international organisation which focuses on strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world.

From 1998 to 2001 he headed the Commonwealth Youth Caucus whose programmes help young people play a greater part in economic and social development. And he has led a number of other innovative alternative education programmes addressing the learning needs of youth at risk and young offenders.

People who know him praise his uncanny ability to connect with, and motivate, people from varied backgrounds. A qualified teacher, he is seen by some as a strong role model with a highly developed social conscience. He has the ability to think strategically and is a creative problem solver.

Akuhata-Brown grew up on the East Coast. His father is Ngati Porou (Tuwhakairiora) from Te Araroa on the East Cape and his mother has English and Welsh ancestry.

Now back in New Zealand, Akuhata-Brown founded Tukaha Global Consultancy in 2000 and is currently involved in speaking and consultancy work, land development in Te Araroa and personal studies through Te Wananga-o-Raukawa.

ANUSHIYA AYINGARAN

Openly and refreshingly ambitious, Anushiya Ayingaran's leadership style is empathetic and inclusive. She's already made a big impact at the not-for-profit Nurse Maude Association where she's general manager corporate services. Ayingaran has cut through a cocktail of conservative attitudes and funding and political pressures to re- energise staff and win respect.

Notable achievements include a process improvement project within the association's Homecare Service and the development of the association's strategic plan.

People who know her say she's got outstanding training, staff mentoring and communication skills. Her positive and action-oriented approach won Ayingaran the NZIM Young Executive of the Year Award two years ago. Since then, in a move that will ensure her a place in Nurse Maude's annals, she's broken free of 110 years of history and launched the association's first ever branch outside its home territory of Canterbury.

After three years in her current job she's now making no secret of her desire to take on a more senior role. Ayingaran has just been elected to the board of NZIM Canterbury.

She's on the record as stating that she wants to become a CEO or GM of an innovative organisation and in 20 years' time is aiming for directorships in organisations where she can serve the community.

PRIVAHINI BRADOO

Privahini Bradoo has packed a lot into her eight years in New Zealand. She quickly notched up a biomedical science degree from Auckland University and topped it with a PhD in neuroscience. She also cottoned on to the yawning gap between the worlds of business and science and has spearheaded two initiatives to help bridge the divide.

In 2003, despite her lack of business knowledge at that stage, she was chosen to become the inaugural CEO of spark*, a University of Auckland venture aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship. Bradoo also co-founded and led the establishment of biotech innovation network Chiasma.

Her reputation as a hard worker means that Bradoo leads by example. She is said to engage people with her enthusiasm and modesty, and her leadership is genuine, natural and authentic. Her enthusiasm helps her build momentum for ideas in an atmosphere of possibility and success.

She won the inaugural Dean's Excellence Award in 2004 for outstanding leadership and innovation in the development of an entrepreneurial culture amongst staff and students.

That same year North & South magazine profiled her as one of eight promising young New Zealand entrepreneurs.

Bradoo heads off next month on a US$100,000 Fulbright Scholarship to crack into a Harvard MBA. She has signalled that she intends to come back to New Zealand. Her stated dream is to set up a New Zealand biotech enterprise that will take Kiwi ingenuity to the world.

STEVEN CARDEN

Steven Carden's potential was publicly bookmarked last year when the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards judges named him as one of their six emerging leaders.

For one so young, Carden has been quietly plugging away at making stuff happen for a significant proportion of his adult life. Back in 1998 he set up the First Foundation to help talented but financially disadvantaged youth. It has since blossomed into a substantial non- profit organisation with operations in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Since then he's been working in the United States for McKinsey and Co and has set up two other organisations: KEA Boston - a chapter of the Kiwi Expatriates Association; and Friends of CCE - a US-based non- profit group that raises funds to help rehabilitate inmates in Ecuadorian prisons (where Carden worked as a volunteer in 2003).

From a very young age, Carden has had a reputation for big picture thinking and for convincing those around him that his vision for a better future will work. One contact describes him as "one of those quiet determined leaders".

Carden is due to return to New Zealand later this year and has made it clear that he intends to settle. Current projects include a book on New Zealand's ability to cope in a changing world. It is due for release in June next year.

BEN GREEN

Enthusiastic and motivated, Ben Green has been described as a servant leader; giving his time for others and wanting the best for those around him. His reputation is for seeing beyond career and money to the pursuit of a better society.

Based in Auckland, he is passionate about his home city. Through his work he wants to see New Zealand businesses grow and compete successfully on the international stage. Through his personal life he aims to help create a city where people love to live and bring up their children. He is known to be keen to use his position of influence in business to also be influential in the community.

Green has a Masters in Commerce (first class honours) from Auckland University. After working for IBM in Auckland and London, he came home in 1999 to co-found Grey Lynn-based multimedia and film production company Zoomslide Media. He is now the marketing manager for business solutions at Microsoft.

The company has nominated Green to take part in the Committee for Auckland's two-year Future Auckland Leadership Programme which fosters leadership and a knowledge of the region within a group of young Aucklanders.

Green is also a mentor with the First Foundation whose vision is to assist academically talented and financially disadvantaged New Zealand students achieve their potential through tertiary education and to prepare them to positively influence and benefit their communities. It is another conduit for him to connect with other future leaders and pass on his knowledge, skill and encouragement.

BEN IRVING

While still at high school Ben Irving set up the On the Edge Charitable Trust: a youth-run volunteer organisation encouraging and developing leadership in high schools. It now operates throughout Wellington, Kapiti and Wairarapa schools and there is talk of it rolling out into Auckland and some Pacific Island nations.

An observer describes Irving's leadership style as participative. He encourages volunteers to take ownership of the conferences and forums they run. This approach is said to have won the approval of the Ministry of Youth Affairs which is believed to see Irving's work as a model of youth participation.

Irving uses mentors extensively and is known to shoulder tap people from whom he wants to learn. He also encourages the people he works with to tell him whether his approach is working for them or not.

Irving has represented New Zealand in sailing and is co-owner of the Ski & Camp retail store in Wellington.

GIA NGHI PHUNG

Born in Vietnam of Chinese descent, Gia Nghi Phung arrived in Australia as a refugee at the age of five and grew up with access to multiple cultural experiences. On the way she's gained a BCom and a Master in Art Administration and has worked in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Phung was director of Sydney's Asia-Australia Arts Centre (Gallery 4A) before shifting to New Zealand a few years ago where she is now an ethnic advisor at the Office of Ethnic Affairs, Department of Internal Affairs.

Phung sees her role as an ideal platform to influence change and make New Zealand a better place for diversity to flourish. She's committed to the development of empowered and self-determined ethnic communities that will contribute to a stronger New Zealand.

Phung is very alive to the concept that leadership is not just about being on top of the hierarchy. She believes that leadership is about finding the moral courage to address prickly situations and say things that not everyone is comfortable with. She's also a firm advocate of the need to listen and learn from others.

People who know her say she can engage with, excite and motivate a huge range of stakeholders in any given project. She is also known as a reflective, creative and forward thinker. Reputed to be very enthusiastic. A high energy get up and go person.

REWI SPRAGGON

Known as one of the younger Mr Fix-Its of Maoridom, Rewi Spraggon is the quintessential 'go-to' man. Described by one insider as possibly the most well-connected person they'd ever met. He's a Maori consultant, chef, master carver, curator, musician, event manager and radio broadcaster.

Spraggon was a national board member of the Museums and Art Galleries Association of New Zealand and a head researcher for the Waitangi Tribunal Land Claims in South Kaipara. A renowned Maori carver with commissions worldwide, he's currently Kaiwhakahaere Maori (Maori manager of libraries) for Waitakere City Council. Also a director of Auckland and Mt Maunganui-based company Te Aratoi which provides Maori experiences and event management. Plus he's a Maori consultant and advisor for Maori Television.

Reputed to be an inspirational person for many communities. Brought up by his grandparents independently of his immediate family, Spraggon speaks fluent Te Reo. Shaped by early experiences which include having been placed in a leadership role from a very young age. He speaks on behalf of his iwi.

Described as a gentle person with amazing mana.

SAMARA SUTHERLAND

By far the youngest of last year's Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards six emerging leaders, Samara Sutherland's initiatives have exposed thousands of young New Zealanders to the issues of marine conservation.

She graduated from Northland Polytechnic in 2001 with a diploma in conservation and environmental management. Since then, she has developed (in conjunction with former polytechnic tutor Vince Kerr) an educational programme called "Experiencing Marine Reserves", formed a charitable trust that enables her to deliver her programme to schools and the community, and is training coordinators around the country so the programme can be offered in other regions. She has also designed education resources including videos and CD Roms, and is developing a website for her programme.

Sutherland clearly wants to make a difference and is said to lead through her deeds rather than words. Others have slowly started to pay attention to her ideas. A bubbly effervescent personality. Sutherland was named the 2004 Whangarei Young Person of the Year.

CHE TAMAHORI

A director of web design company Shift, Che Tamahori is very attuned to the notion that good leadership is many-faceted. Believes that successful leaders often engage with society on many levels and that this, in turn, helps them to bring a breadth of vision to their roles.

A creative and broad thinker. His ideas are said to have been profoundly shaped by the last couple of years of his high school days which he spent at the United World College in Canada and where he studied with international students and read philosophy.

Tends to act as a facilitator when in groups. Tamahori is known to be very receptive to new ideas, insightful and a good listener. Those close to him say he is very respectful of other people's ideas and thoughts. Generous with his time, resources and expertise in helping other people.

A graduate of Wanganui Design School, Tamahori has worked in creative and strategic leadership roles with clients including Tourism New Zealand, the Sir Peter Blake Trust, The New Zealand Institute and the Alcohol Advisory Council.

NICKI TAYLOR

Overcoming personal challenges, such as the loss of her father (who was her mentor), and living with diabetes since the age of three, Nicki Taylor takes time to input into those coming up behind her and continues her work in the community along with a busy law career.

Taylor is reputed to have left a top job with prestigious law firm Russell McVeagh because she wanted to pursue her dream of a better New Zealand. Described as a courageous, strong and compassionate leader, Taylor is seen by some as a young lawyer making a difference to New Zealand law and society.

She leads the policy and legal team at the Auckland-based independent think-tank Maxim Institute. Taylor and her team aim to make a significant contribution to law and policy in New Zealand in areas such as education, democracy, family issues and freedom of expression.

She has won the prestigious Lowndes Jordon prize in corporate law and in 2004 was awarded a University of Auckland Scholarship to complete her LLM in public law.

Taylor is frequently approached by policy makers and politicians for advice, opinion, information or key contacts in critical areas of New Zealand policy. She also presents legal submissions on behalf of the Institute and is frequently asked to provide comment on law and policy to the media.

The Institute was recently the first New Zealand think-tank to be awarded the prestigious Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award, ahead of 70 other nominations from think-tanks around the world. Taylor led the team that researched, wrote and produced the award-winning education policy reports.

She remains involved in her community and in 2004 was elected to serve as a representative on the Mt Roskill Community Board.

VICKY TAYLOR

Vicky Taylor has been carving out a name for herself as a marketer in the demanding and high-profile fast moving consumer goods arena for some time now. A regular contender on the awards circuit, last year she was one of two finalists for the nation's top award for an individual senior marketer: the prestigious FCB Marketer of the Year Award.

She's now country manager New Zealand for Coca-Cola, having moved on from Griffin's Foods where as marketing director she fronted work on iconic household brands such as Toffee Pops, Mallowpuffs, Cookie Bear and ETA.

Taylor's take on leadership is broad and balanced. Leaders who will make a difference must have an appreciation of the community as a whole.

Her own style is thoughtful and group focused. People who have seen her in action say she prefers to listen up front, suspending judgement until she has gathered in all relevant information. She's reputedly very accepting of new perspectives, people and new ways of thinking. And will courageously push her own boundaries and those of others around her.

Taylor has served on the council of the Association of New Zealand Advertisers (ANZA) and has been a director of MOTAT (The Museum of Transport and Technology) since 2000.

THERESE WALSH

As general manager corporate services for the NZ Rugby Union, Therese Walsh was a finalist for the 2005 NZIM/Eagle Technology Young Executive of the Year Awards (part of the Deloitte/Management magazine Top 200 Awards). At the time, the judges praised her strong leadership skills and her ability to create effective teams - building on an excellent base of good management processes.

She holds her own in the blokey business of rugby and has spearheaded a serious amount of change in a tough hard-nosed environment. Key initiatives include revamping, modernising and consolidating key parts of the Union's corporate services: everything from finance and HR to legal compliance and international relations.

Earlier this year she joined the board of Save the Children.

GRANT WATSON

Best known in business circles as a driving force behind some of the most noteworthy changes to the worldwide McDonald's brand in New Zealand. The fast and timely reimaging of the company's 140 restaurants, McCafe brand development, and links with sporting legends Sarah Ulmer and Hamish Carter are all his work.

By the age of 30 Grant Watson was already on the McDonald's New Zealand senior management team where he's currently vice president, operations.

Insiders admire his inspiration and vision. His strengths include an ability to build strong teams. Good at managing the fine line between building strong working relationships with his team members and expecting outstanding results from each of them.

Winner of last year's NZIM/Eagle Technology Young Executive of the Year Award. He told guests at a recent NZIM Auckland networking event that in planning his career he tries to always look not one but two steps ahead. Since winning the award he's decided to switch tack. At the end of this month Watson and his young family head overseas for an extended look-see. He'll also be scouting for business ideas. Expect him back and in another business in New Zealand.

KAREN WILLCOX

Watching Star Wars in a darkened Auckland cinema is reputed to have set the then five-year-old Karen Willcox on a trail-blazing journey for women in the engineering and science sectors. A former Dux Scholar at St Cuthbert's College, she went on to complete her BEng at the University of Auckland followed in rapid succession by a masters and PhD at the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

Willcox was still only in her late 20s when she was appointed associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. Her thesis and current research is in collaboration with Boeing and NASA: Boeing's futuristic blended wing-body project - testing the viability of one giant wing replacing the traditional model of wings and fuselage - and a quiet aircraft technology project with NASA. This Kiwi is flying high.

Willcox heads her own research team and is noted primarily for her quiet, understated and consultative style of leadership. This is matched by an ability to be decisive, determined and forthright when required.

Her clear vision of what she wants to do helps her achieve in what is still a very male-dominated and hierarchical environment. Observers say she has the ability to create momentum towards a shared goal.

Although now based in the United States, she continues to maintain strong ties with Auckland University. New Zealand may have to work hard to hold on to Willcox. Logically, the big opportunities for her are likely to be offshore. Nevertheless, she's made it clear that she'd like to come home one day. The most obvious drawcard would be a top notch job at a New Zealand university.

Video Friday: Art of Living Youth Initiative

2008-05-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

One of the success stories of Art of Living's youth initiatives in Ivory Coast.

This video has some wise words--reminding me of the old saying that many hands make light work.

Markham Mayo'r Youth Task Force

2008-05-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

Who: Vino Jeyapalan
Age: 17
What: Markham Mayor's Youth Task Force Co-chair

Vino Jeyapalan has been involved in Markham Mayor's Youth Task Force since 8th grade. Now 17, he is the co-chair and is striving to make a difference in his community every day. Vino has made a decision that for the rest of his life he will be involved in a non profit that gives back to his community. This article can be found in the National Post.

It's a teen's life in Markham, student says

Task force gives youth a voice in their town

Shelly Sanders Greer, National Post Published: Saturday, May 10, 2008

Peter Redman, National PostStudent Vino Jeyapalan finds Markham inspiring.

When he was in Grade 8, Vino Jeyapalan decided to get a head start on his high school volunteer requirements. Mr. Jeyapalan joined the Markham Mayor's Youth Task Force, and quickly saw he could really make a difference in his community.

Now 17, Mr. Jeyapalan is co-chair of the task force and has made a commitment: For the rest of his life, he "will be working in a non-profit group that gives back to the community."

The Mayor's Youth Task Force was set up to give teens the chance to interact with town council, organize activities, and have some say about future plans for young people in Markham. Some of the events organized in the past include a youth anti-violence conference, publication of a newsletter, development of a Web site and social events.

This year's agenda involves a coffee house, battle of the bands, a poker tournament, skateboard skills and competition and the Amazing Mark-ham Race.

"We have 21 dedicated and diverse teens [on the Task Force]," says Mr. Jeyapalan. "We learn about the town, raise money for charity and think about what youth want.

"Council has a representative who works with us and is a huge support. Members of council come to our events and are a strong force driving youth toward change and making a difference."

One of the things Mr. Jeyapalan has learned is that "Markham is always innovative and ready to change. Council always wants to hear what citizens want. This year, they did a survey for residents and I found this very compelling. I love the fact that Mark-ham is like this."

In June, Mr. Jeyapalan will finish Grade 11 and he plans to go into sciences after high school. But no matter what he ends up doing, he says, "I will think about how I can give back to my community."

Seeds of Compassion Event in Seattle

2008-05-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Who: 10,000 youth at Seeds of Compassion Event in Seattle
Age: Youth
What: Seeds of Compassion Event in Seattle

This week's installment is the first ever article specifically written for BIY. Our friends at the Global Youth Leadership Institute (www.gyli.org) attended the Seeds of Compassion Event in Seattle and came back with this overview of the conference. GYLI's mission is "to nurture collaborative leadership for global communities and to assist schools in their missions to inspire socially responsible young people." If you get a chance, check it out.

----------------------

Seeds of Compassion Event in Seattle

Seattle, WA —

What do you get when put 10,000 youth and teachers in the same room with His Holiness the Dalai Lama? Answer: The Seeds of Compassion. This unique event has brought together educators, health care professionals, artists, and activists to address a wide range of issues that in cities and in countries have become urgent. Why would a teacher take a day off of school to bring students to this event? Answer: “I think that this is a chance for students to hear from someone from a very different cultural background, who has a very political agenda, but a very peaceful agenda,” said Ethan Delevan, a technology teacher at Seattle Country Day School. I asked his students why they were there and got a range of answers. Sixth grader Richard Trey said, “Because my school set it up.” But his friend Phillip Grube said, “I would have come anyway, because I know that the Dalai Lama is all about peace. I think that is a very powerful message.” Seattle Country Day, a K-8 independent school in suburban Seattle, has many chances for students to get off campus, such as their “Winterim” program in which students go skiing and participate in a number of other experiential activities.

It is not only independent schools that see the need for students to connect beyond the classroom. Michelle Gangi and David Melby, both 12th graders at Bellevue Public High School, are part of a 2nd level leadership class that is focused on community service and action in the community. They attended the Seeds of Compassion event with a professional journalist and were student bloggers for the event. Melby said the class offers “a chance for me to be involved, but also to get others involved, because we have to recruit other students to take part in the community service, so we affect our school and the community in both directions.” Gangi agreed, “The level one class was great to learn about leadership and discuss it, but this level two class is great because we get to put it into action.” Learn more about the seeds of compassion event and its new models for education, business and government at www.seedsofcompassion.org

Ultimate Sportsmanship

2008-05-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a video forwarded to me from Melanie Horn, Athletic Director at Westridge School for Girls:

"I encourage you to view this ESPN video clip at the bottom of the article below- http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/girls-sports-and-sportsmanship/
Or, go directly to YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jocw-oD2pgo

It's good to know that the "greater good" can still be found in sports.A special thank you to Sally Miller for forwarding the link :-)"

Sisters Taking on Global Issues

2008-05-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

Who: Clara Halpine & Anna Halpine
Age: 20 & 30
What: Clara won scholarship for an essay she wrote on poverty & Anna started World Youth Alliance

These two sisters interest for global issues when they were young has continued to grow and keeps growing stronger every day. This article can be found at Times Transcript.

Sisters make a difference

A young Salisbury woman was one of five students in North America to be awarded a $10,000 scholarship recently for an essay she wrote on poverty.
In the spring of 1999 Anna Halpine became the founder and president of World Youth Alliance.

Clare Halpine of Salisbury is the only Canadian to receive an international scholarship from S.E. VEN fund.

Mount Allison University third-year fine arts student Clare Halpine, 20, was the only Canadian amongst the winners.

But, perhaps Clare's winning shouldn't come as a surprise.

As it turns out, Halpine is surrounded by family members who have more than just a passing interest in world issues, whether it's poverty, AIDS or hunger.

Clare's older sister Anna, 30, herself a Mount A graduate, founded the World Youth Alliance (WYA) shortly after she graduated from university.

The organization, described on its website as a "global coalition of young people committed to promoting the dignity of the person and building solidarity among youth from developed and developing nations" now has offices in five regions in the world.

The organization trains young people to work at the regional and international levels to impact policy and culture relating to hunger, education, human cloning, AIDS and other global issues.

The Halpines' sister Mary is now the president of WYA in New York. Two of their brothers, John and David, helped build the first office of WYA in New York.

Youngest child Peter is a high school student still living with parents Stuart and Judy in Salisbury, and the whole family has visited Anna in her home base of New York a few times providing support for her work.

The girls' interest in global issues began when they were young and has continued to grow.

Clare, who has spent several summers working for her sister's organization, was recently encouraged to submit an essay to the Boston-based Social Equity Venture Fund (S.E.VEN), a virtual non-profit entity.

The entity is run by two entrepreneurs and its strategy is to "increase the rate of diffusion of enterprise-based solutions to poverty."

Clare's scholarship-winning essay addressed the statement, "Poverty can be regarded as a matter of exclusion from networks of productivity, and not simply as having an unequal portion of what is imagined to be a fixed number of economic goods. In that sense, ending worldwide poverty is serious business. Describe enterprise-based solutions to poverty in this context."

Clare took that idea and turned it into an essay that she never expected would be considered "valid" by those behind the S.E.VEN Fund.

"I really never imagined that I would ever win it based on my very little experience and knowledge of economic structures," she says. "I'm not an international relations student, I'm not an economics student, so I didn't think that my solution to end global poverty would be valid or one what would be taken seriously."

She says the scholarship, which was given directly to Mount Allison University to support her studies, has further encouraged her to study global issues.

She plans on working with WYA in New York again this year, and she is considering working at the group's African office at some point to learn more about AIDS in suffering countries.

Older sister Anna was only 21 when she founded the World Youth Alliance in 1999.

She had finished up her Bachelor of Music degree at Mount A and was living in New York continuing to study music.

She was invited to attend a United Nations conference addressing population and development that featured a small group of youth presenting ideas, but what Anna was hearing at the conference did not address issues she felt were key.

Instead of touching upon issues such as clean water, housing and sanitation that plagues many in developing countries, the issues being presented were abortion as a human right and sexual rights for children.

"So I went into that conference, and said these young people do not represent all of the world's youth they were claiming to speak on behalf of, and I offered some other proposals rooted in this idea of the dignity of the person."

Anna's proposals stalled the hearings for two hours and the impact of what she had to say was immediate.

Representatives from developing countries thanked her for speaking on their behalf and she was encouraged to have a greater presence at similar conferences.

Thus, the World Youth Alliance was born.

Anna says she has always been encouraged by her family to have strength in her convictions and to follow them.

This allowed her to make a stand in front of the UN conference.

"I think it's important for young people to be encouraged within their families and within their formative years to know what they believe and to have the courage to stand up for that," she says.

Having said that, she had no idea at the time what she was getting into.

"I always say thank goodness I didn't know what would be involved," she says with a laugh.

"Because nobody in their right mind would have taken this on. But looking back and looking at the growth and success and the liveliness that we have today in the Alliance, it's just kind of a miracle."

Social Entrepreneurship

2008-05-05T22:20:00.001-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about entrepreneurship lately. Today, I thought it would be interesting to read someone's take on social entrepreneurship. Here is a brief article from PBS describing just what social entrepreneurship is. I hope to be an entrepreneur who transitions into a social entrepreneur down the line.

What is Social Entrepreneurship?

"Social entrepreneurs identify resources where people only see problems. They view the villagers as the solution, not the passive beneficiary. They begin with the assumption of competence and unleash resources in the communities they're serving."

David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas

"Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry."

Bill Drayton, CEO, chair and founder of Ashoka

A social entrepreneur identifies and solves social problems on a large scale. Just as business entrepreneurs create and transform whole industries, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss in order to improve systems, invent and disseminate new approaches and advance sustainable solutions that create social value.

Unlike traditional business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs primarily seek to generate "social value" rather than profits. And unlike the majority of non-profit organizations, their work is targeted not only towards immediate, small-scale effects, but sweeping, long-term change.

The job of a social entrepreneur is to recognize when a part of society is stuck and to provide new ways to get it unstuck. He or she finds what is not working and solves the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution and persuading entire societies to take new leaps.

Identifying and solving large-scale social problems requires a committed person with a vision and determination to persist in the face of daunting odds. Ultimately, social entrepreneurs are driven to produce measurable impact by opening up new pathways for the marginalized and disadvantaged, and unlocking society's full potential to effect social change.

The past two decades have seen an explosion of entrepreneurship and a healthy competition in the social sector, which has discovered what the business sector learned from the railroad, the stock market and the digital revolution: Nothing is as powerful as a big new idea if it is in the hands of a first class entrepreneur.

This revolution is fundamentally changing the way society organizes itself and the way we approach social problems.

The stories featured in The New Heroes showcase the work of social entrepreneurs whose innovations are bringing electricity, water, medicine and other life-changing tools and resources to people in the developing world. Each story illustrates the results possible when an innovative idea is coupled with a strategy for action and an entrepreneur's indomitable will.

Video Friday: Food from the Hood

2008-05-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here is another gem from Nicole Lapin interviewing Young People Who Rock.

Nicole Lapin, of CNN, interviews two members of the Food from the Hood organization in her weekly interview series, Young People Who Rock. The series, Young People Who Rock, is focused on people under 30 -- from CEOs to entertainers to athletes to community and political leaders -- who are doing remarkable things.

2008 Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment Forum

2008-05-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

Who: Teenagers across New Zealand
Age: Teens
What: 2008 Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment Forum

44 Teenagers across New Zealand gather together to discuss environment and sustainability issues. It's truly a wonderful thing to see that there are young people dedicated to making a difference. You can find this article at Scoop.

Young people paving the way to sustainability
Thursday, 1 May 2008, 5:47 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Government

1 May 2008

Young people paving the way to sustainability

"It's inspiring to see young people dedicated and committed to making a contribution to protecting the environment," said Associate Environment Minister Nanaia Mahuta.

Nanaia Mahuta praised the effort of the 44 teenagers from across New Zealand who were part of the 2008 Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment Forum.

The forum, aimed at inspiring youth to take action against climate change in their communities, today ends with the presentation ceremony.

"These young people have had a chance to take part in community projects, discuss environment and sustainability issues and a chance to learn more about environmental management," said Nanaia Mahuta.

"It's important to recognise that youth have concerns and responsibilities in dealing with the environment, because they are living with the risks and hazards around them.

"By ensuring that young people are encouraged to learn more, and gain a stronger awareness of environmental issues, we will go a long way towards generating effective responses to the sustainability challenges.

The Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment Forum is hosted by the Minister for the Environment in partnership with the Sir Peter Black Trust, with delegates being nominated by regional councils for their outstanding interest in the environment.

Nanaia Mahuta said the Labour-led government believes young people can make a difference to the sustainable development of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

"Today's young people are tomorrow's leaders, and investing in them now is critical because young people today play a crucial role in changing how Kiwis think and feel about the environment, and how they will look after it in future," said Nanaia Mahuta.

Youth Rising Summits

2008-04-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

Who: Youth in San Diego, CA
Age: Elementary School-College
What: Youth Rising Summits

Dialogue is the key to change and the start of action. This is a pretty cool story about youth creating dialogue around California from Right To Learn.

Inspiring Youth Leaders at Successful San Diego Summit for Right To Learn and YouthNoise

March 29th, 2008: San Diego, CA. We had another successful and exciting summit in our series of Youth Rising events across the U.S. this year. Our California summits in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Fresno, L.A., and San Diego were important in order to bring students together to discuss real issues in each of the regions’ education systems. In the end, we planned, plotted and discussed how we wanted to take action. San Diego was no exception to this energy, excitement and commitment.

Great HIGHLIGHTS from the day included:

1. Mr. Random Abiladeze performed and facilitated a great discussion about his poetry and put on a great performance during lunch. Random does classroom visits all over the state and is always so interestingly intrigued by meaningful conversations…which leads him to discussions about education and Right to Learn. He also performed in Fresno and we’ll keep him in our sights for future things we do. Tons of talent and a truly warm and generous person who I deeply respect for his art.

2. TracenDANCE- a youth arts and dance non-profit also performed and wow-ed us with their artistic portrayals of movement as a means to discuss social issues- one about technology taking over our lives, one about loving who we are, and one about making your voice be heard. It was GREAT stuff.

3. Participants!!! We had 35 participants from 2 colleges and 12 different high schools. If I could have put together a group of leaders, I could not have done it better. These people that showed up just go to prove how advanced and full of passion young people are. For some reason, we just got the most excited and perfect individuals to attend this summit. They were all amazing, but here are some of my most memorable participants.

a. Miranda, one of our CitiJos and YouthNoise users attended! It was awesome to have that connection, and she was so gosh darn pumped and has started a Day of Action at Scripps Ranch High.

b. Rodrigo, another participant, picked up a RTL flyer the few days before the event, organized classroom visits that Thursday before, and on Friday had 300 young people at his school signed up to do a DAY OF ACTION at his school. This guy was filled with so much knowledge and excitement I could have sworn he’s been organizing for years. He just got it- media advocacy, partnering with parents and teachers, personalizing student stories, educating all his peers on the issue, organizing an event at the school board meeting next week, and extending the movement to be “A MOVEMENT OF ALL OF US, not just one persons idea.” I’m not even kidding, we’ll see him running something big in the future. Keep an eye out.

c. Katrina and Paul - both attend Preuss Charter School in S.D., a charter school in San Diego that buses students from across the region. The budget cuts are affecting their transportation services and may cut some of the bus routes out (not good). They are excited about starting a day of action and doing a “School tour” with their classes..visiting the bigger S.D. public schools to connect with students and learn more about what’s happening in other places. They both are outreach organizers for their school, and are articulate and smart as hell. Seriously. Amazing.

4. Volunteer San Diego volunteers and the SAVY Leaders. They are super amped about all this education stuff. They are dedicating their April Newsletter to the idea of advocating for education. Their staff offered to be adult allies for the students and were amazing positive forces. The leader that showed up from their group were motivated and ready to present this education advocacy at the Global Youth Service day as well!

5. Third Monday in October film screening. We had about 35 folks show up for the screening and talk with Vanessa Roth, the filmmaker. Vanessa is really excited to be working with us, and she just recently won an Oscar for her film “Freeheld” in the documentary short category. She is very dedicated and passionate about education and is working on a future project with Dave Eggers and the McSweenys publishing and 826 Valencia folks on a piece called “The Teachers Project.” They are going to be getting teachers to submit videos and stories about their experiences- trials, tribulations, ups/downs, what sucks what doesn’t, why they love to teach. Then they are going to select stories and create another film from it. She likes us!

Overall this was an amazing summit. We had 5 different groups working on a variety of types of actions for the Right To Learn Statewide Day of Action on APRIL 18, 2008. Sign up your school today and speak out against the budget cuts!

If you want to learn more or get involved in any more of these events Youth Noise hosts, check out www.youthnoise.com/summit or email Lauren at lauren@youthnoise.org .

Muslim American Youth Speak Out

2008-04-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

It's Video Friday, and today we have youth speaking out. Riz Khan talks to a panel of young American Muslims about the issues that most concern them. It is a longer video than usual, but well worth it in getting a feel for the perspective of American Muslim youth.

Creativity for the World of Youth

2008-04-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Who: 36 Youth's from Slovenia, Turkey, China and Vietnam
Age: Teens
What: "Creativity for the World of Youth".

This event gave the opportunity for these youth's to get creative and learn from each other. Reading this got me to thinking: in the near future, I hope more Intercultural Dialogue can include American Youths.

Youths join int'l project "Creativity for the World of Youth"
18:17' 22/04/2008 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Thirty six youths from Slovenia, Turkey, China and Vietnam had a chance to show their talent and solidarity in world youth spirit in a project called "Creativity for the World of Youth".

The project is a youth activity of youth of the European Union. The EU has designated 2008 as the year of Intercultural Dialogue. The project gave participants a chance to share experience and learn from each other. Creative and coordinated methods were applied for youths to learn skills and promote their activeness and ability.

Mr. Robert Krizanic from Slovenia, head of the project, said that he was very surprised at Vietnamese and Chinese youths' pleasure and enthusiasm toward the project. "They joined the project very quickly," he added. "I hope to see many other programs like this project for Asian and European youths to exchange and learn from each other."

A preparatory seminar was held in Shanghai, China in late February. The second phase of the project was held in Vietnam. Each country sent 9 youths to participate in the project.

Thirty six participants were divided into four small groups working in different activities such as painting, music, circus, puppetry and community games.

The groups visited and took part in youth activities in Hanoi, Quang Ninh and Hai Phong. They contributed ideas on developing street art, worked out activities for the project in Slovenia in August, and prepared for a project review in Izmit, Turkey which is expected to be held in late December.

Volken Muderrisoglu from Turkey and Wei Chao Bin from China said that members did not meet any obstacles even in such an international activity as all used English as a common language and they joined the project with a fervent spirit and enthusiasm and saw no big difference between Asia and Europe. "This is a great opportunity for us to know more about the cultures of other countries," they added.

This was also a good environment for youth and youth leaders to exchange knowledge in youth work. The project has introduced some new and effective tools to apply in youth work, including street arts and community painting.

Tran Anh Duc, 23 from Vietnam said: "I think programs like this are very practical. I have myself learned a lot from the project, and hope that Vietnamese youth will have more chances to integrate and learn more from international youths in the next steps of the project."

Although "Creativity for the World of Youth" is only in the second phase, it has greatly contributed to establishing long-term relationships and cooperation among international youth. It has created a foundation for regular and harmonious coordination in youth activities in each country.

Salem Youth of the Year

2008-04-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

Who: Ryan Frias
Age: 15
What: Salem Youth of the Year

Today's BIY story is a short article about Ryan Frias, who was recently named the Salem Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year.

Salem club's top youth already focused on giving back
By Amanda McGregor
Staff writer

—

SALEM — When Ryan Frias attended the Boys & Girls Club spring gala and auction last week, he didn't expect to be named Youth of the Year.

He was among four finalists who prepared acceptance speeches in advance, but, still, he didn't anticipate the win.

"I couldn't believe it," he said, recalling the moment his name was called. "My heart was pumping, and I had an adrenaline rush. I had good competition. I really didn't think I was going to win.

"It's indescribable."

Next, Ryan will compete in the regional Youth of the Year contest in May, which is followed by the nationals. The national winner is featured in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America magazine and serves as a representative for the national organization for a year. The state and national winners also receive college scholarships.

"It's an amazing opportunity for them," said AnnMarie Tanzella, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem. "We're always hearing about the tough challenges of kids, but we also want to share the successes."

Ryan, a freshman at Salem High School, started going to the Salem club when he was in sixth grade.

"I think that the Boys & Girls Club is the best thing in the world — it's done a lot for me," said Ryan, a lifelong Salem resident of the Point neighborhood. He attended elementary school at Nathaniel Bowditch School.

Ryan is captain of the club's traveling basketball team and works there as a junior staff member five afternoons a week, running tournaments and games in the gym and overseeing homework time, among other duties.

"(The club) made me more mature," said Ryan, 15. "They show me right from wrong, (and) I make better decisions. We do some great programs."

For the award, the staff targeted a group of about 10 children who are good role models and wrote essays about them and required the children to write essays about themselves.

Four finalists were selected and interviewed and wrote two essays, one about themselves and another about the club, according to Tanzella.

"We interview them each on their moral character, their life goals, education," Tanzella said, "and they needed to get a number of references."

The other finalists were Bonnibel Gonzalez, 15, Emiluis Perez, 16, and Lindsay Moreta, 15, who are all students at Salem High School, according to program director Jodi Sperling.

As for Ryan's goals?

"I want to be a child psychologist and open my own day care — and go to school for contracting so I can build the school," he said. "I want to combine (my interests). ... I want to open a place that's as good at the Boys & Girls Club."

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.

Video Friday: Young People Who Rock

2008-04-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Who: Lindsay Avner
Age: 25
What: Young People Who Rock

CNN anchor, Nicole Lapin interviews Linsday Avner, founder of Bright Pink in her weekly interview series, Young People Who Rock. The 23 year old volunteered to get a double mastectomy because virtually every woman in her life, her mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunts and cousins, suffered from or died of breast cancer.
Avner took control of her own destiny after a blood test revealed she had a genetic predisposition to the disease. She didn't want to live in fear. The series, Young People Who Rock, is focused on people under 30 -- from CEOs to entertainers to athletes to community and political leaders -- who are doing remarkable things.

Uniting to Shape the Future

2008-04-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

Who: Local Students in Howard County
Age: Students
What: Uniting to shape the future

Local students in Howard County at a summit sponsored by Voices of Change gather together to make their voices heard. The summit was focused on encouraging youth to make a difference and teaching them how to build a good community around them. This story can be found at The Baltimore Sun.

Local students unite to shape the future
Voices for Change focuses on positive change

By Lisa Silverman

Sun reporter

April 16, 2008

"Students already have voices," said Andrew Gavelek, student member of the Howard County Board of Education. "It's just a matter of using them."

About 160 students from 29 middle and high schools had their voices heard last week at the second Youth Summit at The Gathering Place in Clarksville. The summit was sponsored by Voices for Change, an organization of young people and adults that empowers students to create positive change in Howard County, according to its mission statement.

Brianna Bradford, a junior at Reservoir High School, has served as the student co-chair of Voices for Change, formerly known as the Youth Summit Planning Committee, for the past two years.

"It has taken a lot of effort to build a good foundation for this group," she said. "I'm really excited about the progress we've made and hope more students want to be involved in helping us advocate change."

Elise Mellinger, youth program manager for the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks and adult co-chair, was one of about 40 adults -- planning team members and school staff -- who attended the summit.

"It's great to have such a diverse representation today," Mellinger said. "I think it's very important that different types of students can learn how to advocate for change."

Last year's summit focused on brainstorming solutions to five issues that teens face. This year the summit centered on empowering youth to make a difference and to teach them about building a support system within the community.

Youth advocate Derek Peterson, the keynote speaker at the summit, urged the attendees to look within themselves and to strive for positive community change. He stressed that success means having multiple options. Peterson wanted the students to understand the importance of having at least five caring adults in their lives to serve as anchors.

"I wanted to teach the students to create their web of support that will lead to their innate resiliency," Peterson said after his address. "It's equally important that they help their peers build 'personal villages' as well."

"I learned that you need help taking care of yourself," said Sadie Rockefeller, an eighth-grader at Burleigh Manor Middle School. "You need support and can't do it on your own."

"Today was all about having your voice heard. I want to let people know that's a reality," said Marie Yuille, a sophomore at Oakland Mills High School.

The 60-person planning team spent about a year planning the summit, while working to make changes in the community that directly affect teens. As a result of their efforts, students in many high schools now have a regular study hall. Also, preliminary plans are being discussed for a youth commission in Howard County.

After attending last year's summit, Sami Hawkins realized her voice could finally be heard.

"I've always wanted to help improve the community, but I've never known how," said Hawkins, a sophomore at Centennial High School and a planning team member. "It's great that anyone can get involved and make a difference. Everyone's voice is needed."

Twelve community-based organizations sponsored the summit. Howard County Councilwomen Jen Terrasa and Mary Kay Sigaty attended as well.

"I hope kids learned how to use their voice today," Sigaty said.

For more information about Voices for Change, contact Elise Mellinger at emellinger@howardcountymd.gov or Meg Mekelburg at mmekelburg@thehorizonfoundation.org.

Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun

Into Darfur: A Young American's Journey

2008-04-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Who: Nick Anderson
Age: 18
What: Oxfam Humanitarian Youth Ambassador

Who says we can't play videos on Sunday?

Returning with first hand accounts on what it's like to live in Darfur, 18-year old Nick Anderson, Oxfam Humanitarian Youth Ambassador, says more Americans -- particularly young Americans -- must learn about the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Darfur and help support those who will be struggling to rebuild their lives and their homes.

To learn more, visit http://www.oxfamamerica.org/darfur

Young People Who Rock!

2008-04-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Nicole Lapin - Young People Who Rock - Haley Kilpatrick

CNN anchor, Nicole Lapin interviews the founder of Girl Talk, Haley Kilpatrick in her weekly interview series, Young People Who Rock. Girl talk is an organization that encourages candid converstaion, independence, and self worth. The series, Young People Who Rock, is focused on people under 30 -- from CEOs to entertainers to athletes to community and political leaders -- who are doing remarkable things.

Special People Helping Others

2008-04-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

Who: Zachary Peskin
Age: 16
What: Started Special People Helping Others

Zachary Peskin's older brother suffers from Autism. Zachary got motivated to start SpPHO when he noticed the greatest joy his brother got was helping others. The article is a short read and you can find it at http://ypwr.blogs.cnn.com/. Also make sure to check out the live interview with Zachary on CNN.com at 3:30 pm!!

Zachary Peskin
Posted: 10:21 AM ET

Zachary Peskin, right, and his brother Adam discuss the Special Business Partners Program with a retailer.

It's Autism Awareness Month, but for people who have autism or live with someone who does, they are aware every day. Zachary Peskin, 16, decided not only to be aware but also to be active.

Zachary's older brother, Adam, is autistic. After years of watching others serve Adam, Zachary noticed that his brother's greatest joy came from helping others. It was the little things: from setting the table to setting up events at the local community center. Last year, it hit Zachary — if his brother could give back a little, then the opportunity for the developmentally disabled community to give back collectively was great.

Last year, Zachary started Special People Helping Others, or SpPHO. Group members attend SpPHO-sponsored activities and community events to sell 3-for-1 Bracelets. It's called the 3-for-1 because for every bracelet sold, three causes can be helped: SpPHO, Meals on Wheels and Doctors Without Borders, an international medical and humanitarian aid organization. SpPHO is a group that helps people such as Zachary's brother by letting them help others.

What would you ask Zachary? Submit your questions as comments below or send in a question on video to iReport.com. Then look for your questions during the CNN.com Live interview Friday, April 11, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The World We Want

2008-04-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

Who: Youth around the world
Age: 15-21
What: UNICEF Voices of Youth: The World We Want

UNICEF- In May 2002, the countries of the world met in New York to decide what should be done to improve the lives of children. At this landmark meeting – the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children (SSC) – the nations of the world committed themselves to a series of goals to improve the situation of children and young people. The new global agenda – a document called ‘A World Fit for Children’ - describes the promises made by governments to improve the lives of children from 2002-2012. In December 2007, world leaders will meet once again in New York to review progress made towards creating a better world for children. This month’s issue of “What Young People Are Saying” is dedicated to how young people view their world and how “fit” they think it really is (December 2007).

THE WORLD WE WANT
OVERVIEW

With the Special Session +5 Review taking place this month, young people are discussing the current state of the world as they see it, and the progress that has been achieved in the five years since the Special Session of 2002. Young people are aware that since the Special Session, millions of young lives have been saved: Global child deaths have reached a record low, falling to 9.7 million, down from almost 13 million in 1990; more children than ever are in school and more children are actively involved in decisions concerning their lives. However, they are also aware that too many children still die of preventable diseases, go hungry, are denied their right to an education or are forced into early marriage or hazardous work. Too many children are devastated by armed conflict, the sale and trafficking of children, or other forms of abuse and violence. Too many children have been orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. And too many of them will never experience a childhood.

Despite feeling that not enough has been done, VOY members are quick to point out that they have not lost hope. They believe progress for children and the achievement of the goals of the Special Session - a stepping stone towards realizing the Millennium Development Goals - are still possible. They stress that if the world is going to be truly fit for children, it is going to require action not just by governments and by organizations, but by families, communities and individuals, including young people themselves.

SOUTH AFRICA
“Personally, I feel that this world has let us down, but we can't sit around and complain all day. Children all over the world are dying… and the worst thing is that help is either always too late or it simply never arrives. My wish is that young people all over the world will pull together and achieve these goals.”
Female, 18

So, on the fifth anniversary of the SSC, how far have we come? What problems still exist? What can be done to build a world fit for children? Read on to find out what young people are saying.

THE MAIN PRIORITIES

Voices of Youth members recognize that all children have fundamental rights: the right to health and nutrition, to an education, to clean water and adequate sanitation, to gender equality and to freedom from exploitation and abuse. Moreover, children have a right to a name and a nationality - as well as to express themselves freely and to participate in decisions that affect them. They are also aware of the extent to which poverty, HIV/AIDS, conflict and discrimination negatively impact the lives of children and adolescents. In fact, young people single out poverty as the root cause of many problems. They point out that poverty prevents children from attaining basic rights such as the right to a healthy life and the right to an education.

OMAN
“I think there are many problems facing children and I think the three most important ones are poverty, getting a proper education, and living in a safe house with their families or people who truly care about them.” Female, 15

PHILIPPINES
“Poverty is one of the greatest problems that the world is facing today. Everywhere you look there's always a sign of it. Just look down the side streets and there you'll find many men, women, and children wearing tattered clothes, braving the scorching heat of the day and the freezing cold of the night. They have no where to go to, no one to run to.” Female, 17

Young people see education as a basic human right, vital to personal and societal development and well being. They believe that all children should be entitled to quality, free education, but sadly acknowledge that it is still a distant dream for millions of children all over the world, especially for girls, for those in rural areas, those of poorer families and those living in conflict zones.

NIGERIA
“Education is a major problem in my country...On the streets you see small children selling all kind of things … in order to provide a little income for their family; because of this, these children miss school. Sometimes I wonder where most of our future leaders will come from because most of the children are on the streets doing odd jobs instead of going to school.” Female, 15

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
“How can a young child concentrate on lessons when he is starving?” Female, 15

Many members point out that higher education is inaccessible to many young people around the world because of the high cost.

IRAQ
“Young people cannot continue their education for many reasons, one of the most important is war and conflict. But in addition, young people cannot continue their higher education because of the high cost. I know many friends who have had to drop out of university because they cannot afford it. There should be a group effort to enable young people to continue their education.”Male

VOY members consider lack of protection as one of the major obstacles that needs to be overcome if the world is to be made a better place. They wonder how the education goals of “A World Fit for Children” can be achieved, for example, if children still have to work to survive.

SIERRA LEONE
“I do believe education is a basic human right. If all the rich and poor can have quality education then we can say we would be able to meet the MDGs. But I have a very strong reservation about meeting the time frame. Poor people are more concerned with getting daily bread, so they prefer to send their kids to work than to school. If they send their kids to school they are sure to die of hunger.” Male, > 21

They believe that challenges persist in many areas, including the use of children in armed conflict, harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, trafficking and sexual exploitation.

JORDAN
“Personally, I think it's shameful that in the 21st century, with all the so-called advancement and promises made by the international community, children continue to suffer because of war. They are forced to fight; they are killed, tortured and maimed; they are imprisoned, uprooted and orphaned. And then we have the audacity to call ourselves "human" beings. Worst of all, the situation just seems to get worse and worse.” Female, 19

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
“Nothing is being done by anyone to stop human trafficking and sexual exploitation. …I've heard some really sad stories about it. VERY SAD, but big money is involved in this business, that's why no one is interested in stopping it.” Female, > 21

UNITED KINGDOM
“Child prostitution is a growing problem worldwide. …. And indications are that in every part of the world the number of children being harmed in this way is growing. Child prostitutes are found in virtually every country. There is an apparent increasing demand globally; part of it fed by the fear of AIDS and the naive belief that younger sex partners are free of disease.” Male, > 21

SAUDI ARABIA
“Don’t you think that subjecting a girl to female genital mutilation is one of the biggest human rights violations, a great crime? Girls as young as seven have bled to death as a result of this procedure. It is not an excuse that it is a tradition. Traditions as harmful as this should be abolished. We have to make people understand that it is okay to abandon such traditions.” Female

VOY members are acutely aware that HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that continues to devastate families, communities and even whole continents. They believe that the rate of infection with HIV is still very high, and point out that preventing new HIV infections is key to controlling the epidemic.

KENYA
“Today’s youth are the AIDS generation; they have never known a world without HIV. Millions have died, yet the epidemic remains largely invisible to adults and even to young people themselves.” Male, 20

They point out that many countries other than those in Africa have a high incidence of HIV/AIDS and are concerned that they these countries are being overlooked.

CANADA
“…Every time we talk about AIDS, the first thing to come up is Africa. Yes! It is a VERY huge problem in African and 3rd world nations…In reality AIDS is affecting ALL nations, even nations with advanced medical facilities like Canada and the United States…” Female, 21

While some VOY members indicate that there is a lack of information in their countries, others are worried that an overload of information has had a negative impact on efforts to combat the disease.

AUSTRALIA
“It is a tough situation when people become tired of hearing about such an important and fatal issue such as HIV/AIDS. From what I have gathered, they are sick of hearing about it, thus no longer caring.” Male, 17

PROGRESS MADE

Despite expressing their grave concern for the present state of the world’s children, most young people acknowledge that some progress has been achieved in realizing the commitments set out in “A World Fit for Children”.

They see that the first duty toward children is to ensure that they survive. Many young people believe that significant efforts have been made to promote healthy lives.

JORDAN
“I am proud of what my country has done to make life better for children. It has provided universal health insurance coverage for all children under six and it provides childhood vaccines free of charge.” Male, 17

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
“From the time a child is still in the mother's womb, until the person is old, there is free health care. The government is even willing to send patients overseas if no such treatment is available locally.” Male, 19
VOY members stress that all children should have access to and complete primary education that is free, compulsory and of good quality. They point out some interventions taken by their governments to help improve access and retention.

MALAYSIA
“In some schools in Malaysia there is a Milk Scheme and Pocket Money Programme giving money and milk to impoverished children.” Male

MEXICO
“The government of my country has begun giving more scholarships for children so that they can continue their studies instead of going to work.” Female, 17

BOTSWANA
”With regard to education our government fought for, and actually achieved, 100% access to education for BOTH females and males... It is worth noting that the Ministry of Education, in partnership with a UNICEF-initiated Female-Male Education Movement, is currently campaigning for rights-based and gender-sensitive schools. Male, 20

The right of all children to be protected against all forms of violence, discrimination, exploitation and abuse is something young people feel very strongly about. They believe that protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse is an integral component of protecting their rights to survival, growth and development. While the majority believes that gross violations are still being committed, some point out that some effort is being made to better protect children.

LESOTHO
“A world fit for children is a world fit for everyone! My country has endeavored to make this real by introducing free primary education. It has also invited children to have a say in the reformation of the Children's Protection Act of 1980.” Male 20

MEXICO
“I think that even if things are being done to ensure a safe environment for children, the Mexican government still has a lot to do to achieve this goal.” Female, 17

As for combating HIV/AIDS, young people acknowledge that progress has been made, but believe there is room for improvement. In addition, they seem baffled that despite all efforts aimed at reducing HIV infection, children and their families continue to suffer from the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS as it continues to ravage large parts of the world today.

MALAWI
“I come from Malawi, where HIV/AIDS is a major problem….We have a lot of foreign aid and the government is pouring money into the country to fight this pandemic and there are scores of campaigns targeted at just everyone imaginable, particularly at grassroots level so that people get the message. But this is proving fruitless, with the numbers of people catching the virus still increasing.” Male

They also mention some strategies implemented by their governments to reduce the spread of the disease.

MALAYSIA
“The government has started a programme where most medical centers will offer free unused/new syringes for drug addicts to prevent the sharing of syringes, which could lead to AIDS.” Male

WAYS FORWARD
There is a palpable sense of urgency when young people debate what needs to be done to make up for lost time, and march towards the goals intended to make the world a better place for ALL children. Though undoubtedly aware of the serious plight of children in poorer parts of the world, young people also point out that it is not only children in third world countries that are being denied their rights.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
“I live in a developed country, so my country never does much. They figure they don't need to. It’s pretty sad.” Female
Despite young people’s confidence in themselves and their ability to make change, participants recognize the key role of parents, governments and other decision makers in fulfilling the promises made to children. They also call on adults to involve young people in matters that concern them.

GHANA
“Most of the times all our leaders do about children’s issues is to make promises and read us long speeches. It is high time they are called to act ... To achieve the Millennium Development Goals, all of us will have to work hand in hand irrespective of who is an adult and who is a child. The children have to be consulted and accepted as partners on issues concerning them. The child cannot wait.” Female, 18

MEXICO
“We, young people, are generally seen as a burden because the government has to invest in us without seeing immediate payback; however, with a little help from adults, that changes. When adults or the government … give us opportunity to do so, we do make a change and are actually able to help adults ensure a safe environment for children.” Female, 17

VOY members offer simple but practical suggestions to improve the situation for children and young people. For example, they point out that for poorer countries, debt repayment is a major obstacle to investment in basic services, especially those targeting children. They believe that debt relief should be more generous.

NEW ZEALAND
“One of the main sources of poverty in my opinion is debt. To pay back the money, many governments are making cuts on social spending like education. Developed countries need to forgive the debt before change can start being made.” Female, 18

They believe that richest countries should increase their assistance to the poorest countries.

SINGAPORE
“I strongly feel that less fortunate countries should be aided by developed countries and other international organizations such as the UN. Otherwise, the poor will become poorer and the rich will become richer.” Female, 17
NORWAY
“There are enough resources in this world to supply all, but the wealth is so unfairly distributed: some have nothing while others have way too much! If we all stand together we CAN make a difference, we just need to make the governments in the industrialized countries realize that they have to help make this world a better place.” Female, 19
Young people believe that corporate initiatives can play an important role in alleviating poverty and helping achieve a better world for children.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
“Many businesses claim they are helping countries secure clean water for their people, or provide affordable electricity… businesses have the resources and power in various countries to make change possible.” Male, > 21
Young people believe that it is the government’s responsibility first and foremost to provide education to its citizens. They suggest that they need to invest more in education to ensure Access for All. They point out that it would be much wiser if money were spent on education instead of weapons of destruction

INDIA
“Education is the best way to eradicate the problems of poverty, unemployment, and ethnic conflicts. It shouldn’t be a dream for education to be free. If a country can spend huge amounts of money on missiles........why not divert that money for the betterment of the people?” Female, 20
Young people stress that no form of violence against children is justifiable. They point out effective ways to prevent and respond to violence, abuse and exploitation, such as including programmes to support parenting skills; programmes to improve school environment; increasing accountability for perpetrators, and for young people themselves to campaign against all forms of violence and abuse.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
“For instance, we could start writing letters to government officials. Start showing advertisements on television. We could start handing out flyers. The more people that know about it, the more government officials will be alert about it.” Female, > 21
Although there has been significant progress in fighting HIV/AIDS, VOY members are aware that children and youth are still missing out. They share many ideas on combating HIV/AIDS and mitigating the effects of the disease on children, including improving awareness of this global pandemic, encouraging community participation, increasing access to treatment and reducing the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.

TUNISIA
“We would have less of a problem if we had sex education in class, if we had easy access to contraception and especially condoms, if the government gave free AIDS tests, if society did not shun those with HIV, if people were actually aware of what exactly AIDS is.” Female
Young people believe that they themselves are the greatest asset towards making the world a better place. Every little bit counts!

IRAQ
“We can be the change we want to see in the world ...and a thousand mile journey begins with one step.” Female, 20

CANADA
“It is totally up to us to make these things come true. Let’s make the Millennium Development Goals happen! Let’s build a school in a poor country; dig a well; sponsor a child; demonstrate peace, tolerance and love; be an example for others.” Female, 19

CONCLUSION
Five years after the Special Session on Children, Most VOY members believe there is still a chance that the promises made to children at the historic event of 2002 can still be fulfilled; however, they are adamant that the only way to move forward is for all stakeholders to join together, including young people themselves, in what they believe will surely be a struggle to reach the finish line. It is clear from the discussion boards that young people around the world are committed, now more than ever, to achieving the objectives that will make their world what they want it to be. To them, failure to achieve the goals of “A World Fit for Children” is simply not an option. They have a crystal clear image of the world that they want and they are out to get it!

GHANA
“A world fit for children is a world where every child has enough good food to eat every single day; a world where children are supported to achieve their ambitions no matter what they are; a world where children have never heard the sound of a gun or have ever seen one; a world where every single child is filled with joy and plenty of happiness; and most important of it all, a world where children can go to school every single day.” Male
For more information contact:
Maria Cristina Gallegos
Voices of Youth Coordinator Adolescent Development & Participation Unit (ADAP), Programme Division
voy@unicef.org

Video Friday: 2007 National Youth Award Winners

2008-04-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

Watch out for these kids.

The youth award video highlighting the 2007 National Youth Award Winners.

Directed by Alberto Ferreras
Produced by Bria Bergman

Youth Leadership Program

2008-04-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

Who: Alex Allen and Sarah Zimmer
Age: Sophmore and Junior in High School
What: They are volunteers in a youth leadership program and are making a difference in there community!

Alex and Sarah are two youths striving to make a difference in their community through the Youth Leadership Program. They were chosen to be featured in this article out of 10 participants. This is an easy read. I hope you all make the effort to read it and see some of the positive things these two youth's are doing. This article can be found at The Times Herald.

Hats off to two young volunteers making a difference
Pair from Wings of the Harbor recognized for contributions

To wrap up this month's focus on youth programs and feature "Volunteer Recognition" in April, we asked Tina Essmaker from the Wings of the Harbor to highlight two extraordinary youths.

Here's what she wrote:

As program coordinator for the United Way Youth Collaborative, I was asked to select two of the 10 youth participants from the Youth Leadership Program to be featured in this article. This was a very difficult task as all the youth participants have been wonderful to work with, and they each bring something special to the group.
I would like to recognize the strengths and talents of each individual and if I had the space, I would feature them all. I would also like to thank the United Way, which has made this program possible and continues to support our endeavors to encourage leadership in St. Clair County youth.

The first youth participant I would like to recognize is Alex Allen.

Alex is a sophomore at Port Huron Northern High School who enjoys cross-country skiing and was referred to the Youth Leadership Program from one of the collaborative agencies, The Boy Scouts of America. Alex has been involved with Boy Scouts for six years and is an Eagle Scout. He is full of insight and working with him has been a pleasure.

I know there are many positive things in store for his future. After completing the required training sessions, Alex began volunteering at the YMCA, also a member of the collaborative body. He assists with the YMCA's after-school program at Thomas A. Edison Elementary School and his duties include helping elementary students with their homework and helping with activities and games.

Alex reports that his placement has been working out well and has been enjoyable.

The second youth participant I would like to highlight is Sarah Zimmer, a junior at St. Clair High School.

Sarah is an active member of the student council and enjoys teaching catechism, participating in youth group, writing for the "Model T Times," and restoring a Model T vehicle with her dad.

In the future, she plans to attend Grand Valley State University and major in genetic counseling.

Sarah was referred to the Youth Leadership Program from the Girl Scouts, also a collaborative agency. She has been a member of the organization for 12 years and is a Senior Girl Scout.

Sarah has been an amazing individual to work with. She is intelligent, charismatic and able to adapt to various situations without compromising who she is as an individual.

After completing the required training sessions, Sarah began volunteering at the Harbor. Her primary task will be assisting with the Street Outreach Program, working with at-risk youth.

Sarah said the Youth Leadership Program is a good program that allows people to view different settings and gain an understanding of what is out there, and she enjoys giving back.

Hats off to Alex and Sara. You truly "Do Good" for our community!

Gap Year Volunteers

2008-03-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Who: Gap Year Volunteers
Age: Typically 18-26
What: Volunteer internationally in their gap years

The "gap year" is not as often exploited in the United States as it is in the UK and Canada in particular. There, many students take a year either between high school and college or after completing their undergraduate degree to explore the world outside organized educational boundaries. This story from the National Post is about students using their gap years to volunteer internationally.

Friday, March 28, 2008
Presented by 'You will face who you are': A guide to doing good for gap year
Sandy Fife, National Post Published: Friday, March 28, 2008
Courtesy Jacqueline Wong

The winner of a local election was throwing a victory party for residents of the baranguay in AlangAlang, in the central Philippines. He converted the basketball court to an outdoor banquet hall with music, tables and chairs, a stage for speeches and a feast that saw a whole cow spit-roasted over a fire. Jacqueline Wong, a 25-year-old volunteer health worker from Toronto, watched her neighbours party and felt she'd arrived in the Philippines. "It really opened my eyes to the sense of community," she says.

Wong is one of thousands of Canadians between 18 and 34 who take time out to volunteer, work or travel in other countries each year, under international youth programs made possible by federal agreements with about 40 other governments. Gap-year travel - or a trip before, during or just after college or university - is a time-honoured tradition. These days, many kids are choosing to combine it with paid or unpaid jobs.

Their reasons include the desire to do good, to offset travel expenses and to immerse themselves in a particular culture. "The best way to learn about a place is to spend some time living there, and working or volunteering provides that opportunity," says Jeff Minthorn, editor of Verge, a Canadian magazine about travel "with a purpose."

"Working or volunteering abroad also looks great on a résumé or university application," Minthorn adds. "It's one thing to say, ‘I spent the last year backpacking around Australia and Southeast Asia,' quite another to say, ‘While I was there, I worked on a farm in Western Australia and volunteered in Thailand teaching English to schoolchildren.' "

Other rewards are less tangible. "Clients come back from a work or volunteer experience changed," says Karen Moore, Ottawa-based manager of sales and development for Travel Cuts' international programs. "They are more confident, know what they want out of life and realize there is another world where people struggle just to survive. It makes them realize how lucky they are, and more tolerant of other cultures."

Nevertheless, the decision to work or volunteer abroad deserves careful consideration. A good start is to check out the opportunities offered by well-established programs such as Travel Cuts' Work Abroad and Volunteer Abroad. After that, a self-assessment is in order. Factors such as your age, finances, skills and previous travel experience may influence your choice of when and where you go and what you do there, program organizers point out.

"Travelling is not always cool. It is also difficult," says Jonathan Paquet, president and co-founder of Horizon Cosmopolite, a Montreal agency that helps students find and prepare for international volunteer placements. "You will face who you are. You may cry because you miss your mom. You will ask yourself why you decided to go to that village where there are cockroaches in the bathroom."

Here are the stories of three Canadians who braved those hazards and came back from their travels eager to do it all over again:

Alex James, Toronto

James was 18 and finished high school when she went to Guyana as a Youth Challenge International (YCI) volunteer in early 2006. She and 12 other volunteers spent eight weeks in three communities, leading workshops on health and social issues such as HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, substance abuse and women's empowerment.

She had no international travel experience and the trip was the longest that she'd been away from home. But the decision to go was easy. "Post-secondary education didn't excite me. Travel did," she says. "I was fascinated and intrigued and even a little giddy at the idea of volunteering abroad."

YCI, like many volunteer organizations with a focus on developing countries, requires participants to raise the funds for their project and airfare. Scraping together the approximately $5,000 James needed took a lot of work. She hosted an evening of live music and theatre, with a raffle and bake sale, and collaborated with other Toronto-area volunteers on another raffle, for a pair of Lord of the Rings tickets.

YCI provided pre-departure training about culture, communicating and the project, as well as orientation for the volunteers in Guyana. Its Web site warns applicants they may have to sleep on the ground or use outdoor bathrooms in their host countries. But James still missed the comforts of home. "I lived in very close quarters with my group members, slept in a hammock, bathed and washed my clothes in a river, and used stinky, dirty outhouses, which were covered in cockroaches at night," she says.

And she was often homesick. "The first night was especially hard. I was exhausted, already covered in

mosquito bites, and felt very sad - almost wished I could turn around and go home."

But she enjoyed connecting with people in the communities in which she worked, especially playing with the kids, who taught her that the hokey-pokey's appeal cuts across all cultures.

The residents of each community thanked the volunteers by holding a bonfire for them the night before they left. Everybody serenaded each other and had a good time.

James's trip gave her knowledge of another culture and the understanding that there are many other ways of life, not to mention an enduring gratitude for basics like running water.

"More than anything, I came home with itchy feet, wanting to get out there and see more of the world," she says.

Last fall, after a semester of college and a stint at a full-time job, she did just that, travelling to Uganda as a volunteer for Kirabo Canada.

"Travel is such a rewarding and enriching experience," she says. "It's a whole other kind of learning. The opportunity to go to school will always be there; most of the awesome youth programs out there have age restrictions."

Chris Roosenboom, Bathurst, N.B.

Roosenboom, a Guelph, Ont., native who's training in New Brunswick for a career as a geophysicist, had finished his undergrad degree in his hometown and worked for a year when wanderlust struck. He decided to travel instead of starting a PhD program in the fall of 2006. He left in October, on a SWAP UK working holiday that spanned 11 months and five mostly poorly paid service-industry jobs.

"I wanted to learn about who I was and how other cultures do things differently. I also wanted to improve my social skills and get more confidence," he says. He chose Edinburgh as his destination because he wanted to see the Highlands, drink Scotch and learn about the history - and because a friend told him the city is a great party place.

Roosenboom made friends in advance through a SWAP chat room, and arranged to meet them in Edinburgh. SWAP (which is run by Travel Cuts in Canada) helped him arrange visas and accommodation for the first few days. His biggest pre-departure worries were saving enough money for the trip, waiting for his visa to arrive and packing light.

His "Wow, I'm here" moment came when he stepped off the double-decker airport bus on Waverley Bridge, "with big buses going every which way, strange-looking taxis darting about and, down the valley, Edinburgh Castle with the sun shining behind it," he says. "Was quite the day."

Roosenboom used the U.K. as a home base, travelling to other countries as the opportunity arose. He didn't have to cope with a new language or culture. But he had to adapt to being alone and develop self-reliance. Building up his tolerance for alcohol was also a challenge. "It's all one big party," he says.

Well, not quite. His jobs ran from boring and sometimes unpleasant stints cleaning and working the reception desk at a hostel, where he lived for free, to customer service at a baked-potato shop, where he had fun, and waiter/bartender at an Oxfordshire pub, where he felt like a slave. But he landed on his feet at the Jam House back in Edinburgh, where he became headwaiter and employee of the year, winning a trip for two to Birmingham, with dinner at a five-star restaurant and a night of clubbing.

Roosenboom came home "a completely different person," more comfortable with himself, more sociable and more confident with the opposite sex. His advice to other students considering a working holiday abroad: "Take the plunge! It is freaking scary but once you get there, it is excellent. And most important,

don't plan - just go with it. The random experiences are the best, and the ones you learn most from."

Jacqueline Wong, Toronto

Wong, a pharmacy grad, wanted a chance to observe health care in other parts of the world. She spotted a Horizon Cosmopolite ad for a volunteer job at a clinic in rural AlangAlang on a university career Web site in 2006. Knowing many residents of the Philippines speak English and that she'd be close to other Asian countries she wanted to visit, she jumped at the opportunity.

Wong was a seasoned traveller, having toured Europe, explored Spain on her own and studied in Italy for a month on a university exchange. Still, she was nervous about travel and accommodation. Horizon Cosmopolite liaised with the organization Volunteer for the Visayans, in Tacloban, which arranged her placement and home stay. Wong couldn't attend the pre-trip seminar. But a Lonely Planet guide introduced her to the culture and everyday life in the Philippines.

Her home stay in Tacloban was comfortable and welcoming - her hosts gave her their bedroom - and her days settled into a routine: up at 7 for an hour-long jeepney ride to the clinic where she worked as a receptionist for three weeks, tutoring local kids or relaxing at a coffee shop in downtown Tacloban after work and dinner (typically meat, stir-friend veggies and rice) at her home stay. A volunteer for the Visayans arranged excursions to its projects, local tourist attractions and beaches.

Typhoon season limited travel. But Wong and a friend took a weekend trip to a neighbouring island, where they saw rice paddies and swam in hot springs and under waterfalls. Their driver ran out of gas and they purchased two litres from a roadside stand, which was poured into glass Coke bottles - "the perfect quirky ending to an unusual day," Wong says.

Her biggest challenge was "just letting go of what I knew from living in Canada," she says. "Things are done differently in Tacloban, and I needed

to adjust." Her worst time came after eating balut, a fertilized duck egg that's a local delicacy. It didn't agree, and she had to stay home for a day.

But she enjoyed learning about a different culture, making new friends, picking up a bit of Waray-Waray and seeing how health care is delivered in the Philippines.

"Keep an open mind," she advises would-be international volunteers. "Once you find a program offered by a reliable organization, don't hesitate to register. And once you arrive, enjoy what the country has to offer and don't dwell on preconceptions."

MORE: Weigh the risks and rewards

Working and volunteering abroad are popular gap-year options. Horizon Cosmopolite, a Montreal-based volunteer-placement agency founded in 1997, has seen participation grow to 350 a year from 35 in 1999.

Kids who do it may develop a new sense of direction, greater appreciation for family, freedom and our privileged lifestyle and an understanding of what it's like to be the outsider in an unfamiliar culture. They also get valuable international work experience: 82% of respondents to a July, 2007, survey of employers by the University of Toronto's career centre see travel abroad as an asset on a résumé.

On the downside, volunteering abroad is expensive. Most organizations require participants to raise funds, and the service-industry and ESL teaching jobs travelling students often take tend to be poorly paid and are sometimes exploitive. Loneliness and homesickness can loom large - particularly in places with limited phone and Internet service - and scams, illness, accidents and trouble with foreign authorities are real risks.

The Martlet, the University of Victoria's newspaper, warned readers last fall that Japan's biggest private

language school had ceased paying some of its employees, but was still hiring Canadian students to teach in its schools. In November, British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons was imprisoned in Sudan for allowing her students there to name a teddy bear after the Easter Bunny. And in March of last year, British teen Georgia French died in a bus crash in the Andes while on a gap-year trip with friends; her parents, having learned that 500 people die each year in similar accidents in Peru, launched GapAid, a Web site meant to alert other kids and parents to scams and country-specific hazards.

Young, inexperienced travellers and those who strike out on their own are most at risk, regardless of their destinations. Jeff Minthorn, editor of Verge magazine, recommends that kids seek out reputable organizations that specialize in arranging international working and volunteering holidays. These NGOs (non-government organizations) help with everything from cultural orientation, travel arrangements and job and volunteer placements to ongoing support in the destination country. Moreover, they will take into account the traveller's goals, expectations and experience.

For example, Travel Cuts would steer an 18-year-old fresh out of high school to a work placement in the United Kingdom rather than, say, South Africa, says Karen Moore, manager of sales and development for the company's international programs. "It's not too far away and not too much of a culture shock. Our partners there help students find work and accommodation with roommates, and even organize social activities."

Students who hook up with well-run organizations tend to get more out their experiences, because they're well prepared and have realistic expectations, says Jonathan Paquet, of Horizon Cosmopolite.

Beyond that, it helps to cultivate personal qualities such as a positive attitude, sense of humour and flexibility. "We all deal differently in a cross-cultural context," Paquet says. "Some people go on a project and only have complaints; another person comes back from the same project only with positive comments."

Sandy Fife, Weekend Post

Video Friday: The Tigers Club Project

2008-03-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

Another Changemakers finalist, "The Tigers Club Project - Using Soccer to Reach Street Children in Uganda." A lot of our stories are about youth specifically making a difference. This story is about helping youth have the chance to make a difference. The Ara Sports Philanthropy Fund motto rings true here: "For excellence to be possible, there must first be opportunity."

Check out more videos at Changemakers.

Youth Action Group Holds "Kick Butts Day"

2008-03-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

Who: Students at Raymond High School
Age: Teens
What: Youth Action Group

This Wednesday's article is about volunteer Mary Duff and the RCFY Youth Action Group. Mary has been a volunteer for 19 years; however, the most important part this article is what the youth at Raymond High School are doing to make a difference. They took a survey of how many kids smoke cigarettes in the school and after seeing the results held "Kick Butts Day." This article can be found at Seacoast Online.

Kicking butts: Students honored for making a difference
Mary Duff and Raymond Coalition for Youth receive Spirit of the Seacoast Award
By Dan Lorenz
dlorenz@seacoastonline.com
March 21, 2008 6:00 AM

Whether organizing an anti-smoking campaign in their school, establishing a Toys for Tots program, or raising money to help a fellow student pay for hospital bills, the positive volunteer efforts of the Raymond Coalition for Youth resonate throughout their community.

In recognition of their outstanding service, volunteer Mary Duff and the RCFY Youth Action Group are receiving the Spirit of the Seacoast Award, given out quarterly to groups and citizens in the Seacoast community.

The award, which has been a tradition since 2001, is sponsored by the United Way of the Greater Seacoast Volunteer Action Center, the Federal Savings Bank in Dover, and the Portsmouth Herald.

Duff, a Raymond resident for 19 years, says that receiving the award was an unexpected honor.

"I have to say that I am very surprised this happened," Duff said. "I didn't think I had done enough. I never expected this."

Although Duff may doubt her contributions, friends and co-workers have sent in many letters of support to the award committee highlighting her impact in the community.

Described by friends as a person who doesn't need any recognition for her efforts, Duff has been actively involved in the Raymond school system for many years. As a NAMI-certified master youth suicide prevention trainer, she has worked closely with students and adults alike, teaching them effective suicide crisis management techniques.

Fluent in Japanese, Duff has also worked in classrooms, sharing with students her love of Japanese culture. As a child, Duff's father was stationed several times at army bases in Okinawa. From this experience, she was able to learn what she modestly calls "Baby Japanese."

"I watched a lot of samurai shows, and I picked up pieces of the Japanese language," Duff said.

Duff first became involved with the RCFY Youth Action Group when her daughter became a member. Since then, she has been recognized as a reliable volunteer, an active member, and an overall positive force in the group.

Tammy Reardon, a co-worker and RCFY youth worker, says that Duff's support is invaluable.

"She is a constant support for the youth as well as the adults in our community," Reardon said. "She has shown her dedication by always being there and getting involved."

Since its formation two years ago, the Raymond Coalition for Youth Action has already made a large impact in the community. Disgusted and concerned by the problem of smoking in the school bathrooms, the group of 20 dedicated students decided to form a plan to stop it.

"They came up with the idea to pass around a survey to find out how many kids were smoking," Duff said. "They were shocked to find that it was only a handful that were doing it. The rest of the students didn't want it."

Using the school's support as momentum, the group decided to establish a day dedicated to eliminating the problem.

On March 28, 2007, Raymond High School held "Kick Butts Day." More than 300 students and faculty in the school wore anti-smoking shirts designed by the Youth Action Group, and members gave out stickers, pins, and pamphlets describing the dangers of smoking. At the end of the day, smoking in the bathroom was essentially eliminated.

"The kids were proud of what they were able to accomplish," Duff said. "They also saw that with proper planning they could achieve a peaceful ending to something that is really nasty."

Kirk Beitler, principal of Raymond High School, says that he is proud of what the students have been able to do for their school.

"They have absolutely had a positive impact," Beitler said. "The group is a positive outlet for kids. I certainly whole-heartedly support their efforts toward the school, and the community at large."

Beitler adds that the students have recently attended a workshop concerning alcohol awareness, and are currently involved in teaching students the dangers of alcohol consumption.

In addition to these volunteer efforts, the RCFY Youth Action Group has sponsored dances to help pay for a classmate's medical bills, cleaned up their school's grounds for a graduation ceremony, and held a Safety Belt Challenge event.

The group also focuses on keeping their community clean. Last spring, members held a town clean-up day, in which they picked up garbage around the town common, the middle and high schools, and the cemetery.

Robin Albert, director of the UWGS Volunteer Action Center, says that Duff and the youth coalition were chosen because of their significant impact on the community.

"This is the work of a woman who is obviously so dedicated to the organization," Albert said. "It takes a lot of work, and the kids in the group certainly took action. They really seemed to make an impression on the award committee.

"They did exactly what their name says. They really put their money where there mouth is."

Duff and the RCFY Youth Action Group will receive their award at a special reception on April 28, to be held at the Great Bay Discovery Center in Greenland.

The group will be given a $500 award, which is to be given to the charity of the receiver's choice.

"I plan on putting the money right back into the coalition," Duff said. "It will help us do much more for the organization."

In the future, Duff plans to help establish a youth center in Raymond.

"I hope to make a place where kids can go do their homework, or just hang out and enjoy each other's company," Duff said. "It would be so wonderful to find a place where they could do that."

BE A VOLUNTEER

United Way of the Greater Seacoast offers a searchable database on its Web site where users can find local volunteer opportunities with a few clicks of the mouse.

Log on to uwgs.org, and click "search volunteer opportunities" at the bottom of the page. From there, enter your zip code or keywords to find an opportunity near you.

A Reader's Story

2008-03-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

Who: Tara Suri
Age: Junior in high school
What: Founded HOPE, Aandolan

BIY received an email a few days ago about a young girl making changes happen wherever she goes. We have decided to post the email with links to all the stories about Tara. Keep the stories coming!

Dear Believe in Youth,

I would like to tell you the story of Tara Suri, a junior at Edgemont High School in New York. She started out small, but has worked her way up in creating a true youth movement. Shocked by poverty she saw in India, when Tara was thirteen, she founded HOPE (Helping Orphans Pursue Education), an organization that works to provide all children with the opportunity to reach their full potential. Since then, she has been able to raise over $20,000 for Balagurukulam, an orphanage in India (most of the children at this orphanage were found abandoned in the garbage dump) and for St. Bartholomew's, an orphanage in Sudan. The funds have improved quality of education at both orphanages and also built a dormitory at Balagurukulam, where the children previously had to sleep under a thatched roof that would often be blown away by storms. Tara spent one of her summers volunteering at the orphanage in India.

HOPE has now expanded into a larger initiative: Aandolan. Translated from Hindi as a movement for change, Aandolan both implements social-change initiatives and provides youth with the opportunity to become changemakers. Aandolan launched the Turn Your World Around social-change portal, www.turnyourworldaround.org, which works to connect youth to grassroots causes from around the world and turn passion into action. On the site, users can search for causes that interest them, and then use the Turn-Your-World program, which provides all the necessary tools and live support, to start taking action. They can also get involved in some of Aandolan's current initiatives, like HOPE and [Connect a Kid], a project that works to involve kids in fundraising to promote technology in developing countries.

Tara has received various honors for her work, including the CosmoGirl! of the Year Award, Nestle Very Best in Youth, Bentley Tomorrow25, and We Are Family Foundation Global Teen Leader. She sees youth as a movement that can find solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems, and she wants to empower that movement. Please consider sharing Tara's story so that she may spread her message of youth activism!

Video Friday: Sports4Kids

2008-03-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

Sports4Kids was the runner up to Grassroot Soccer in the Changemakers competition. Sports4Kids places a full-time coach at low-income schools to harness the power of play to engage children in physical activity and social development.

Just Eliminate Lies

2008-03-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

Who: Melissa Nelson
Age: Teen
What: Volunteering with Just Eliminate Lies

This Wednesday we bring to you an article about a teen participating in Just Eliminate Lies (JEL) who hopes to eliminate lies about tobacco use. This is a wonderful article and an awesome youth lead organization. In addition to this article, I would like to add a thought that our youth today has more knowledge then prior young generations had about how bad tobacoo really is--yet I still see young kids smoking everyday. I know it's not something that will be stopped completely; however, if you stop for yourself, that is making a difference. This article is from The Sioux City Journal.

Student hopes to eliminate lies about tobacco use
By Joanne Fox, Journal staff writer

Melissa Nelson held a jar with contents that would make even the strongest stomach wretch -- a jar of tar, representing what would be filtered by a smoker for a year.

Nelson, who has been a member of JEL (Just Eliminate Lies) since the seventh grade, is now the president for the State of Iowa. Her involvement came about from the invitation of a classmate.

"The mom of one of my friends was involved in the Community Partnership and invited me to attend a meeting," Nelson said of the Woodbury County program funded by the State of Iowa. "JEL was part of the presentation."

It was an eye-opening moment for the young woman. Nelson has now been involved for almost five years.

"I wanted to do more than just athletics and choir," she said of her choice of this extra-curricular activity. "I thought my involvement with JEL would really be making a difference."

JEL is a youth-led, anti-tobacco group. It is operated under the auspices of the Iowa Department of Public Health -- Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control. The organization involves thousands of Iowa youth dedicated to giving teens the true, "unfiltered" facts about smoking, fighting against the tobacco companies campaign, and changing people's attitudes.

The organization has chapters associated with schools that have over 7,000 members, who focus their no-smoking message on younger teens who may take up smoking. But first, they are educated in the dangers and pitfalls of tobacco use, Nelson said.

"I was very surprised to learn how addictive nicotine was," she said of those early meetings she attended. "The other thing that surprised me was how much money tobacco companies make in profits."

Another shock was the advertising dollars spent to entice people to smoke -- especially young people, Nelson said.

"The more I learned the more determined I was to encourage family and friends and even people I didn't know to not start smoking or to quit," she said.

Nelson continued her association with JEL through her high school years. During her sophomore year at Bishop Heelan, she attended her first JEL summit, a three-day rally that provides participants with information and encouragement to continue their fight against smoking.

"There were 300 teens at that summit and that's when I really decided to throw myself into this," Nelson said. "I went ahead and applied to be on the executive council."

The 35 members of the JEL executive council are the driving force behind gathering information, scheduling events and orchestrating meetings. Nelson made it through the application process and was chosen to join the group during her junior year.

Nelson was elected secretary her senior year and now, as a freshman at the University of Iowa, she serves as the president. Among the pluses of being associated with JEL are the summits -- which Nelson has attended at Ames, Grinnell and Indianola -- and other travel, such as Minneapolis, Oklahoma City and New York.

Mother Mickey Nelson said her daughter tends to be humble about her involvement with JEL.

"Her trip to New York? She missed her high school prom," Mickey Nelson said. "She said it wasn't a big deal, but I think for most girls, prom is a big deal. I'm so proud of her commitment to JEL."

Nelson visited an Altria share-holders' meeting, the parent company of Philip Morris International, as part of a protest.

"Some of those in attendance were pretty verbal at the end of the meeting asking questions," she said. "We were all asked to leave, but I think we got our point across."

This year, JEL members advocated for legislation that supports local control of smoke-free ordinances in the State of Iowa. Each year, JEL Youth Advocacy Day in Des Moines gives young Iowans a chance to speak to their legislators about current tobacco control issues and bills. Approximately 250 JEL members, including Nelson, participated in this year's advocacy day on Feb. 13 on the west steps of the Capitol.

As a college student, Nelson, 18, continues working with JEL. She will remain on the executive council for another year as the past president.

"I want to stay with it because I see the effect we have on people," she said. "And then, you never know who you might help to quit or never start smoking."

VITA

Name: Melissa Nelson

Hometown: Sioux City

Education: 2007 graduate of Bishop Heelan High School; presently a freshman at the University of Iowa, majoring in communication studies

Professional: worked for Younkers in Sioux City; continues to work at Younkers in Iowa City

Personal: daughter of Randy and Mickey Nelson; three older brothers, Eric, Jim and Andy

How she's making a difference: by volunteering with Just Eliminate Lies

Want to know more?
Contact your high school or visit the JEL Web site at www.jeliowa.org.

Making Voices Heard

2008-03-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Who: Fatuma Roba
Age: 21
What: Making Voices Heard

This week we are featuring a Digital Diary from UNICEF about a young woman from Kenya who is making voices heard. Fatuma is a founding member of a girls' centre in her community and has been moderating her own discussion group at the centre. Knowledge is power.

Listen to the audio here

Fatuma’s Digital Diary: Daily life for girls in the slums of Kenya
By Blue Chevigny

NEW YORK, USA, 24 October 2007 – Fatuma Roba, 21, lives in Kibera, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Deeply concerned about the rights of girls and women, she is a founding member of the Binti Pamoja group – a girls’ centre in her community.

During the last year she has been moderating her own discussion group at the centre, where she and other girls can talk about their concerns openly, safely and freely.

Over the past few months Fatuma has also started recording interviews for the Digital Diaries project of Voices of Youth (UNICEF’s online community for young people) and UNICEF Radio. She received radio equipment and training at UNICEF headquarters in March, while she was in New York as a Kenyan delegate to the 51st Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Fatuma's objective

In the first instalment of her Digital Diary, Fatuma asks girls aged 13 through 21 in her community – mostly members of her girls’ centre – how they feel about their lives in Kibera. Along with her recordings, she has sent her own written description of her objectives for this Digital Diary:

“I’m interested in how young people feel about living in Kibera and what they fear most about being a young girl here,” Fatuma writes. “Most of the responses demonstrate that they feel good because [the cost of living] in Kibera is cheap and one can afford to live here even if they are jobless.

“Some argued that life is scary because of increasing insecurity and the dirty environment and the increased joblessness of youth. There are also incidents of rape, which most of the girls mentioned as a fear. This has been an issue because there are no rules and the laws must be amended by the government to punish those guilty of such acts.”

Access to unique viewpoints

Fatuma’s diary is an eye-opening cross-section of opinions and reflections by young women in Kibera, one of the largest slum districts in the world. Her intimate interviews allow listeners access to a point of view that they don’t often hear.

The girls who tell their stories have the unique experience of being in a group where they can express themselves and learn things like homework skills, self-defence methods and strategies for achieving their dreams. These are girls with hopes for the future and a sense that they can get what they need, despite their difficult beginnings in an impoverished and dangerous community.

“I am very proud living in Kibera,” says one young woman named Maureen, her voice forceful and full of energy. “I know that no one but me can make my life better. It’s up to me to create the change I want in my life and in the lives of others.”

Video Friday: Lusaka Sunrise

2008-03-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

We are happy to announce Video Friday: every Friday we will have an inspiring video about youth making a difference around the world. This week's video is Lusaka Sunrise from Grassroot Soccer. It is about 7 minutes long and well worth it. If you have any interest in getting involved with Grassroot Soccer, send me a message and I can put you in touch.

Helping Others in Guyana

2008-03-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

Who: Sara Walde
Age: 19
What: Helping Others in Guyana

Sara Walde is taking a trip to Guyana to lend a helping hand in dealing with issues of AIDS and Gender Equality. She is going there to figure out what she wants to do and decide how she is going to make her mark on the world and how she will make the world a better place. This article is from The Cochrane Times.

CHS grad looks to make a difference
19-year-old U of C student looks to community for support as she prepares for Guyana trip

by Reagen Sulewski
Wednesday March 12, 2008

A young Cochrane resident is appealing to the community for help to allow her to help others around the world.

Sara Walde, a 19-year-old business student at the University of Calgary and a Cochrane High graduate, was recently accepted into the Youth Challenge International program, an organization that sends teams of Canadian youth to help with hands-on community projects in developing countries.

Walde discovered the program when she was looking for options to study abroad, and decided that this would be a good way to expand her horizons.

"I was thinking about North America and the world we live in. I'm kind of in a bubble and not exposed to much. It's a pretty cushy world, I want to expand to something different," she said.

Although the details are still to be worked out, her project will take place this June in Guyana, a country on the north coast of South America, and will deal with the issues of AIDS and gender equality.

Although she said the AIDS aspect of the trip seems "a bit abstract" to her, as it's not something she's been affected by, the gender equality issue is something that hits closer to home.

"That'll be the hardest thing for me to swallow, seeing the inequality and trying to do something about it," she said.

Walde expects there to be a lot of culture shock when she gets there.

"I know I'm just going to be absolutely shocked, so I'm trying not to have any expectations," she said.

One of the big attractions about the program for her was the team aspect, and that fact that she will be working with youth, for youth.

"You're going with people your own age, with people with similar goals," she said.

Projects are open to people aged 18 to 30 and run for five to 10 weeks. Her group will be made up of approximately 30 people.

Walde is hoping to raise $6,000 for the trip, to cover the program cost of $3,600, as well as airfare, medical expenses and first aid training.

In addition to canvassing local businesses for donations, she is also organizing a benefit concert, which will be held at Frank Willis Memorial Hall on March 22 at 7 p.m.

Three bands are scheduled for the show -- Calgary's Matt Blais Connection, and two bands from Cochrane, Walking Backward and Sing City Lights.

Matt Blais Connection was a recent second place finisher in Calgary's Battle of the Bands. Tickets will cost $10 each and proceeds will go towards funding her trip.

Donations can also be made at www.yci.org.

Walde said that beyond helping people, the goal of her trip is learn more about herself and decide what she wants to do with her life.

"I'm trying to figure out how to make my mark on the world and make the world a better place, as cheesy as that sounds," she said.

Youth Service-Learning Awards

2008-03-10T01:06:00.000-07:00

Who: Global Youth
Age: Youth
What: State Farm Youth Service-Learning Awards

It is never too early to lead. Enjoy this Sunday's article from Servernet.

Being A Good Neighbor Pays Off For Young People, Teachers And Service-Learning Practitioners
By Christina Wessell

YSA, State Farm® Give Thousands in Cash Grants for Service-Learning Campaigns for Global Youth Service Day

WASHINGTON– (March 7, 2008) –Youth Service America announces 100 State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Award winners chosen by Youth Service America and funded by State Farm Companies Foundation. The awardees receive a $1,000 cash grant to lead a service-learning campaign for Global Youth Service Day on April 25, 26 and 27, 2008.

“The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant winners demonstrate unprecedented global caring and initiative, showing the world that young people can be leaders today, not in some distant tomorrow,” says Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of Youth Service America. “By combining the dynamics of leadership, service and learning, the grant recipients build some of the most valuable skills— academic achievement and workforce readiness.”

"State Farm is proud to partner with Youth Service America. As our partnership has grown so has our respect for YSA’s work. Through its strong leadership, young people around the world are experiencing fundamental necessities of democracy - the ability to serve and give back to their community - while gaining academic and workplace readiness skills that are valued by State Farm. We share with YSA the common belief that our young people are not tomorrow's leaders, they are leaders today,” says Edward B. Rust Jr., Chairman and CEO, State Farm.

A sampling of the causes that youth are undertaking in their campaigns:

1. OUT OF THE BOX - Students of Delton-Kellogg High School (DKHS) in Michigan are working together to serve their community, particularly the low-income residents, with needed car maintenance and free oil changes. As estimated 300+ students will be involved in this service-learning project to provide 50 free oil changes to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it. More experienced students from the auto-shop class will pair up with first year students, under the supervision of the instructor to change oil, replace oil filters, top-off fluids and make referrals for any additional car maintenance. National Honor Society students will help screen potential recipients and record the necessary information so appointments can be made. Other student volunteers will be on hand to help entertain younger kids and keep them away from dangerous tools and chemicals. Business class students will help in contacting local area businesses to solicit donated items such as car-care merchandise and food-related items that can be given to customers. Journalism students will be involved in pre-event and post-event article writing and contact newspapers.

2. HOMELESSNESS - Youth from bay area schools in Valrico, Florida will be gathering for their 3rd year to bring awareness to the plight of homeless youth. Around 50 youth are estimated to participate in the 24-hour homeless simulation where they will sleep in cardboard boxes and also assemble backpacks and food packs to be donated for youth who are homeless. Participating youth learn about issues surrounding homelessness and use banners and posters to share that information with passing cars and visitors to their "cardboard" shelters. This event is organized by all youth and is open to all youth.

3. CULTURAL DIVERSITY - To help limit racial tensions and teach cultural diversity at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, a student who works at the Refugee Center, wants to use her facility to introduce members of other cultural backgrounds in an educational and non-stereotypical manner. The event will take the shape of an ongoing exchange program where UIUC students and refugees share their culture through art, personal narratives and special readings. On April 24-25 students will set up displays in the atrium of the Foreign Languages Building to educate passing students of the varying cultures thriving in their own community.

4. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT - Addressing the need for stronger mathematic skills for Michigan elementary school students, an Outdoor Classroom Project has been designed at Lincoln Elementary School. Students in the Bright Futures After School Service-Learning Club will build this outdoor classroom and facilitate activities at each station, which includes stations for meteorology, flower beds, composting and bird feeders. Youth will lead lessons on comparing weather data using tools such as a thermometer and rain gauge, planting flowers and seedlings, measuring soil and water and caring for bird life.

5. DISABILITIES - For students at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Watertown, Massachusetts, there was once a grim view of their options beyond secondary education. However, over time their school has sponsored a wall of fame for notable individuals in the deaf community, and in this GYSD celebration, students will combine the elementary, middle and high schools in a unique homage to four new leaders taking their place on the wall. The celebration will begin with student research and culminate in a multimedia presentation to educate friends and family and the community at large about those who of esteemed accomplishment who were/are deaf or hard of hearing.

The profiles of the State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Projects are at: http://ysa.org/AwardsGrants/ListsofGrantees/StateFarmGrantees2008/tabid/276/Default.aspx.

Global Youth Service Day is the largest youth service event in the world. GYSD is a year-round effort to expand the impact of the youth service movement. The initiative launches new service organizations, policy changes, and sustainable service programs to create a culture of engaged youth. State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor. More than 125 national partners and 70 lead agencies throughout the United States organize campaigns. Overseas, national lead agencies in more than 100 countries participate. Planning Tool Kits, Service-Learning Curriculum Guides, classroom posters, grants, and more are available for youth, parents, teachers and organizations. For the U.S. Map of Service Projects for GYSD 2008: www.YSA.org/map.

# # #

About Youth Service America: Youth Service America seeks to improve communities by increasing the number and diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in important roles. Founded in 1986, YSA is an international nonprofit resource center that partners with thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries to expand the impact of the youth service movement with families, communities, schools, corporations, and governments. For more information: www.YSA.org.

About State Farm: State Farm® insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 67,000 employees serve over 77 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

Media Contact:
Christina Wessell Batcheler
Youth Service America
202-296-2992 x 128
cbatcheler at ysa.org

Youth Mentoring

2008-03-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

Who: Middle School & High School Students
Age: 12-18
What: Youth Mentoring Program

This Wednesday's article is story about youth mentoring going on in Truckee, CA. 13 high school mentors get paired up with 13 middle school students in an after school program where they will discuss all sorts of social issues impacting today’s youth.

Youth mentoring program kicks off in Truckee
Big Brothers, Sisters supports local youth

By Jenny Goldsmith
Sierra Sun,
March 3, 2008

Truckee residents are committed to helping those in need, but it’s not just the grown-ups in the community doing the volunteering.

“I want to make a difference in a child’s life, and I want to give back to the community,” said Shelby Springer, a junior at Tahoe Truckee High School who joined Big Brothers Big Sisters, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that recently set up shop in Truckee.

One aspect of the new program matches Tahoe-Truckee youth with high school mentors for a supportive, one-on-one relationship, said Peggy Martin, case manager in the Truckee office.

On Thursday, 13 middle school students were paired up with 13 high school mentors to kick off the after school program where peers will discuss drug and alcohol prevention, friendship, self-esteem and other social issues impacting today’s youth.

“Kids end up doing better in school, they become more confident and more well-rounded,” Martin said. “It’s education you just don’t get from a regular classroom.”
Truckee High sophomore Carley O’Connell said she wishes there would have been a similar program to help her when she was in middle school.

“Middle school was difficult,” O’Connell said. “Having this program would have been helpful to give me someone to talk to; it would have been good to have an older role model to look up to.”

Eighth-grader Oscar Nunez of Alder Creek Middle School was paired with his mentor Thursday, and said he is looking forward to developing the new friendship.
“I like having someone to talk to, and having a friend to be there,” Nunez said. “I think people here can release more, and it puts them in a better mood at school because they’re not so stressed out.”

Students Enhancing Local Businesses

2008-03-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

Who: Greg Smith
Age: 21
What: Started SELB (Students Enhancing Local Businesses)

This article is a few months old from The Montana Standard. But, it just came to my attention and is a great story. Many hands make light work.

Young people doing good things
By Erin Nicholes, of The Montana Standard - 09/26/2007

ANACONDA — Barb Killoy’s gift shop needed a new paint job, but like most small-business owners she didn’t have time to tackle the project.

So when she heard volunteer group Students Enhancing Local Businesses would do the job for free if she bought supplies, she leapt at the chance.

“To get that many workers to get it done in such a fast manner was awesome,” Killoy said, her store Mother Lode Gifts & Mailing now freshly painted.

Hers was among several buildings the 50-member group — SELB, for short — spruced up this summer on donated labor.

On Tuesday, SELB got a pat on the back from Montana’s highest official. The group and founder Greg Smith each received 2007 Governor’s Awards on Civic Enhancement at a banquet in Billings.

“I was really excited for the group because they worked hard,” See GOOD THINGS, Page A7 Smith said.

A 2005 graduate from Anaconda High School, Smith created SELB because the town needed a facelift and he needed a project.

“I am going to medical school, so I knew I had to do some sort of volunteer work,” said Smith, a human biology major at the University of Montana-Missoula.

He noticed Philipsburg’s economy had gained momentum after volunteers painted downtown buildings. Around the same time, college students from Idaho fixed up his grandparents’ lumber yard.

“I put together the P-burg idea with the (Idaho) idea and came up with the student group,” Smith said.

He recruited volunteers from high school government classes, using statistics, the personal rewards of public service and a survey to rally them.

“I got 100 to agree it was an excellent idea,” he said. “I had 90 sign up, and 45 actually worked.” All summer, the volunteers scraped trim, painted siding and pulled weeds throughout town. They stained facilities at local softball fields, cleaned up Commercial Avenue facades and painted businesses.

And the word spread.

Tonya Mavrinac, owner of Stylin’ Tease salon, heard about SELB from a volunteer during a hair appointment.

“She was telling me how they were up doing the Mother Lode,” she said, adding her new salon needed fresh paint. “I called (Smith) and they were here within two days.” Each youth volunteered four hours a week, and while most had summer jobs they were inspired by Smith’s idea that a little paint can do a lot for a town’s image, member Derick Budd said.

“I really agreed with him that we needed to get something done to make this town look a little better,” he said.

The group has benefited youth as well, said Killoy, whose granddaughter is among volunteers.

“Giving them the pride in helping in those sorts of things is great,” she said.

SELB is finished for the season, largely because its volunteers are back in school, but plans to resume in June, with possible expansion to Deer Lodge and Dillon.

“In a heartbeat, I’d recommend them,” Mavrinac said.

— Erin Nicholes may be reached at erin.nicholes@mtstandard.com.

Heading to Kenya this July to make the world a better place

2008-02-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

Who: Lacombe High School Students
Age: 16-18
What: Heading to Kenya this July to make the world a better place

This Wednesday Believe In Youth presents to you a story of 20 high school students who are striving to make a difference in the world. They are taking a humanitarian trip to Africa to help people in Kenya who are suffering. This is something they didn't have to do, but wanted to do. We need more and more young people like that in the world to continue making a positive impact on our society. This article is from the Lancombe Globe.

Lacombe high school students plan humanitarian trip
A group of about 20 students from Ecole Lacombe Composite High School are heading to Kenya this July to help make the world a better place.

By Lisa Joy
Globe Editor
Tuesday February 26, 2008

A group of about 20 students from Ecole Lacombe Composite High School are heading to Kenya this July to help make the world a better place.

"This trip is about realizing that the world is bigger than ourselves and our desire is to create an opportunity for students to make a real difference in someone's life that is in need," said Jake Schellenberg, who heads the group Youth Unlimited.

"We believe that helping people is the main ingredient in making the world a better place in Kenya, as well as our world right here in Lacombe," he added. "As we make an impact on others we are impacted, so it's a win-win for everyone."

The students have planned this trip since last year and are not deterred by the post-election violence that has ravaged Kenya since December.

Grade 11 student Jordan Graber says he's not afraid to go and is looking forward to filling a need in Kenya.

"I've always wanted to go (to Africa) since I was little, to just help them out because they are suffering.

"There's so much we can do. The world is so big and you don't get these opportunities often, so any difference you can make is good."

Schellenberg–who just returned from a few weeks in Kenya with Eric Rajah, founder of Lacombe-based humanitarian group A Better World–says he felt safe while in Kenya. He went to assess the situation there before taking Lacombe students this July for disaster relief.

"I did not feel like I was in danger at any time," he said. "We took the proper precautions and made sure that we measured all the risks.

"We are definitely concerned about taking students to Kenya and we are really happy that we still have five months before we leave to understand what is happening," he added.

He said what struck him the most was the amount of need he saw in Kenya.

"I saw need from a school that desperately needs help, from kids in orphanages that have been taken in, and from the refugee camp we worked in while we were there."

Eight leaders will accompany the group of youth, ranging in age from 16 to 18.

Besides humanitarian work, Schellenberg says the students will have an opportunity to experience African culture.

"They will be organizing activities with kids, teaching classes, getting their hands dirty with some work projects, soaking in and learning about African culture and taking some time for safari."

A fundraiser is planned on March 8, at 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church to help fund the students' trip. The evening will feature local entertainment.
Information will also be presented about Project Africa, a joint venture between A Better World and Youth Unlimited.

Event inspires hope, change: Student-created Black History Extravaganza

2008-02-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

Who: UCLA Students/RA’s
Age: College
What: Created Black History Extravaganza at UCLA

Making a difference through education has been one theme at BIY. As the old saying goes, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.” This Sunday’s story is about a group who created an event at UCLA to celebrate Black History Month and empower their peers to educate themselves. The story comes from The Daily Bruin.

Event inspires hope, change: Student-created Black History Extravaganza receives attention from many groups on campus
Rotem Ben-Shachar, Bruin reporter
Published: Friday, February 22, 2008

For D’Juan Farmer, the Black History Extravaganza on Thursday was all about empowerment.

The event, hosted by the Office of Residential Life, the African Student Union and Youth to College, focused on black history from the 16th century to the present.

Farmer, a second-year Afro-American studies student, said it was significant for him that people from all over campus were supporting Black History Month.

The event, the largest of its kind ever held on campus, featured music, poetry, dance and skits, along with stories about slavery and black voting rights, a poem discussing the meaning of the color black and the Billie Holiday song “Summertime.”

“Since blacks are such an extreme minority on campus, it’s amazing to have such a big event highlighting black culture,” Farmer said. “It makes me feel good to be a part of this campus.”

A celebratory spirit lasted throughout the event.

As performers spoke and sang, audience members frequently stood up and clapped, sang along to songs and offered encouragement to the performers.

“Having this event is a huge step forward for the black community on campus,” said Ella Franklin, a second-year sociology student. “Last year on my floor, no one even acknowledged Black History Month.”

Farmer, a resident assistant on the Hill, began planning the event with other RAs last December since there had been no such event on campus.

“We hope people got a better understanding of how black history has influenced America,” he said.

James Birks, a third-year psychology student and another RA who helped organize the event, said he believed the event succeeded in increasing black students’ visibility on campus.

“I think it’s important that we were able to show our faces on campus and explore issues that African Americans face,” he said.

Franklin said the event made her aware of how little people know about black history.

A member of the African Arts Ensemble, Franklin participated in a short play called “Tuskegee.”

Tuskegee, a city in Alabama, was the site of an experiment on the effects of syphilis conducted by the American Medical Association, Franklin said. When penicillin was found to cure syphilis, doctors denied the black community treatment to see how the disease spread.

“Tuskegee” focused on the effect the experiment had on females, as they and their children were infected.

For Franklin, the play hit close to home; her mother’s parents refused to let her mother visit the desegregated hospitals in Dallas because of the Tuskegee experiment.

“What’s amazing is no one knows that this happened,” Franklin said. “My little sister didn’t even know.”

Birks said he hopes that audience members realize that issues such as civil rights still affect people today.

“I hope people see that we are still struggling – that it is important to take action and make change,” he said.

2 Harvard students warm with ice tour Donate 70 tickets to mothers, youths

2008-02-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

Who: Tyler Bosmeny and Roger Lee
Age: College Students
What: Founders of PaperG Donated 70 tickets to a performance of “High School Musical: The Ice Tour” by Disney

This Wednesday’s article is about two Harvard Students who launched a website on February 1st connecting advertisers with local websites. One of their customers, Disney, was impressed by PaperG and gave them 70 free tickets. They could have sold them, but instead they donated them to a Shelter that houses homeless single mother and children. This article is brought to you by Boston.com and you can also check out Tyler and Rogers company at www.paperg.com.

2 Harvard students warm with ice tour Donate 70 tickets to mothers, youths
By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent | February 19, 2008

Two Harvard students made the day of a lot of single mothers and their children with a surprise donation of 70 tickets to a performance yesterday of “High School Musical: The Ice Tour.”

Tyler Bosmeny and Roger Lee are two founders of PaperG, a website launched Feb. 1 to connect advertisers with local websites. One of the site’s first customers was Disney, which was looking to promote its traveling ice show.

Disney officials, impressed by PaperG, gave Bosmeny and Lee 70 tickets for prime seats - a $2,000 value.

“We realized we didn’t know what to do with them, and it would be a lot of work to sell them,” said Bosmeny, a junior studying applied mathematics. “We thought it was a pretty easy opportunity to help out someone who wouldn’t normally get a chance to go.”

The two searched online and found Casa Nueva Vida, a Jamaica Plain shelter that houses homeless single mothers and children. Casa Nueva Vida, Spanish for “house of new life,” gives women and their families a long-term place to live. Nineteen families live in the shelter.

“This is a house,” said Doris Gaitan, the shelter’s director of educational programs. “[At] regular shelters you feel like everyone is in a different place. What we try to encourage is that we are a family.”

Women in the house cook and clean together, and take computer and English as a Second Language classes.

Most of the children had seen “High School Musical” on television, and shortly before yesterday’s performance were excited to see the ice show.

“I think it’s going to be cool,” said Jonathan Lopez, 11, who has lived in the shelter with his mother, brother, and two sisters since April. “It’s gonna be skating on ice, and I never saw ‘High School Musical’ like that before.”

“These kids can’t always do this kind of stuff, because of money,” Gaitan said. “I think anything we can provide for the families is great.”

Bosmeny and Lee also arranged for a bus to take the mothers and their children to the TD BankNorth Garden, where the show was held.

Educating People About Tourette Syndrom (TS)

2008-02-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

Who: Jennifer Zwilling
Age: 17
What: 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Award Winner

This week’s Believe In Youth article is about a young woman that used a challenge she was presented with to change the lives of many people with similar stories. She has educated thousands to make a difference across the country. Story courtesy of the Syosset/Jericho Tribune.

ONLINE EDITION FRIDAY February 15, 2008
Jericho Student Named
Top Youth Volunteer

Jennifer Zwilling, 17, of Brookville and Kara Houppert, 12, of Webster were named New York’s top two youth volunteers for 2008 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 13th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Zwilling was nominated by Jericho High School and Kara was nominated by Willink Middle School in Webster. As State Honorees, each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees - one middle level and one high school youth - from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2008 at that time.

Zwilling, a senior at Jericho High School, founded and implemented the Youth Ambassador Training program of the National Tourette Syndrome Association, a nationwide program that trains teens to educate other young people about Tourette Syndrome (TS). Zwilling was diagnosed with the neurological disorder at the age of 7. “Although my mom and I attempted to educate my school, I found that people were not as tolerant, understanding or knowledgeable regarding TS as one would hope,” she said. She soon discovered that other kids with TS had the same experience and decided something had to be done.

She began helping local families of children with TS advocate for themselves and started speaking in schools. When requests for her presentations grew too numerous to handle, Zwilling contacted the National Tourette Syndrome Association to see about launching a program that could train other young people to replicate her activities. Zwilling developed a training manual, presentation handouts and a PowerPoint presentation on a DVD and began recruiting teens to be trained as youth ambassadors. So far, she has trained more than 100 teenagers from all over the U.S., spoken at 56 schools and testified four times before Congress. She estimates that more than 3,000 students, teachers and academic advisers have received accurate information about TS through her program. “I have learned from experience that knowledge is power,” she said. “Knowledge about TS gives classmates the power to accept, understand and be supportive.”

“Over the past 13 years, we’ve seen an incredible number of young Americans who have selflessly devoted their time and energy to helping others in their communities,” said Arthur F. Ryan, chairman of Prudential Financial. “The volunteer work of this year’s honorees is as inspiring as any we’ve seen and we are honored to recognize the amazing contribution they’ve made to their neighborhoods, cities and nation.”

“Congratulations to this year’s state winners in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards,” stated Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “The hard work and determination that these students have exhibited in trying to make a difference in the lives of others is remarkable.”

All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. Nearly 4,500 Local Honorees were then reviewed by state-level judges, who selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital’s landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them - five middle level and high school students - will be named National Honorees on May 5 by a prestigious national selection committee. These honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.

Co-chairing the national selection committee will be U.S. Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Arthur Ryan of Prudential. Also serving on the committee will be actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of America’s Promise - The Alliance for Youth; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light & Hands On Network; Amy B. Cohn, director of Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Kathryn Forbes, national chair of volunteers, American Red Cross; Neil Nicoll, CEO of YMCA of the USA; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; Barry Stark, president of NASSP; and two 2007 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Kelly Davis of West Bath, ME and Kelydra Welcker of Parkersburg, WV.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President’s Volunteer Service Awards to nearly 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. The program is part of a broad youth-service initiative by Prudential that includes a youth leadership training program administered by the Points of Light & Hands On Network; a free booklet of volunteer ideas for young people offered through the Federal Citizen Information Center; and a website featuring profiles of outstanding youth volunteers, volunteer tips and project ideas for students, an electronic newspaper on youth volunteerism and more (www.prudential.com/spirit). The Spirit of Community Awards program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Ireland.

For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit www.prudential.com/spirit or www.principals.org/prudential.

Youth from around the world discuss sustainable development in Jordan

2008-02-13T00:44:00.001-08:00

Who: Youth from across the world
What: Advancing youth leadership for sustainable development

Everything we see on the news these days from the Middle East is negative. However, there is hope and it lies in our youth in the Middle East. There was a 5 day course held for the youth on ‘Advancing youth leadership for sustainable development.’ It is important for our youth here in America and in the rest of the world to understand that there is action happening in the Middle East and it all starts in our youth: The leaders of tommorow! This article is from menafn.com.

MENAFN - Jordan Times) AMMAN - Some 60 youths from across the world are gathering in Jordan this week along with representatives from UN agencies, NGOs and civil society organizations to discuss their potential roles as future leaders in sustainable development.

Taking part in a course entitled ‘Advancing youth leadership for sustainable development’, the participants will give special emphasis to ecological, social, economic and political development.

The five-day course which opened Sunday is organised by the Amman-based United Nations University-International Leadership Institute (UNU-ILI), in cooperation with UNESCO and the UNDP Amman offices, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the King Abdullah Fund for Development, the University of Jordan, Jordan University of Science and Technology, and the Queen Zein Al Sharaf Institute for development.

Defining sustainable development as a way of “spending the current resources without compromising the resources of future generations”, Director of the UNU-ILI Jairam Reddy urged participants to rethink the concept of leadership and to become active leaders in their respective countries, since current heads of state “have not done so well�”

“We need leaders who can broaden horizons, uplift spirits, mobilise the necessary resources and empower others to act in the best interest of organisations, communities and the larger society,” the director of UNU-ILI, one of the 15 UN agencies established in Jordan, added.

In his address to the multinational audience, UN Resident Coordinator in Jordan Luc Stevens described the seminar as a great opportunity for young people to learn from each other and exchange information.

“You are the next generation of Jordan, the Middle East and different parts of the world. You are a vision for the future,” he said, adding that the UN has long recognised that the world’s youth actively contribute to social progress.

“Therefore, addressing youth development should not be seen as a liability, but as a potential for creative and constructive change,” Stevens added.

According to the UN official, 74 per cent of Jordan’s population is under 30 years old and 40 per cent are between 12 and 30 years of age, making youth the largest demographic group in the country, with some 2.2 million people.

“It also goes without saying empowering the youth and ensuring their effective participation in building their communities is a high priority for Jordan and its leadership,” Stevens continued.

The UN resident coordinator applauded the National Youth Strategy, which was established in 2005. He also praised an initiative launched under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah which outlined a programme of action for youth in Jordan.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Communication and Information Programme officer, Samir Badran, called sustainable development an “evolving concept”, which at first focused on the environment and soon came to encompass socioeconomic issues “linked to peace, human rights, equity and culture”.

“Bearing all this in mind, the seminar is an excellent opportunity to gain better understating of a complex concept that is much more than a slogan,” Badran added.

The UN is currently celebrating the United Nations Decade for Sustainable Development (2005-2015). With UNESCO at the helm, the overall goal of the decade is to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development with education.

This educational effort is an attempt to encourage changes in behaviour for environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations, according to UNESCO’s website.

IUCN Director for the Middle East Odeh Jayoussi described sustainable development as a way of life where current resources should be cultivated rather than exploited.

“It is as if we were gardeners, not hunters. Leaders should behave like gardeners,” he stressed.

In regards to sustainable development practices in Jordan, Jayoussi added that there is still room for improvement.

HRH Prince Hassan was also among the speakers. In his address, he called for providing young people with sufficient opportunities to achieve sustainable development, highlighting its role in improving people’s standards of living.

A key component of the seminar will be field visits to different sites in Jordan, which are meant to represent themes covered in the course. Sites will include the Dana Nature Reserve, Nuqul Group, Jordan University of Science and Technology and the Knowledge Centre at Iraq Al Amir.

Miro

2008-02-13T00:43:00.001-08:00

Who: Nicholas Reville
Age: 28
What: Co-Founder of Participatory Culture Foundation

This project is fantastic. Look it up, download it, and follow it. Nicholas Reville is one of the co-founders of a young team building Miro.

Entrepreneur Aims to Overthrow TV, Not Get Rich
By Bryan Gardiner 10.08.07 | 12:00 AM

As co-founder and executive director of the Participatory Culture Foundation, Nicholas Reville spearheads the Miro project, a video platform that aims to keep internet television open and accessible to all.

Most software entrepreneurs’ ambition is to sell out for a huge wad of cash, or maybe go public for an even bigger pile. Not so Nicholas Reville: He wants to overthrow the television industry, and he doesn’t care if he gets rich. In fact, as executive director and co-founder of the Participatory Culture Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Reville is unlikely to make much money at all.

Reville oversees the PCF’s core project: a free, open-source video player called Miro. Formerly known as Democracy Player, Miro is a desktop video application that lets you search and view videos. It uses RSS, BitTorrent and media-player technologies.
But the PCF’s ambitions go far beyond making and distributing a popular internet video platform. Ultimately, the foundation’s goal is to promote and build an entirely new, open mass medium of online television.

“We see TV as moving online in a lot of ways,” Reville explains. “There’s a chance to make it really open, or there’s a chance that companies are going to build proprietary systems and try to lock in users to creators. We think that video RSS is a really good way of making it a level playing field, so our goal is to push the video industry in the direction of openness — towards using open standards.”

Going the nonprofit route was an essential part of this goal. For one, Miro’s fate isn’t tied to finicky venture capitalists or stockholders. That’s generally a good thing when you’re trying to form an organization around values other than maximizing shareholder profit.

While a lot of for-profit companies have similar hopes of infusing idealistic values into their organizations (for example, Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto), Reville notes that the kinds of investors such companies are forced to take on inevitably exert pressure to change or “adapt” those values.

“You hear a lot of utopian talk in the beginning and then six or seven years later, they’re in a totally different place,” Reville says. “We wanted to be sure that we built the values into the company from the beginning, and a nonprofit is best way to do that.”

Values aside, Miro still has to make money like any other venture-backed startup or major media company. And as a nonprofit, Reville is the first to admit that that’s not always easy.

While the PCF just wrapped up a successful $50,000 fundraising drive, that money is a small portion of the project’s overall budget. Indeed, with 12 full-time staff members and two part-timers, most of Miro’s budget is earmarked for the employees responsible for what Reville characterizes as “the core of the application.”

Needless to say, the project still relies on large donors and grants. Supporters have included Skyline Public Works and the Mitch Kapor, Surdna, Mozilla and Knight foundations.

But the ultimate goal for the Miro team is to slowly wean themselves off of grants and donations over the next couple of years, as Miro emerges as a post-1.0 application. At that point, Reville says the platform should be able to start having some more-traditional revenue models.

“They need to find their Google search bar,” says John Lilly, the chief operating officer of the Mozilla Foundation and a board member of PCF. Lilly is referring to the Firefox search tool that through revenue-sharing agreements with Google and Yahoo, generates millions of dollars in annual income for the Mozilla Foundation.

Lilly notes that the big challenge for Miro will be finding a way to monetize internet video, so the company is eventually less dependent on donations. That may come by offering specific customized versions of the software to businesses and organizations — something the team is currently experimenting with — or it may come in some other form.

“If you look at nonprofits, they will typically have a large mix of income and are generally not dependent on independent contributions,” says Dennis Young, director of the Nonprofit Studies Program at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.

Until it develops a revenue stream, Miro will likely continue to rely on the myriad forms of nonfinancial help the software is already starting to get. Which isn’t necessarily bad. “There’s all kinds of things (users) do for us that otherwise would be very difficult,” Reville says. “The software’s translated into 30 languages. That’s all volunteer work. Then there’s tons of testing, writing code, users supporting each other: All these things work because we’re mission-driven.”

Reville and Lilly ultimately believe this is how open-source projects and the nonprofit foundations behind them can successfully compete with commercial enterprises: by cultivating a community that really cares.

“They know you’re not just out there trying to make money,” Reville says. “That’s what propelled Firefox. They’re not out there spending their money on a bunch of TV ads. One user is telling another user. Users are helping to promote the software and helping to make it better … so that’s a huge, huge advantage we have. That’s probably more valuable than all the donations our users give to us.”

Students get fired up at Goose Creek High

2008-02-13T00:42:00.002-08:00

Who: Josh Carmack
Age: Senior in High School
What: Lacked motivation to succeed until he found his niche

The article we bring to you this Wednesday is about a senior in high school who was discouraged to be in Special Education classes his first ten years of school. In that time, he didn’t really know were he fit in academically. When he became involved in the welding program at school, though, he found his “specialty.” It is important that our educational system continues building programs in which our youth find passion. Sometimes, all we need in life is a chance. For Josh Carmack, he got that chance and made the most of it. It is time for our educational systems to give more chances to more youths, whether through programs like this or other innovative motivational methods. This article was published by The Post and Courier. It doesn’t take a world changing event to make a difference. Making a difference in your own life or that of those close to you can go a long way.

Tech classes help spark interest in school, future
By Mindy B. Hagen
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

GOOSE CREEK — Josh Carmack spent his first 10 years of school in special education classes, lacking the motivation to succeed academically.

Now the Goose Creek High School senior is the talk of his school for building an intricate “wildlife” glass-top table and four chairs. The outdoor furniture set, which Carmack created in welding class, is expected to be one of the highest-demand items during the silent auction portion of Berkeley County’s Teacher Forum instructional fair Feb. 15.

Although he’s spent five years in high school, Carmack is on track to graduate in the spring. He’s left special education classes behind for mainstream courses. And he was named Goose Creek High’s student of the month for January.

Carmack credits the school’s welding class for his turnaround.

Roughly 150 to 200 students each year request one of the 50 open slots in Tim Burgsteiner’s welding class. Students are selected based on their discipline and attendance records. Once enrolled, they tackle projects such as holiday parade floats and hurdles for the track team.

Carmack is one of many students who have benefited from the career and technical education courses available in Berkeley County’s comprehensive high schools, which include such subjects as health sciences, sports medicine and electronics.

“I have opportunities now that I wouldn’t have ever had,” Carmack said. “It’s totally turned my life around, and there are a lot of other students who also can’t wait to come back here every day.”

At Goose Creek High, “back here” refers to a cluster of career and technical education classes housed in a far corner of the campus. Instructors who lead the 10 courses — the most in the district — often work together on projects, meaning a welding student might use the computers in architectural and mechanical design to sketch out an idea.

Allowing hundreds of students to take part in hands-on projects each day also has an impact on Goose Creek High’s core academic classes, said Sherri Scoggins, the school’s career specialist. Welding students who use fire to mold steel or architectural design students who use complicated mathematical equations to create blueprints “see the relevance of why they need chemistry or geometry for their chosen line of work,” Scoggins said. It gives students who are at risk of dropping out a reason to attend class every day, she said.

Berkeley is the only school district in the Lowcountry that has pursued a full-fledged comprehensive high school concept, with career and technical education classes available on the same campus as academic courses. In Charleston County, the Garrett Academy of Technology is the only vocational school. In Dorchester County, many students travel to the Career and Technology Center for masonry, automotive repair and cosmetology.

Ten years ago, Berkeley County moved away from separate vocational centers and added career and technology wings to its existing high schools. That shift opened hands-on courses to a larger group of students, some of whom start with only a casual interest, said Gwen Scarborough, the district’s school-to-career coordinator.

Burgsteiner began Goose Creek’s welding class in 1998, and he has added machines every year. In addition to using traditional torches, the welding students have access to a plasma-cutting machine, which cuts sheets of steel with laserlike precision. Students create a variety of items, including backyard grills and signs for local businesses, and they often sell finished products to fund trips to state competitions. Graduates who spend two years in welding can obtain jobs with starting pay of $17 per hour.

Carmack’s wildlife table has attracted a new level of attention for the popular program. The 4-foot-by-4-foot glass-top table boasts smooth edges and stands about 3 feet high. The four steel chairs, painted black, feature animal silhouettes of rams, deer, birds and wolves.

Carmack, who once had no plans for the future, envisioned and completed the entire project. Since first setting foot in Goose Creek High’s welding shop, he’s participated in a co-op program at Master Sheet Metal and spent a summer in New Mexico welding walls for a new nuclear testing lab. Instead of taking study hall, Carmack returns to the shop every day to serve as a teaching assistant for first-year welding students. He’s applying for a scholarship to attend the 60-week NASCAR Technical Institute in North Carolina, where he’ll learn to manufacture stock cars.

Scarborough said Carmack’s story shows the importance of providing students with a strong direction and a career-based focus.

“He’s a shining star,” she said. “But that’s what can happen when a student is able to find his niche.”

Penn in the Gulf

2008-02-13T00:42:00.001-08:00

Who: Penn Students
Age: 18-28
What: Traveled to Mississippi to educate residents on post-Katrina health dangers

Mardi Gras is around the corner, a celebration like no other, and we thought it necessary to remind everyone there is still a long way to go in post-Katrina recovery. Although it may not be a hot topic on the front page of newspapers, many victims of Katrina have still not recovered. This is a story from The Daily Pennsylvanian about a group of college students making a difference in the lives of those victims.

Students bring relief from the classroom to the Gulf Coast
Quakers travel to Mississippi to educate residents on post-Katrina health dangers
By: Cecily Wu
Posted: 2/1/08

A home in Pearlington, Miss. was sinking and Engineering graduate student Kyle Sirianno was determined to find out why.

He encountered the home - which had sunk by two inches because the septic tank underneath it was broken - while testing the quality of well water in Pearlington, an area still suffering from the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.

These conditions prompted Sirianno and 31 other students from four of Penn’s schools to participate in the Penn in the Gulf: SP2 Feldman Initiative, led by the School of Social Policy and Practice, to provide dental, water, health and mental health relief for Pearlington residents.

These health services are in great demand as many of the companies who initially came to provide aid have since left, said coordinator Connie Hoe, a recent graduate of SP2.

“This [kind of assistance] needs to continue,” said Joseph Keys, president of the Pearlington Impact Association, a local aid organization with which the Penn students worked. “The storm has been a hit for us; it’s still a nightmare.”

The program also allowed graduate and undergraduate students to utilize the lessons they’ve learned in the classroom in real-life situations.

Sirianno and fellow Engineering students worked to repair the septic tank of the sinking home and sampled over 50 wells for water contamination.

Dental students provided free checkups and nursing and SP2 students interviewed residents to assess the local health concerns.

Although the students traveled to Pearlington to gain hands-on experience, Nursing senior Stephanie Ng explained that many of them were also attracted by the humanitarian purposes.

After cleaning a yard and planting flowers for an 82-year-old woman, Ng said that the “the expression on her face when it was all done was totally worth getting our hands dirty. That was why I went down - to make an impact on someone’s life.”

Dental student Amit Rajani was also moved by the tenacity of the victims.

“They also had unbelievable stories of how they have recovered and overcome so many obstacles since the storm,” Rajani said.

Hoe explained that this second Penn in the Gulf trip has expanded since the first trip last September, with only three Social Policy students, to a University-wide collective effort to rebuild the region.

“The project has evolved and reached wider audiences,” said Hoe.

The students from the trip will present their findings on Feb. 18 to the public on the dental, water, health and mental health needs in the area.

Once a role player, Patriots' Wes Welker now a budding star

2008-02-13T00:40:00.002-08:00

Who: Wes Welker
Age: 26
What: Against all odds Wes made the NFL

This Wednesday’s post is a True Underdog Story, not one you see in a movie but one that is happening right now. It is about New England Patriots Superstar Wes Welker who chased his dreams even when all odds were against him. Despite being told he was too small and too slow growing up, Wes never gave up on what he wanted to accomplish–to be an NFL player. We can all learn a lot from this story, no matter what we are trying to accomplish in life. Never give up! This article was published by ESPN.

Once a role player, Patriots’ Wes Welker now a budding star
By Elizabeth Merrill, espn.com

OKLAHOMA CITY — She went to her bedroom and cried that night, not because of what the man said but because she knew the whole world was wrong. One hundred and five faxes, 104 “no”s, and it was about to end there, on a harsh winter day, when Wes Welker sat at a long table at the University of Tulsa. All he wanted was a scholarship.

If you sign Wes, his mama said, you won’t be sorry. If you sign Wes, he’ll change your program. The coach turned to Shelley Welker and sized up her 5-foot-9 son.
“Well, my mother would like me to be head coach of the Dallas Cowboys,” Keith Burns told her. “But that isn’t going to happen.”
This is not a story about a little man playing on the world’s biggest stage. That’s too cliché. It is about doors. The glass front door at the Welker home is open late Wednesday afternoon, and Wes’ chocolate Lab, Nash, is lounging in the backyard. It is not a coincidence that he named the dog after Suns point guard Steve Nash, who also happens to knock around in a 180-pound body.
It is not a surprise that everyone in the Welker home has a problem sitting still. Every five minutes or so, Leland, Wes’ dad, stands up and asks his guests whether they need anything to drink. He’s got Coke, Coke Zero, diet, milk, water. Are you sure you don’t want to try the Coke Zero?
He finally sits back down and eyes a magazine on the table that has Welker’s stubbled, GQ face on the cover. It’s almost too East Coast for Wes.
“It’s been hard for us to talk,” Leland says in a soft Oklahoma twang. “I feel like we’re bragging about our kids. I hope I’m not coming across as overbearing.”

Shelley and Leland Welker, at home with a portrait of Wes.
They’d prefer to be low-key because that’s the way Welker has been throughout his career. It’s impossible now. Nine years after college football shunned him, four years after the Chargers cut him, Welker is a mega star headed for the Super Bowl with New England.
He is a perfect fit, finally, in a world that measures itself with tapes, scales and 40-yard dashes. He is a big reason the Patriots are 18-0 and flirting with NFL history.
And none of it would have happened if Welker had accepted one no.
“We tried to teach that, to run after your dreams, don’t let people tell you no,” Shelley says.
“That’s why it’s such a great story. When one door would close, another one would open.”
A car door opened, and Wes Welker eyeballed his first challenge. He was 2, maybe 3 days old and meeting his big brother, Lee, for the first time. Lee raised his 4-year-old fingers and pinched Wes in the nose. Hard.
“You can’t do that!” Shelley said.

Welker, at the age of 4, had a bunny named “Thumper.”
Lee was just tweaking him, which became sort of a childhood hobby. Big boy kicks little boy’s butt in soccer. Little boy gets clobbered in football. Big boy’s mom asks him to go easy.
“Are you kidding me?” Lee says. “I would never, never let him win. And he had to get used to it. Either he was going to have to quit playing the sport of football or soccer or whatever he happened to be playing that day, or he had to get better and tougher.”
Lee was actually the tame one in the family. Wes was 2½ when he climbed his first tree and sat on the roof until Leland pulled in from work. Incredible balance, unlimited energy. “Hell on wheels from the get-go,” Leland says.
When Welker reached high school at Heritage Hall, a private college prep school that oozes manners, he was both exasperating and entertaining. He’d play offense, defense and special teams in practice, then dive to the line on wind sprints because no sir, he was not going to be beat.

He’d vomit at least every other week during a game. Coach Rod Warner still has it on film. See Wes run 50 yards for a touchdown, charge back onto the field to kick the extra point, then turn and ask for a minute so he can throw up on the 10-yard line.

“It wasn’t nerves,” Warner says. “He just pushed his body so hard.

“The people in the stands would just start applauding. He gave it all every single drill, every sprint, every play.”

He became a legend in the red Oklahoma clay. Before Welker, Heritage Hall had just one 10-win season in 30 years. It has averaged 11 wins a year since. Welker led them to a state championship as a junior and scored 24 points a game as a senior … in football.

And when he was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, his followers assumed he was headed for the big time. They didn’t know prototypes. Being 5-9 was one thing. Being 5-9 with a 4.55 40-yard dash is enough to make you recruiting repellent.

Rod Warner, Welker’s high school coach in Oklahoma City, still calls or texts him at least once a week.
The weekend before letter-of-intent day, Warner sent out 105 faxes. “This kid is still available,” he said, “if anyone is interested.”

He called Tommy McVay, an old friend who was working at Texas Tech.

“Tommy, he’s the best player I’ve ever coached.”

Everybody says that, McVay said.

But Tech coach Mike Leach, a spread-offense guru known around Big 12 circles as the mad scientist, tried to open his mind as he popped in the video.

“You go through the internal debate the whole time,” Leach says. “Wow, he’s just a little too small, ooh, he’s a little too slow … oh, he plays both sides of the ball?”

Welker flew to Lubbock after signing day while Leland and Shelley followed by car. Something felt right, she’d say. Like Wes was meant to be there.

Within weeks after school started, the Tech coaches were calling Welker “The Natural.”

“Everybody,” Leach says, “seemed to feel like he could do anything.”

As Welker’s numbers exploded and the legend grew, people outside of Lubbock, Texas, wanted to know more about his will. He didn’t get his tenacity as the son of an oil-rig worker whose family ate when it could. His dad was an engineer for Southwestern Bell.

He never was one for much introspection. Wasn’t much time for it. But he could flip from game-day serious to prankster, leaving fake dog poo at shopping malls just to watch people laugh.

“I remember when they brought him in, he was 5-7 and very unassuming,” says former Red Raiders quarterback Kliff Kingsbury. “I thought he looked like a frat guy. We’re offering this kid a scholarship? Definitely on looks, he didn’t pass the test. But on the field, he was an unbelievable kid.”

Welker, with his brother Lee and parents Leland and Shelley in 2001, was a last-minute signee for Texas Tech.
Within a few months, Welker was in the starting lineup as a true freshman. In four years, he caught 259 passes for 3,019 yards and 21 touchdowns. His eight career punt-return touchdowns still tie an NCAA record. He played most of his senior year with turf toe, an injury so painful Welker hobbled around campus in a protective boot on the off days.

Nobody, it seemed, could get a hard shot on him. Part of it had to do with his size and a low center of gravity. Much of it had to do with his shiftiness. Although Leach considers hailing the merits of soccer as sacrilege, he figures Welker got his coordination, horizontal movement and vision from the round version of football.

Welker figured heavily into every opponents’ scouting report, and when he graduated from Texas Tech in 3½ years with a business degree, he was certain he was headed to the NFL.

The NFL combine came, and Welker wasn’t invited. In hindsight, his supporters say, maybe that was better. They couldn’t put a tape and a stopwatch to him. Forty freaking yard dashes? In football, who runs in a straight line, anyway?

But the Welkers held two days of draft parties in 2004, and the house grew silent when the final pick was named.

If this doesn’t work out, Warner told him, there are other …

“Don’t even go there, Coach,” Welker told Warner. “I’m going to make it in the NFL. There’s no other option.”

The Chargers kept him through training camp, and Welker thought that meant he was safe. They cut him after the first game. One friend says Welker is “massively pissed off” at San Diego to this day, although Welker has never publicly suggested that.

The Dolphins gave Welker a chance after the Chargers cut him.
He quickly moved on to Miami, and a month later, Welker became just the second player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt, kick a field goal and an extra point, and make a tackle in one game. He did it against the Patriots and a coach who just happens to love that kind of throwback versatility. The Patriots churned on; the Dolphins continued their stumble.

Few people noticed that Welker was evolving into a go-to receiver. He led the Dolphins with 67 catches in 2006. The Super Bowl was held in Miami a few months later, and Warner went to South Beach that week to hang with Welker.

They sat at breakfast, the Monday after the Colts beat Chicago, and Welker asked whether his coach ever wanted to go to another Super Bowl.

“Wes, the next Super Bowl I’ll go to is the one you’re playing in,” Warner said.

That might be a while in Miami, Welker said.

Two months later, Warner’s cell phone rang at 1 a.m. Welker had just been traded to the Patriots.

“You know that conversation we had at the Super Bowl?” Welker asked Warner.

“Did you ever think it might be this year?”

He is so perfect here, in the land of no-nonsense. Men with stern faces walk around with purpose, as if they’re headed to the bank to open an IRA … minutes after they’ve won a playoff game. Welker quickly dresses after New England beats San Diego, the team that never gave him a chance, and heads for the door without talking to the media.

By Week 6, when the Patriots prepared for a superhyped game against Dallas, it was obvious that Welker, 26, was immersed in his surroundings. He’d gotten a text message from his brother, Lee. Big game coming up, huh? Wes texted back: They’re all big.

Wes, the family joked, was turning into Bill Belichick.

A sampling of some recent Welker “sound bites”:

When you did you feel you belonged in the NFL, Wes?

“I guess once I made the team.”

What do you say about the Giants calling you guys a dirty team?

Welker is one of the smallest players on the roster, but his size is no limitation.
“It’s their opinion about it, and we can only control what we can control.”

But it’s not so odd that an undersized frat boy from Oklahoma and a man who is viewed as one of the stuffiest coaches in the NFL could be kindred spirits. Belichick wants a team full of role players. Welker fought half his life just for a role.

And while defenses keyed on stopping Randy Moss, the 6-foot-4 superstar receiver whose offseason signing overshadowed all other arrivals, Welker had a franchise-record 112 catches.

“Perfect place, the perfect situation for him,” says veteran running back Kevin Faulk. “I told him when he first got here that he couldn’t have come to an offense that was better for him, that fits his ability and what he does as a receiver.”

A whiff of hamburger grease fills the aisles at the Nichols Hills pharmacy just before closing time, and Jay Black is about to cut the lights. His dad started the business in 1963, and it seems time, in this patch of a strip mall, has frozen there. Past the miniature metal stools and the retro napkin holders is a soda fountain and a rack of Groucho Marx DVDs for $2.99.
Welker used to ride his bike here as a kid, load up on hamburgers and chili, and charge the food to his parents. All the little kids did it. When big Wes comes back now, he’ll order his $3.50 hamburger and have the same ladies behind the same counter bill it to his dad. The Welkers get a kick out of that.
“It wasn’t really a big deal when he was coming in here,” Black says. “We knew he was a good ballplayer. But he didn’t necessarily stick out over the rest of the kids.”
In this suddenly perfect world, he doesn’t need to. They pray for him a few blocks up the road, in the Welker home, that he’ll be safe among 300-pounders and 6-foot-3 burners who belong in the league.
Here, they always believed Wes belonged, too.
“It was all part of God’s plan, and we know that,” Shelley says. “It worked out just like it was supposed to.”

Female Genital Mutilation

2008-02-13T00:40:00.001-08:00

Who: Ebie Cyral
Age: Teenager
What: Winner of BBC Outlook Stand-Up-For-Your-Rights Competition

This Sunday’s post is from Unicef’s Voices of Youth section. “BBC Outlook, inspired by Wu Ping who defended her building against developers in the Chinese city of Chongqing, organized Stand-Up-For-Your-Rights competition. British journalist and campaigner George Monbiot judged the competition and selected the entry by Cyril Ebie from Cameroon as the overall winner… Ebie described how he defended his sister and prevented her from undertaking female genital mutilation - an act that forced him to leave the family home with his sister for 9 months.” This is an inspiring story of courage.

Introduction

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for cultural or other reasons that are not medical necessities. FGM/C reinforces the inequality suffered by girls and women and is a violation of universally recognized human rights – including the rights to bodily integrity and to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

While health consequences vary, they commonly include failure to heal, inflammatory diseases and urinary infections. Gynecological complications that result from female genital mutilation/cutting can become particularly serious during and after childbirth, and include fistula. increased susceptibility to hiV infection is a concern. the pain of the procedure is known to cause shock and long-lasting trauma, and severe bleeding and infection can lead to death. the reasons for FGM/C are many and complex, but the most significant seems to be the belief that a girl who has not undergone the procedure will not be considered suitable for marriage. traditionally, FGM/C is performed by local practitioners, most of whom are women. in some countries, efforts have been made to ‘medicalize’ the procedure by having medical staff perform it in or outside of hospitals. this does not, however, make it less a violation of human rights, and communities should be helped to abandon the practice.

Building a Protective environment for Children

Government commitment and capacity: ratifying relevant international conventions, developing appropriate legislation prohibiting FGM/C and supporting budget allocations are effective steps governments can take to encourage the abandonment of the practice. these efforts can be reinforced in national development plans, poverty-reduction programmes and other state-led interventions.

Legislation and enforcement: laws that ban FGM/C and penalize the practitioners should be passed and enforced. this will be most effective in the context of a comprehensive awareness- raising campaign, including in schools and communities.

Attitudes, customs and practices: Support for FGM/C may be rapidly reversed and abandoned if attitudes and customs are collectively addressed by the practising communities. involvement of religious or moral leaders who can explain that there is no religious justification for the practice can help in accelerating the abandonment of female genital mutilation.

Open discussion: this is particularly important for many child protection issues, including harmful traditional practices. Communities, parents, teachers and children all need to feel able to discuss FGM/C.

Children’s life skills, knowledge and participation: Young girls at risk are rarely in a position to avoid or refuse the procedure. however, education and understanding of alternatives can help them to address the issue more openly with their parents, resist societal pressures, and protect themselves, their sisters and daughters.

Capacity of families and communities: As FGM/C prevalence follows ethnic lines and is perpetuated among intra-marrying communities, it is essential to coordinate the work done among communities with such ties. Grass-roots nongovernmental and community-based organizations concerned with the protection of human rights and human dignity need to be strengthened and supported, as they play an important role in FGM/C abandonment.

Essential services, including prevention, recovery and reintegration: Support for women who oppose genital mutilation/ cutting and help for those who have undergone the procedure include medical services to deal with the health consequences of FGM/C – which tend to be chronic and life-long – as well as educational and awareness-raising activities that contribute to the abandonment of the practice.

Monitoring, reporting and oversight: Analysis of data collected through the demographic and health Survey, for example, should be widely disseminated and utilized. Agreed indicators should become a common monitoring tool. Main interventions should include baseline participatory assessments and local ethnographic studies.

by Cyril Ebie from Camerron

It is a small settlement bounded by loads of superstition and barbarism, especially female genital mutilation.

I recently heard a debate on the national radio condemning this practice as bad.

Before I watched this program, I’d been made to believe from childhood that it was an act of virtue to a woman, thus obligatory to every girl child.

I mourned and grieved after that show because my two elder sisters had been mutilated out of ignorance.

I therefore informed my parents with a long cue of reasons, I gathered from the show.

I convinced them to decease from the practice.

They cursed my approach and refused my every word.

I was desperate and restless because my Dad assured me they would soon mutilate my kid sister for she’s come of age.

So I decided to let my kid sister know about it even If it meant educating her on the disadvantages.

I was stunned when I approached her and discovered she was dying softly of the same pain. She had listened to that same program but never knew who to confide in.

I promised I would fight for her. I allied with my sisters and we confronted our parents.

I told my father we were going to run away if they insisted on mutilating her, but they never took us serious.

So at night, I escaped with my kid sister.

We made our elder sisters promise not to tell our father where we’ve gone. We stayed with a friend of mine in the city for nine whole months.

One day, one of my sisters visited us and talked us to come home. We resisted, and then she told us everything.

My father had visited the council of elders to complain about the practice and how he lost his only son because he was trying to free the sister.

Tongue-tight elders could now speak-out. The youths protested and demonstrated at the palace.

When our Fon saw that it was inevitable, he put a stop to it. Everyone was relieved especially the girls.

When we returned home, my Dad was delighted.

He told me I deserved the honour given to him. The truth is; they paid tribute to him for having spearheaded the uprising.

He poured palm wine on my head, and then blessed me.

I was pleased because by standing for my sister’s right, I saved the lives of all the girls living in our small farm settlement of Mbemi.

Fact Sheet

FGM/C occurs mainly in countries along a belt stretching from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia in east Africa and to Yemen in the Middle east, but it is also practised in some parts of south-east Asia. reports from europe, north America and Australia indicate that it is practised among immigrant communities as well.

It is estimated that more than 130 million women and girls alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation/cutting.

FGM/C is generally carried out on girls between the ages of 4 and 14; it is also performed on infants, women who are about to get married and, sometimes, women who are pregnant with their first child or who have just given birth.

Most recent demographic health Survey data for egypt indicate that the prevalence rate among ever-married women aged 15–49 has shown a slight decline from 97 per cent to 96 per cent.

Top 10 Youth Activism Victories in 2007

2008-02-13T00:39:00.001-08:00

Who: American Youth
Ages: 13-30
What: Top 10 Youth Activism Victories in 2007

The following is a series of stories of American youth across the country making a difference through action–not just words–throughout 2007. This is an inspirational article that provides details of what the youth of America are doing to make a positive difference in the world. We hope to hear what you the readers thoughts are on this article. This article was published by WireTap.

Top 10 Youth Activism Victories in 2007
By Nicole McClelland and Kristina Rizga, WireTap
Posted on January 4, 2008, Printed on January 23, 2008

Anyone who laments that American young people are apathetic, uninvolved or not sufficiently outraged clearly isn’t up on the news.

Luckily, though, we are. The past 12 months have been filled with many great youth organizing successes; some were covered extensively by mainstream media, and some went — sadly — unnoticed. From these extraordinary stories, Wiretap has culled a list of our favorite 10 youth victories of the year. They’re not just the events you’ve heard about, like the hunger strikes at Harvard and Stanford, because the less-attended actions of low-income, low-profile youth groups can be equally triumphant. And they’re not just acts of campus activism, either — because half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 are not enrolled in college. And though there are countless other examples of protest, cooperation, and informed dissent that went on and are still continuing around the country, here are 10 especially inspirational stories that went down this year. Congratulations to these and all other young people who took responsibility and took charge in 2007 to work hard both with their peers and with other groups, who put their energies into action for their communities, and for the world.

Environmental Activism: Stepping It Up

It’s time to go way beyond just switching light bulbs to fight global warming, and this year young people from all over the country proved their commitment to the planet. In February, nearly 600 student groups staged events during the Campus Climate Challenge Week of Action. But activists were just getting started, and college campuses were barely the starting point. On April 14, Step It Up — the brainchild of a group of young people and environmentalist and author Bill McKibben — brought people together at 1,400 locations nationwide demanding that Congress cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. It was such a success that organizers kicked off Step It Up 2 just seven months later and got 14,000 messages sent to Congress and presidential candidates, 80 of whom sent statements or representatives or showed up at events. That same month, at Power Shift 2007, 5,500 young activists from across the country got together at the University of Maryland College Park to make Congress change its colors. Over four days in November, participants staged a rally on the Capitol and held more than 300 lobbying meetings to pressure congresspeople to provide more green jobs and greener policies for a greener, brighter, more sustainable future.

Shutting Toxic Things Down

In a more local, but just as important, triumph for the environment, the members of Youth United for Community Action, an organization created and run by youths of color ages 13-30 in the Bay Area, became heroes of their neighborhood and role models for grassroots organizers nationwide when California granted their wish to shut down a hazardous-waste-handling company that had been plaguing the vicinity for more than four decades. YUCA worked to rid its community of Romic Environmental Technologies Corporation, which had been fined (pdf) for multiple hazardous-waste violations by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, for 16 years. Now that the state issued the order that Romic close most of its East Palo Alto operations, YUCA and its constituents can breathe a little easier — and much more safely.

Preserving Community Land and Culture

In another major local victory for the environment, Save the Peaks, a coalition formed to protect the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, won a court order that defended the sacred site. For years, the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort has operated on this traditionally holy ground, and in 2004 the U.S. Forest Service approved the company’s plans to expand — which included cutting down 74 acres of trees and using treated sewage water to make artificial snow. The plans posed a threat to the ecosystem, the health of surrounding communities, and the religious freedom of the 13 Native American Nations that hold the mountains hallowed. The Youth of the Peaks worked together with the coalition, protesting at the foot of the resort to let tourists know the issues surrounding the grounds they’re playing on. In March, the 9th Circuit Court ruled that the expansion plans be stopped.

On October 17th, the court granted Arizona Snowbowl and the U.S. Forest Service an appeal, which was heard on December 11th. Far from giving up, tribes and young activists in the coalition attended the case, and are encouraging others to take action as well while the community waits for a decision.

Elementary Education Nation

American schools are in deep trouble. More than half of black students in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania attend high schools in which the majority of students do not graduate. Nearly 40 percent of Latino students and 11 percent of white students drop out of high school (pdf).

Tired of waiting for politicians and philanthropists, who have pledged for decades to reform education, high school students worked diligently to improve their own schools in 2007. From Urban Youth Collaborative and DRUM in New York, to Rethinkers in New Orleans, to Youth for Justice in Los Angeles, youths across the country organized around everything from violence prevention to building eco-friendly, clean bathrooms. The Detroit Summer Collective is an especially innovative, all-volunteer-run program. In addition to making a documentary in 2007 that looks at the root causes and student-driven solutions to the high drop-out rates, the Collective is transforming the entire city of Detroit by teaching young people how to maintain organic gardens and sell produce to their communities, as well as organizing monthly city pot lucks that act as interracial and intergenerational town halls. A democracy can’t thrive without informed citizens, and if the world’s wealthiest and most powerful one won’t provide a decent K-12 education, these students will bring their communities together to do it.

Higher Education for the Masses, for Real

Another crucial tool for social mobility in the United States, is access to college. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 42 percent of Asians and 40 percent of whites think that the vast majority of people who are qualified to go to college have the opportunity to do so. Why did 82 percent of Latinos and 75 percent of blacks say no? Probably in part because college tuition has been ever increasing and throwing more students into debt. Which is why the passing of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the most significant tuition reform bill in 15 years, was an incredible achievement. Students nationwide brought the issue to the attention of both the media and their peers, and worked closely with politicians in swing districts. For two years, PIRG and United States Student Association have been mobilizing to get college affordability on the congressional agenda. PIRG’s Raid on Student Aid campaign generated more than 10,000 phone calls, in addition to lobbying meetings and emails. The very fact that students were vital to getting the legislation passed shows how important they are for change, and now the Act will help generate even more students. Says PIRG’s Luke Swarthout, “Without the work of students over the past two years, Congress probably wouldn’t prioritize legislation like the College Affordability and Access Act.”

Students in Maine scored two victories this year, when their state legislators voted unanimously to approve a citizen ballot initiative that will provide a tax credit to all graduates to offset their student loan repayment as long as they stay in Maine. The League of Young Voters worked with hundreds of volunteers to gather 73,000 signatures that helped get this unprecedented measure passed.

Freeing the Jena 6

The day after a few courageous black students at Jena High School in Louisiana sat under a campus tree traditionally claimed by white students, two nooses were dangling from it. When white youths assaulted black students later that year, they were tried as juveniles and got away with a slap on the wrist. But when black students retaliated, the district attorney tried the six 15- to 17-year-olds as adults and charged them with attempted second-degree murder, for which each potentially faced more than 20 years in prison.

A year later, despite mainstream media silence, this story burst into national prominence thanks to the most massive civil-rights-movement mobilization since the ’60s when over 10,000 college students, activists, and hip-hop artists converged on Jena. Thousands of youths in Jena and students on campuses nationwide protested a case that epitomized a long-standing history of unfair sentencing of people of color in America. The U.S. has the highest absolute, per-capita, and juvenile rate of incarceration in the world, with a tenth of all black men between ages 20 and 35 in jail or prison. The Jena 6 defense campaign mobilized millions of socially conscious youth, who represent the future leaders in the fight against the persistence of subtle and not-so-subtle racism in America. This massive, grassroots-driven campaign helped overturn the original sentences of the Jena 6, momentum that could be used to help thousands of other youths of color in America who were tried in the same, broken system to attain justice and re-enter their communities.

Filling Health Care Needs, Post-Katrina

In 2005, Shana Griffin and the other members of the New Orleans Women’s Health and Justice Initiative thought it would be easy to raise money for a women’s health clinic post-Katrina. The devastated city — with few cops, lots of strangers, staggering crime, and limited care — was far from an ideally safe environment for women. “But we got a reality check,” she says; donations were far from pouring in. So the Initiative worked together with INCITE, a national activist organization of women of color against violence, many of whose members are under 30, meeting up four times a week. The women, who had no experience running a clinic, pooled and applied their applicable respective skills and secured and renovated a space, learned everything they could about the logistics of providing health care, put out calls for and coordinated volunteers, and raised funds. Just a year and a half after the idea was conceived, and “through hard work and sweat,” on May 1, 2007, the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic opened. A group of paid staff and volunteers provides everything from prenatal care to reproductive health, sex health, and routine preventative health services four days a week. And the women who labored to provide the much-needed assistance to their peers are working hard to keep it that way.

Fairer Immigrant Wages? Lovin’ It.

Two years of organizing and protesting finally paid off in April for the Student/Farmworker Alliance, which, in partnership with the immigrant-laborer-led Coalition of Immokalee Workers, finally achieved results from its long-standing boycott against McDonald’s. The company agreed to pay an extra penny per pound to its tomato suppliers, nearly doubling the wages of the impoverished pickers in Florida. A month later, the parent company of Taco Bell, which struck a similar deal with the activists in 2005 after four years of their perseverance, announced that it would expand the agreement to its four other chains, including Pizza Hut and A&W.

Thanks to some long, tireless efforts, some of the country’s biggest fast-food chains have improved their wage standards. But despite an amazingly successful year, the SFA and CIW aren’t about to take a break now: They’re still hard at work on getting Burger King to join the much-needed movement.

Anti-War Mobilization: Just Say “Hell No”

First, the 29-year-old Army Lt. Ehren Watada — who was willing to serve in Afghanistan or any other conflict he didn’t consider so morally and politically unconscionable — refused to deploy to Iraq; his actions subsequently inspired increasing numbers of soldiers to mobilize for an end of the war in Iraq. Then, on Friday, November 16th, the Youth Against War and Racism called for a high school walkout. More than 1,000 students from the Puget Sound area alone left their classes that morning to protest the war and a problem even closer to the students: military recruiters in schools. Participating in the walkout were more than 125 students from Foster High School in Tukwila district, Washington, where military recruiters prey on students, 71 percent of whom are from low-income families. When several Foster teachers who supported the protest were threatened with disciplinary action, students rallied to their support; ultimately, teachers weren’t punished. Though many expect youths, especially low-income, to support and even fight in the war, they proved this year, once again, that they are not going to take it sitting down.

Don’t Forget Darfur

Three years after the United States classified the situation in Darfur, Sudan, as a genocide, students are still organizing to make sure the crucial cause doesn’t get ignored. In April, two thousand white-clad activists played dead in Boston Commons for five minutes of silence. In December, thousands of students worldwide fasted to raise money to fight rape in the African region. STAND, a student anti-genocide coalition, helped organize those events and hundreds of others this year. Students have been signing petitions, lobbying representatives, staging events — anything to keep Darfur in the news. And the coverage has paid off. Companies have started divesting in ventures that support the government that allows the genocide to continue, and awareness is at an all-time high. As long as the violence rages, so will the activism. “The world has been slow to act to protect the people of Darfur,” said STAND student director Scott Warren, “so students across the globe will be taking protection into their own hands.”

Here’s to anticipation for what a new generation of young activists will accomplish in 2008.

Nicole McClelland is the founding editor of the online literary magazine The Extrovert and an editor of Mother Jones. Kristina Rizga is an editor and publisher of the online Wiretap magazine.

Charities v. Businesses

2008-02-13T00:37:00.000-08:00

This week's post is central to the Believe In Youth mission statement. The focus is not about actual stories of youth making a difference, but rather what some of our elders are doing. This is a long post, but a very worthy read.

We are reporting two stories polar opposite in nature. The first is a Washington Post article concerning the misallocation of funds by veterans charities with an accompanying video. We are in no way condemning the charities or casting them guilty before being proven so. Rather, we are trying to make our audience readily aware of the operations of some charities. We urge everyone to research before giving. With so many productive charities and worthy causes, it would be a shame to give funds to a charity misallocating.

The second is a Wall Street Journal article about Google.org, "a massive philanthropic endeavor that erases the usual boundaries between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds" (WSJ). About four years ago, Google announced it was "devoting 1% of its equity, 1% of annual profit and an unspecified amount of employee time to Google.org," and "yesterday's announcement gives much-awaited shape and focus to its activities."

Both articles come with videos, and we would love to see some commenting and discussion on this topic. BIY is also pleased to announce we will begin posting Wednesday articles this week in addition to Sunday articles, courtesy of Thabet Marzuq. We will also begin sending weekly news to our Facebook group (join here).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncb9cIII9xs]

Scrutiny Of Veterans Charities Continues
Calif. Businessman Sees 'Witch Hunt'
By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 17, 2008; A01

With scores of U.S. soldiers returning home from Vietnam, California businessman and Army veteran Roger Chapin founded a charity in 1971 dedicated to those troops recuperating in hospitals.

Over the next three decades, Help Hospitalized Veterans would distribute millions of therapeutic craft kits to make moccasins, wooden wind chimes and other trinkets and would win accolades from presidents and Hollywood celebrities alike.

Yet, as the nonprofit enterprise has ballooned into one of the country's largest veterans charities, reporting $71.3 million in donations during the past fiscal year, its spending practices have drawn sharp criticism from charity watchdogs.

Between 1997 and 2005, the charity paid $3.8 million in salary and benefits to Chapin and his wife and spent more than $200 million on fundraising and public education campaigns, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal tax filings. The public records also show that the charity awarded at least $19 million in contracts during that period to companies owned by Richard A. Viguerie, a prominent conservative political commentator and advertising consultant based in Virginia.

Help Hospitalized Veterans is one of several military-oriented charities whose spending practices are the subject of a congressional investigation. Chapin evaded U.S. marshals trying to serve him with a subpoena last month, said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Chapin, who has since been served, is expected to testify today before the committee.

Chapin, who has founded more than 20 nonprofit organizations over three decades, also is president and founder of the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, a smaller charity that provides emergency financial assistance to veterans and their families. That group is also under investigation by Congress, according to committee staff members, and is expected to be a subject of today's hearing.

"We're talking about an individual that has tried to duck the committee; he refused to testify voluntarily. It appears he has something to hide, and if you look at his past operations, there are very good reasons to be suspicious about his activities," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a committee member, said in an interview.

Van Hollen said the committee wants to find a way to distinguish between charities that truly serve veterans and those "committing fraud against the public."

Chapin, reached at his San Diego home last month, said watchdogs and members of Congress are misrepresenting his charities.

"You don't know me, but these guys have got this thing so wrong, it's unbelievable," the 75-year-old said. "It's a witch hunt. They're totally misrepresenting what the facts are."

No laws at the federal or state level regulate the amount of money charities spend on overhead, fundraising or charitable causes. The American Institute of Philanthropy, a leading charity watchdog, issued a report last month suggesting that Help Hospitalized Veterans and 19 other veterans charities manage their resources poorly, paying high overhead costs and direct-mail fundraising fees.

Critics have not contended that all veterans charities manage their funds poorly. Some charities, including the Fisher House Foundation and the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust, consistently have received high marks from watchdogs.

But Help Hospitalized Veterans spends 31 percent of its funds on charitable causes, said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy. The institute recommends that charities spend at least 60 percent of their funds on charitable programs.

"They're raising tens of millions of dollars for the craft kits, which is a nice treat for the veterans, but there's a tsunami of need out there, and giving them a craft kit is not helping them that much," Borochoff said.

Some recipients of Help Hospitalized Veterans' direct-mail solicitations said they were surprised by the frequency and heft of the mailings.

"Those guys are relentless," said James Lynch, a veteran from Merced, Calif. "These guys seem to hit me from twice a year to every four months. Anytime they're spending money on postage and things like that, I wonder what the return is on it."

High overhead costs can be expected for start-up charities, Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said in an interview. But he said it is important to determine whether some veterans charities have been "a serial swindler in terms of taking people's money and not spending it."

Help Hospitalized Veterans paid Chapin $426,434 in salary and benefits in the past fiscal year, The Post's review of a tax filing showed. His wife, Elizabeth, received $113,623 in salary and benefits as "newsletter editor," the filing shows.

In the filing, the charity reports that the Chapins each worked 40 hours per week. In a separate tax filing, the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes reported that Roger Chapin worked another 40 hours per week for his job there but did not collect pay.

Mike Lynch, executive director of Help Hospitalized Veterans, said the charity's board considers Chapin's wages "proper compensation."

"He's a dynamo," said Thomas Palma, the coalition's general manager. "You might find it hard to believe, but we do an awful lot of good things as a result of his efforts and his ideas."

Some donors to Chapin's charities said they were disappointed to discover his high compensation.

"I just got irritated as hell," said Michael J. Feeko Sr., 77, a Korean War veteran who lives in Port Crane, N.Y., and volunteers with veterans groups. "The part that galls me is the fact that he'll sit back and draw this money and other people are giving their time."

Help Hospitalized Veterans has spent some of its donations in the real estate market. The charity purchased a condominium unit in Fairfax County in May 2006 for $444,600, according to property records reviewed by The Post. Chapin said the charity purchased the Falls Church apartment because of his frequent travel to Washington.

The charity also purchased at least nine properties in the past decade in California, where the group has its headquarters, records reviewed by The Post show.

The office of California Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) investigates charities that mismanage their assets, spokesman Gareth Lacy said. Lacy would not say whether Brown's office is investigating Help Hospitalized Veterans, but he said the head of the charities division would testify at today's congressional hearing.

The charity has long had ties to Viguerie. In the past fiscal year, Viguerie's companies received $3.9 million from the charity, according to its filings with the Internal Revenue Service.

Viguerie has been asked to testify at the hearing. Reached at his office in Manassas this week, an assistant said Viguerie would not answer questions from a Post reporter, citing a policy against commenting on clients.

Mike Lynch said Viguerie adds "tremendous value" to the charity's ability to raise money. Lynch added that the charity's finances have met the fundraising standards of the Better Business Bureau, among others.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.

See google.org video hereGoogle: From 'Don't Be Evil' to How to Do Good

By KEVIN J. DELANEY
January 18, 2008; Page B1

In one of the most widely watched efforts in corporate giving in years, Google Inc. unveiled yesterday nearly $30 million in new grants and investments, outlining how it will focus a massive philanthropic endeavor that erases the usual boundaries between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds.

The first set of major five- to eight-year initiatives it will pursue includes efforts to create systems to help predict and prevent disease pandemics, to empower the poor with information about public services and to create jobs by investing in small- and mid-size businesses in the developing world. They join previously announced initiatives to accelerate the commercialization of plug-in cars and make renewable energy cheaper than coal. The grants and investments announced yesterday are an early wave of Google's planned efforts in the five focus areas.

Larry Brilliant, executive director of Google.org, talks with Stacey Delo about running the Internet giant's philanthropic arm.
Valued at about $2 billion, the assets currently set aside for the company's philanthropic arm, Google.org, make it larger than any in-house corporate foundation in the U.S., according to the Foundation Center, a nonprofit research firm. (Private foundations set up by tycoons such as Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates have more assets.)

Just as important, the Mountain View, Calif., Internet company is marshaling both company and foundation resources around the initiatives, which it hopes will provide more impact in tackling some of the world's biggest problems. Philanthropy experts consider Google to be among the leading edge of donors experimenting with this hybrid for-profit/nonprofit model. Others include eBay Inc. founder Pierre Omidyar's Omidyar Network, which invests in businesses and makes grants to nonprofits.

Google, which has found enormous success with an unconventional business style and a corporate motto of "Don't Be Evil," says it isn't looking to make money on its philanthropic efforts. But, as a division of the for-profit company rather than a nonprofit offshoot,
Google.org has freedom to invest in and operate businesses, lobby for political causes and issue certain grants that a traditional corporate foundation wouldn't. Its announcement yesterday includes a $10 million investment in closely held eSolar Inc., which is working on utility-scale solar power.
Google.org also expects to invest directly in businesses in places such as Africa to spur job creation. "We can start new industries," says Executive Director Larry Brilliant. "I hope we will."

The money Google.org has awarded to date (http://google.org/projects.html1) remains modest, and its progress so far has been slow compared with its parent company's breakneck growth in staff and business reach. Some philanthropy experts warn Google that successful businesspeople with high hopes for solving the world's problems have underestimated those problems' complexity and have fallen short.

Selected from more than 800 suggestions, the final initiatives show Google's special interest in projects where it can bring its engineering and information-management prowess to bear. Google staff, many of whom spend 20% of their work time on independent projects, are expected to contribute significantly to
Google.org efforts. The initiatives also exhibit Google's characteristic penchant for audacious moves to reshape markets -- from advertising to small-business financing -- others are often more timid in approaching.

Google.org's big ambitions suggest it could potentially transform the business mix of Google itself -- leading the company to become a player in sectors such as energy and finance.

"They're business and technology people saying we want to find business and technology solutions to problems," says Mark Kramer, managing director of FSG Social Impact Advisors, a nonprofit philanthropic consulting group."That hasn't been done much before."

The roots of the effort trace to Google's April 2004 regulatory filing for an initial public offering. In it, company co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page announced plans for a corporate foundation with the goal that "someday this institution may eclipse Google itself in terms of overall world impact by ambitiously applying innovation and significant resources to the largest of the world's problems."

To start, the company created a nonprofit corporate foundation with about $90 million in funding. It announced plans to focus on issues related to energy and the environment and global poverty. After discovering in 2005 that its foundation couldn't easily donate to One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit initiative to sell low-cost laptops to developing countries, Google began pursuing the hybrid approach with the for-profit structure. Laws prevent corporate foundations from making gifts that might financially benefit their businesses, and the laptop project aimed at increasing Internet access arguably could boost Google's online advertising revenue.

In February 2006, Google hired as Google.org's executive director Dr. Brilliant, a former physician who helped direct efforts to eradicate smallpox from India in the 1970s. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, he served as a bioterrorism consultant to the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With Dr. Brilliant's arrival, Google.org added global health as a third focus area. He and colleagues sought advice from Google staff and leaders in the philanthropy field and made small "learning grants" to nonprofits. But by spring 2007, Dr. Brilliant and his team realized they needed to focus and launched an internal process to select limited initiatives in the environment, poverty and global health areas.

While some Google.org executives championed efforts to toughen energy-efficiency standards, the company's co-founders urged them to look instead at making renewable energy cheaper. In late November, Google announced that it expected to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in efforts to make renewable electricity cheaper than power from coal-fired plants. In an unusual move, Google said it would spend millions of dollars on research and development and would create a renewable-energy research-and-development group within the company, in addition to grants and investments by
Google.org.

The other major initiatives Google.org will focus on include the program to predict and prevent disease outbreaks and other global threats. That is anchored by a $5 million grant to InSTEDD, a nonprofit created by
Google.org that is applying technology to improve the flow of information between organizations fighting such problems. Google says it believes that better data and systems for analyzing it are critical to identifying disease hot spots. Possible eventual projects for Google include creating simple tests doctors in the developing world could use to diagnose infectious diseases.

As part of the "Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services" initiative, Google is supporting efforts to provide parties in the developing world with information about public services such as education. One beneficiary of a $2 million grant from
Google.org is Pratham (www.pratham.org13), a nonprofit in India that gives reading tests to schoolchildren and publicly releases the data with the goal of improving education standards.

Google.org also aims to "Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises" in the developing world. It will try to reduce the transaction costs for outsiders to invest in such businesses, help create funds that buy stakes in the businesses and provide investors with an "exit," and invest directly and indirectly in such businesses.

Some warn that Google's unconventional approach risks altering the landscape of industries, putting it in competition with other businesses. Its investment in renewable-energy research and companies, for example, makes Google a potential rival to some oil and coal concerns. Google "is becoming a catalyst for energy innovation, which makes them an invader to the traditional energy industry," says R. Paul Herman, CEO of HIP Investor, which consults on socially responsible investing, and former strategy director at Omidyar Network.

Such philanthropic activities potentially have repercussions for Google's core online advertising business, if energy companies cut back on buying Google ads because they viewed it as a rival. Similarly, any government officials unhappy with
Google.org's efforts could potentially use regulatory or lawmaking powers to take it out on the company.

Dr. Brilliant says the company has considered such risks. "It's an experiment to have a philanthropically oriented organization that's part of the [profit and loss] of Google," he says.

But, coming nearly four years after Google first announced it was devoting 1% of its equity, 1% of annual profit and an unspecified amount of employee time to Google.org, yesterday's announcement gives much-awaited shape and focus to its activities.

GOOGLE.ORG'S CHOSEN INITIATIVES

The below list includes select grants and investments, including some previously announced. (See a full list.2)
Predict and Prevent
Goal: Fight disease pandemics and other disasters by using technology and bolstering data collection and analysis to identify "hot spots" and enable a rapid response.
Select Grants:
• $5 million to InSTEDD3 nonprofit to improve early detection, preparedness, and response capabilities for global health threats and humanitarian crises.
• $2.5 million to the Global Health and Security Initiative4, established by the Nuclear Threat Initiative to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats.
* * *
Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services
Goal: Fight poverty and health problems by providing information about public services such as education, health, water and sanitation to empower citizens and communities, providers and policy makers.
Select Grants:
• $2 million to Pratham5, a nonprofit in India which gives reading tests to schoolchildren and publicly releases the data with the goal of improving education standards.
• $765,000 to the Centre for Budget and Policy Studies6, a Bangalore-based analysis group, to create a Budget Information Service for local governments to facilitate better district- and municipal-level level planning in India.
• $660,000 to the Center for Policy Research7 in India to increase the debate and discourse on issues of urban local governance and urban service delivery.
* * *
Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Goal: Stimulate investment in small- and mid-sized businesses in the developing world in order to create jobs and fight poverty.
Select Grants:
• $4.7 million grant to the nonprofit TechnoServe8, which works to support enterprises, spur job creation, and alleviate poverty.
* * *
Develop Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal (REGoal: Make renewable electricity cheaper than power from coal-fired plants
Select Investments:
• $10 million investment in closely held eSolar9 Inc., which is working on utility-scale solar power
• $10 million investment in closely held Makani Power10 Inc., which is working on high altitude wind-power systems.
Comment: Google separately is creating an internal research and development group staffed with engineers working on the problem.
* * *
Accelerate the Commercialization of Plug-In Vehicles (RechargeIT)
Goal: Fight climate change by accelerating the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technology.
Select Grants:
• $200,000 to the nonprofit Brookings Institution11 to support a conference in spring 2008 on federal policy to promote plug-in hybrids.
• $200,000 to nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute12 to support plug-in vehicle research and development.
Comment: Google.org launched a $10 million request for investment proposals last year, and will invest amounts ranging from $500,000 to $2 million in selected for-profit companies tackling this area.

Source: Google, WSJ research

RelightNY

2008-02-13T00:36:00.002-08:00

Who: Avery Hairston and RelightNY team
Age: 15
What: Founded RelightNY

Avery Hairston, a Freshman at Collegiate School in New York, founded RelightNY and leads a team of 9 high school students on a mission to make a difference. Check out their website, www.relightny.com (full of videos, press releases, information, and more) after you read about the group:

From the Founder:
Many people feel powerless to stop climate change. They wonder, “What can I possibly do to help?” The short answer: Change a light bulb. One thing everyone can do is switch from incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs. CFLs last up to 10 times longer than regular bulbs and use less energy to produce the same amount of light. Less energy used means less fossil fuel burned and, subsequently, less carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, slowing the rate of climate change. More practically, less energy used means a lower electricity bill each month—so your wallet benefits too. I, along with a growing Teen Advisory Board, formed the environmental awareness group RelightNY with the hope that we can educate and encourage people to take action and live in ways that protect the earth’s environment by simply switching a light bulb.

What is the mission of RelightNY?
RelightNY’s mission is to educate and inspire people to take action and live in ways that protect the earth’s environment for current and future generations.

How does RelightNY hope to inspire social change?
Supplying low-income housing units with energy-saving CFL bulbs, both helping families to save on utility costs and fighting global warming. Spreading awareness of the benefits of CFL bulbs. Encouraging all New Yorkers to switch to CFL bulbs in their homes.

How does RelightNY benefit the community and the environment?
Education
Through distribution of CFL bulbs to low-income families, awareness of environmental issues spreads and more people understand the intrinsic benefits of using less energy.
Environment
Switching to CFL bulbs reduces the amount of energy we use and the carbon emissions we produce.
Economy
CFL bulbs last up to 10 times longer than standard light bulbs and reduce electric costs.
Empowerment
Everyone can feel proud that they’re contributing to the fight against global warming!

What difference can a CFL make?
If every American swapped in just one bulb for an Energy Star-labeled CFL:
We would collectively save more than $8 billion in energy costs.
We would burn 30 billion fewer pounds of coal.
We would remove 2 million cars worth of greenhouse gas emissions from our atmosphere.

How does RelightNY work?
1. RelightNY raises donations from corporate and individual sponsors.
2. Open Space Institute handles financial responsibilities, including distributing donor receipts for tax deductions.
3. RelightNY buys CFL bulbs at a discounted price.
4. RelightNY works with HELP USA to distribute CFLs to low-income families.
5. CFLs create a brighter tomorrow for families and the environment for years to come.

How do I donate?
Donations can be made out to: OSI/RelightNY, c/o Avery Hairston, 165 East 72nd Street, New York, NY 10021.

Utah Young Humanitarian Award

2008-02-13T00:36:00.001-08:00

Who: Chelsea Gould
Age: 18
What: President of Operation Smile Chapter and More…

After working with the HUGS Foundation this past summer in Rochester, NY, we at Believe In Youth have a soft spot for those working toward a similar cause. Not only was Chelsea Gould the President of her local chapter in a similar organization, but she has done much more, earning Utah’s Young Humanitarian Award along the way.

Orem girl named Utah’s Young Humanitarian
BROOKE BARKER - Daily Herald

Chelsea Gould has traveled as far as Kenya and Mexico on humanitarian projects, but she hasn’t forgotten about the children in her own neighborhood.

Gould, an Orem High senior, was recently named as Utah’s Young Humanitarian for 2007 by YouthLINC, a Utah based non-profit organization hoping to instill life-long service in young people.

“I think it was just her dedication to constantly doing service and her motivation,” said Terry Palmer, a local service coordinator for YouthLINC. “She seems to just simply want to serve her community and her world.”

The award includes a $5,000 scholarship, which Gould plans to use this fall at Dixie State College in St. George. One day she hopes to graduate from UVSC in nursing and start her own foundation in Kenya.

“She’s had a dream ever since she was a little girl to go to Africa to help children in orphanages,” said Michelle Gould, her mother.

In 2005, Chelsea traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, with her grandmother, where they spent five weeks working in orphanages, donating clothing, shoes and school supplies, and planting gardens, according to her mother.

“One of the biggest problems I saw when I went there was the orphanages didn’t test the kids for AIDS,” Gould said. “I want to get a nursing degree with that as my focus.”

She hopes to start an organization with her father, Ben Gould, aimed at providing AIDS/HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy to inhibit the spread of HIV for children in orphanages.

She is currently the president of her school’s Operation Smile chapter. The organization provides surgeries for children with cleft palettes, cleft lips, tumors and burns in Third World countries. Last summer, she traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico, to volunteer with the program.

Chelsea Gould has also volunteered for more than a year with Kids on the Move, a nonprofit organization that works with children with disabilities up to age 3.

Holiday Volunteers

2008-02-13T00:35:00.001-08:00

Who: Jesse Watson
Age: 15
What: Volunteered on Christmas Day

‘Tis the season of giving, and this young man did his part. Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year!

ABC Local News with Video
Houstonians volunteer this Christmas day
Tuesday, December 25, 2007 | 4:21 PM
By Mark Garay

HOUSTON — Tis the season of giving right here in Houston. Volunteers served up hot holiday meals at two Salvation Army locations. We visited one of those locations, the Harbor Light Center on North Main.

It began with a prayer and then it led to the plates. Around 100 volunteers fed Houston’s needy Tuesday, powered by the energy and spirit of dedicated volunteers.

“I’ve led such a good life. You have to give back to the community,” said volunteer Tonia Scott. “To be truthful, most of us, we don’t know where we’re going to be tomorrow.”

They came from as far away as Magnolia to play waiter and spend hours helping those less fortunate a little more comfortable.

“I’ve learned to be grateful for everything I have,” said volunteer Jesse Watson. “I know I have presents for Christmas and they don’t.”

Jesse and his 13-year-old half sister, Joanne Sinclair, are learning important lessons about real life.

“To see that these people need help and they don’t have homes,” said Joanne. “To serve them, to have a good Christmas. Because we already have a good Christmas with our family.”

And their mom, Peggy Sinclair, hopes the lessons last a lifetime.

“Christmas, sometimes, we’re always thinking, ‘What about me, what about me’ and we need to put other people first,” she said. “We haven’t opened our presents yet. We came here first and then we’re going to do our thing later.”

More than 100 volunteers served Tuesday, either cooking or serving a hot meal. While the clients fill their stomachs, these giving Houstonians are fullling their own spiritual needs.

“It makes me feel so good and warm,” said volunteer Nancy Wilson. “That’s what Christmas is all about, giving.”

They began preparing for this meal two weeks. In that time, 132 turkeys were cooked.

Canadian Red Cross Young Humanitarian

2008-02-13T00:33:00.000-08:00

Who: Breanne England
Age: 25
What: 2007 Canadian Red Cross Young Humanitarian Award

Breanne England has been doing a lot of good for a long time. This story reads like a bio, but hopefully inspires us all to do what we can to make a difference in as many ways as possible. Happy Holidays!

Canadian Red Cross
2007 Young Humanitarian Award

The Canadian Red Cross – New Brunswick Region and McInnis Cooper proudly presents Breanne England as the Young Humanitarian Award 2007 Recipient.

Breanne England is a 25 year old New Brunswick native, currently working and living in Ottawa. After graduating from Kennebecasis Valley High School in 2000, she went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Sociology from UNBSJ. She has since completed her Masters Degree in Human Security and Peace building from Royal Roads University, as well as a certificate in Refugee Issues from York University. During her time at Royal Roads she completed research on ‘Education Initiatives in Uganda’, ‘Human Security in Rural Villages’ and ‘Civic Literacy, Decentralization and Local Governance’.

In 2003, Breanne traveled to Uganda for the first time along with a small group from her church as part of an orphan sponsorship and girl-child education program. While there, she became impassioned with Africa. In 2005 she returned to Uganda, this time to research peace building synergies in conflict-ridden Northern Uganda. This was followed by time living in the remote village of Kyabirukwa on her own, teaching secondary school girls. She also completed field research for her major research project on human security. Breanne is also part of a three-person team that is currently sponsoring 5 students in the village of Kyabirukwa, with the aim of helping these children complete primary and secondary school.

Locally, Breanne has been involved with the Tomorrow Team, a youth program associated with St. Augustine’s Anglican Church. She not only led the junior and senior youth, but also organized summer camps and participated in many church activities. In 2002 she spent a summer counselling children at Camp Medley, in Gagetown, NB. She has also been actively involved with the Canadian Red Cross as a Disaster Management Instructor, Responder and briefly as a Branch Counsel Representative. In the past few years, Bre has been involved in refugee and immigration work in Saint John.

Breanne is not only adventurous, but energetic, and brings this to the table when interacting with children in the many programs she has volunteered with. She is credited with creating inventive programs and with her ability to get people involved with the many projects she takes on.

Her life mantra is: “Strength to dream, Courage to act, Faith to endure…”

Video Interview with FORGE Founder

2008-02-13T00:32:00.000-08:00

Who: Kjerstin Erickson
Age: 24
What: Founder and CEO of FORGE

Kjerstin Erickson founded FORGE at age 20 while studying at Stanford University. This week we have a video interview with Kjerstin by Global X courtesy of Social Edge. Enjoy.

"She is 24 years old. She is a student at Stanford. And in her spare time, she works in three refugee camps in Zambia, helping 60,000 refugees build better lives. This is Kjerstin Erickson's amazing story, as told to Global X." -Social Edge

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzEJPblplKc]

I, Lender

2008-02-13T00:31:00.001-08:00

Who: Matt Flannery
Age: 30
What: Founded Kiva, www.kiva.org

If you haven’t heard of Kiva yet, check it out. It is an amazing idea that has had great follow through. Below is an interview with co-founder Matt Flannery from Smithsonian Magazine.

I, Lender
Software engineer Matt Flannery pioneers Internet microloans to the world’s poor

By Amy Crawford
Smithsonian magazine, October 2007

Matt Flannery, 30, co-founded the non-profit Kiva.org, a microlending site, in 2004. Kiva operates on a people-to-people model, allowing private individuals to make loans to borrowers seeking to establish small businesses in developing countries.

How does Kiva work?

Kiva connects individual lenders from the developed world to individual borrowers in the developing world. We work with local microfinance institutions that post the loan applications they get on the Internet. Kiva raises debt capital via the Internet from thousands of lenders in the United States and Europe. The partner institutions sort and administer loans, but our lenders actually fund them.

How did you get this idea?

My wife [Jessica, co-founder of Kiva] was consulting in microfinance in East Africa, and I went along on a trip with her. We had the idea together. I thought it would be interesting to give people the chance to participate as partners, not just donors, with [small] businesses in Africa. I’ve always been interested in ideas about poverty. I’ve been sponsoring children through my church my whole life. It was part of my upbringing. What we’re doing now is an extension of that personal history.

Why loans rather than donations?

Lending to somebody sends the message that you’re treating them as an equal, someone who can participate with you in a business relationship. It’s a really dignified way to interact with people.

What challenges did you have to overcome as you were setting up Kiva?

We started Kiva without any funding, and whenever you do something like that, it’s hard to prepare for growth. Without a lot of start-up capital, you have to bootstrap your way at every step. At one point, we were getting thousands of users, and we had a $20 Web-hosting plan on a shared server, so our Web site was crashing. We had to figure out in one weekend how to transfer the site from that commercial hosting plan.

How do you make sure the loans are not misused?

We’re as transparent as possible. When you loan on the Web site, you get to choose whom you loan to—a goat-herding business, a retail business, a fruit stand. Most of the time, you hear back about what happened [through the Web site]. We allow the lenders to ask questions and the partners to report. This summer we sent about 30 volunteers—we call them Kiva fellows—to witness Kiva’s impact firsthand, and they’re writing about it on the Web site. Just about every minute, there’s a new journal entry.

So far, Kiva has an excellent repayment record. How do you manage that?

Repayment rates in the microfinance industry are much higher than for U.S. domestic loan lending. That’s because microfinance institutions are lending to people for whom getting a loan is their only shot at anything. If you’re given a sixty-dollar loan, your chance of getting another loan is contingent on you paying that back.

You’re also a lender on Kiva. Who are some of the people you’ve lent to personally?

I usually lend to Eastern Europeans—a food market in Azerbaijan, a clothing store in Ukraine. Most of my portfolio is people from Azerbaijan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, places like that, because they are the least popular borrowers on the site, and they often get overlooked by our lenders.

I hear your Iraqi borrowers are especially popular with Americans. How Come?

Curiosity. [People think,] “I can really send my money to someone in Iraq? I can really participate in a place that’s so chaotic? I wonder what will happen? I wonder if it will work out? I want to follow this story.” There are probably a lot of people who want to send another message to the Iraqis, that America’s not all about invading their country, we’re about building it up as well.

A former editorial assistant at Smithsonian, Amy Crawford is a student at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Brower Youth Awards Winner

2008-02-13T00:30:00.001-08:00

Who: Rachel Barge
Age: 21
What: Co-created The Green Initiative Fund at Cal

Rachel was the winner of a 2007 Brower Youth Award, honoring youth leadership in conservation, preservation, and restoration. Check out her bio below, and her video along with more from the Brower Youth Awards.

Rachel’s Biography:

Rachel was an avid contributor to various environmental initiatives at the University of California, Berkeley beginning in her freshman year. She realized that one underlying factor preventing her campus from becoming more sustainable was a lack of funding for necessary projects. To overcome this challenge, Rachel co-created The Green Initiative Fund, a student fee referendum passed by the students at Berkeley. The Green Initiative Fund successfully secures more than $2 million over ten years - $200,000 annually - for sustainability projects on campus, including clean energy, sustainable transportation, improved energy efficiency, water conservation, “green” internships, and improved recycling and composting programs. The Green Initiative Fund essentially tripled the amount of sustainability funding available at UC Berkeley and raised awareness about sustainability issues at the University. Rachel also founded The Sustainability Team (Steam), a student internship program now consisting of 60 members dedicated to creating, implementing and leading a variety of projects aimed at establishing sustainable practices. The Sustainability Team implemented the first recycling program in student union buildings and founded the first organic, local, student-run cooperative produce stand on campus. Check out the video here.

In exile, a former gang member finds a reason to dance

2008-02-13T00:29:00.001-08:00

Who: Tuy Sobil
Age: 30
What: Keeping kids in Cambodia off the streets with break dancing

This article is from The Christian Science Monitor, but BIY has no religious affiliation. This story is not religious either, but of a recovery in one man’s life that is leading to guidance for many others. A former member of the Crips gang in Los Angeles and deported by the United States, Tuy now resides in Cambodia and is stepping up to make a difference in the lives of others. Check out the article below.

In exile, a former gang member finds a reason to dance
Deported to Cambodia for criminal convictions, Tuy Sobil saves street kids – and himself – with break dance
By Tibor Krausz | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tuy Sobil, a sinewy 30-year-old with a ponytail, a pierced eyebrow, and gangland-style Goth tattoos, is watching over a group of excited kids crowded around a linoleum mat laid out in a city park. To the beat of a 1980s American hip-hop remix emanating from a boombox, one of Mr. Tuy’s protégés, “Floater,” lets it rip – twisting, turning, and spinning like an animated marionette. Cheers erupt from a crowd of curious onlookers.

Then it is Tuy’s turn in this Sunday break-dancing battle.

Sporting a rapper’s stocking cap despite the humid heat, he does a series of “pikes,” “flares,” and “butterfly kicks,” slumping to the ground, wheezing, when he’s finished.

“I’m old and rusty, but I need to do it for the kids,” he pants.

Once a gifted break-dance wannabe in Long Beach, Calif., Tuy has lately resurrected his old passion – to help save Cambodian street kids from the sort of dead-end detour he took.

And the kids, many neglected, some orphaned, lionize him for it.

“KK looks after us,” says 14-year-old Floater, aka Chea Sokchen. “I don’t want to be just a street kid,” he adds with boyish zeal. “I want to become a b-boy [break dancerr].”

That’s the career Tuy feels he should have pursued, too. Instead, wanting to “be cool,” Tuy – alias “KK,” gang-style initials for “Crazy Crip,” – joined the notorious Crips gang in California and dropped out of school. An armed robbery conviction when he was 18 sent his life spiralling downward. Born in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1977 to escapees from the Khmer Rouge killing fields and taken to the US as a tot, Tuy never became a US citizen, and the felony conviction was followed by a decade in jail and immigration detention centers.

He was deported in 2004 – the coda to what he now knows were misplaced aspirations.

“I never let anybody take my gang down,” Tuy says of his teen-aged tribalism. “But say this: As I grew older, I started to think, ‘My gang ain’t got me nowhere, but cost me everything – my family, my life [in the US], my son.’ “

He wants to steer his protégés clear of similar bad choices. “I made a mistake as a kid,” he explains, “but I’m not gonna let these kids destroy their lives, too.”

Sprawling across Tuy’s lower back is a tattoo of Angkor Wat, the monumental 12th-century temple and Cambodia’s national symbol. It was a handy sign of his ethnic affiliations in America’s gang culture, but having never even seen his “homeland,” it was also just about the deepest link he had to that place.

So his “repatriation” was no homecoming. It was exile for life to a remote, impoverished, war-ravaged land he’d never seen. Like many of the other 160-plus Cambodian Americans forced to return under a US law that allows deportation of noncitizens with criminal convictions – from shoplifting to murder – Tuy spoke Khmer badly (he still can’t read or write it) and was viewed as a stranger.

“I knew no one here. I thought I wasn’t gonna make it,” he recalls.

In Cambodia, returnees cope the best they can. Many fall back on crime; others like Tuy reinvent themselves. Some started new families and, according to the Returnee Integration Support Program, a charity run by a US-based organization of Vietnam War veterans, some even became Buddhist monks.

Even so, Tuy testifies, “every deportee I know still has a pain in his heart.”

Not that his life in the States was idyllic. He grew up in a family of seven in Long Beach, where his jobless, unschooled parents made ends meet by scavenging. Out of place in the affluent southern California milieu, he became a regular in playground brawls and soon a crack addict. (He’d kick his addiction in prison.)

Yet he craved acceptance, and his daredevil stunts in break dance – an improvisational street ballet of jerky moves and acrobatics – earned him accolades. In one face-off, Tuy reminisces, he even bested “Pose,” the neighborhood’s finest “breaker.”

Today, there is another “Pose” in Tuy’s life – a bashful, diminutive AIDS orphan with delicate features and dyed hair. Inspired by TV clips of foreign break dancers, the 13-year-old HIV-positive boy and his friends approached Tuy to teach them. The “American” brushed them off; but they persisted. And Tuy’s difficult transition in exile became life-transforming as he developed the Tiny Toones dance troupe.

These days Tuy’s Chinese shophouse-style quarters in the city’s Tonle Sap neighborhood double as a makeshift community center. Upstairs in an unfurnished room, dozens of street kids gather every evening for break dance practice.

The group has 600 members. Drug users and glue sniffers aren’t welcome unless they clean up first. Tiny Toones are drilled in discipline, honesty, and solidarity. They also learn English from volunteers – other deportees from the US.

“This is many kids’ only chance to stay out of trouble,” says Hin Roatnak, another former Crip from central California, who says he was deported for a gang murder and now helps out with the group. “Sometimes, we see kids eating leftovers from garbage bins, so we bring them here and give them food and a shower.”

Tuy has also “adopted” five homeless teens, who sleep in the hall outside his cramped bedroom. In his room is a photographic tableau of his 6-year-old son in California, whom he may never see again.

Tuy’s open-door policy has its dangers. Recently, his new stereo and laptop were stolen – both cherished possessions earned from his $400-a-month salary as an antidrugs and AIDS campaigner for a foreign nongovernmental agency . But Tuy doesn’t blame the kids. “It could have been the smokers next door.”

His legs shriveled by polio, Ean An sits slumped in his makeshift aluminum wheelchair, watching his deaf but able-bodied friends show off their new moves at a recreational program sponsored by a British charity in Kampot Province, 100 miles south of Phnom Penh.

He doesn’t languish there for long, though. Tuy coaxes the boy out of his wheelchair and challenges him to a handstand competition. An wins it on his third try. Tuy then shows him some “power moves” he can do without using his legs.

“In our culture, people think we’re of no use,” explains Ponh Denh, a 21-year-old ninth-grade student in a rusty wheelchair. (In Buddhist Cambodia, disability is often associated with bad karma incurred by wrongs done in previous lives.) “But if we try,” he says, with pride, “even handicapped people like us can dance.”

So can orphans. Tuy holds regular dance classes in a Phnom Penh orphanage where the youngest “b-boy,” a 2-year-old, is already an avid spinner.

“On the surface, it’s only break dance, but all these kids need is someone to motivate them,” says Dara Chan, a Khmer-American student from Michigan volunteering at Tiny Toones.

“KK is very charismatic, and the way he plays he has the heart of a 10-year-old,” adds Mr. Chan. “Kids like to jump on his back and play with him all day. He’s like a big brother to them. They need him.”

Tuy needs the kids, too.

“This is my home now and Tiny Toones are my family,” he says. “When they cry, it hurts me. I’ll do my best to help them.”

Destination: Zanzibar

2008-02-13T00:28:00.000-08:00

Who: Pat Cronin and Kathryn Serra
Age: 21-22
What: Co-Founded University of Virginia Chapter of Students for Students International

In communities and across the globe, young people helping young people can go a long way. Pat Cronin and Kathryn Serra followed the 1995 founders of S4Si at UNC and continue to help make a difference. Check out the article from The Cavalier Daily, the UVA Student Newspaper.

Destination: Zanzibar
Students at the University work to help their peers halfway around the globe

Irene Kan
Cavalier Daily Senior Writer
University students work year-round to make a difference in the University community. From raising money for charitable causes in the Charlottesville community to playing with kids or spending time with the elderly, University students find many ways to be involved in the local area. But what about the global community?

Fourth-year College student Pat Cronin said this is the question he had in mind when he co-founded Students for Students International. a group aiming to increase access to education in Zanzibar, an island region of Tanzania. According to Cronin’s co-founder fourth-year Kathryn Serra, 79 percent of the Tanzanian population goes through middle school, but only 29 percent continues on to high school. S4Si works to increase the number of students who go on to high school, and eventually college.

In order to accomplish this task, all 14 members must have large responsibilities. But, Serra said, the structure of the organization is “very fluid,” which allows the different parts of the organization, such as fundraising, service and operation, to work in conjunction with each other.

Sarah Elaine Hart, a second-year in the College, said her personal responsibilities were more time-consuming at the beginning of the semester, but when they die down, someone else’s responsibilities will become heavier. At that point, she can lessen the load for someone who helped her earlier.

“Somehow it works out so we can help each other out,” she said.

A positive change

In the two years that the group has been in existence at the University, it has focused primarily on funding scholarships for certain students at the Ben Bella School, a science and technology magnet school in Stone Town, Zanzibar. The town may be small, Cronin said, but that doesn’t mean its inhabitants should be overlooked.

The African students are chosen by the S4Si chapter at UNC-Chapel Hill, where the group originated in 1995. These students feel privileged to receive what students here often take for granted: a high school education, Hart said.

“What’s astounding to me is that half the amount I spend on textbooks a semester pays for a year of school,” Hart said. “It’s mind-boggling.”

For the past two years, the group has set a fundraising goal of $10,000 to be used to fund scholarships and other projects for the school, according to Hart.

Their latest project is to build a library for a girls’ hostel in Zanzibar, Cronin said. In January 2008, the group will be traveling to Stone Town to transform a dilapidated storage closet twice the size of a dorm room and filled with broken mattresses into a room of desks, computers and books. The group will be staying in the same hostel that they will be revamping.

The Rosetta Stone program, a computerized language instruction program, will also be installed on the school’s computers to help improve the students’ proficiency in English, which is the language they test in, but is often their second or third language, Cronin said.

“It’s going to be a really incredible experience; it’s going to be intense,” predicted Hart, who has never been on the trip before. “We need to make sure the money’s going where it’s supposed to be.”

S4Si will be accompanied by the University chapter of Engineers Without Borders, a nonprofit organization of engineers dedicated to improving the quality of life in developing communities around the world. The engineers will be doing the actual building of the desks and shelves. According to both Cronin and Serra, partnering with other groups in order to distribute and leverage the workload is essential.

Making it happen

The library project is possible partly because of donations from various organizations both large and small, ranging from the local library to Amazon.com. S4Si raises money through a mailing campaign, grants and events, Cronin said.

The mailing campaign includes an informational letter about the cause and the sponsored scholars that is sent out to alumni, family and friends. According to Hart, who is in charge of the campaign, it is the organization’s largest source of revenue.

Matching grants are obtained from various corporations with the help of the Forum for African Women Educationalists, a pan-African non-government organization. Other revenue is generated through raffles and bar nights. Although these may seem to be small events, their effects go a long way.

This region of the world “has an income of less than a dollar a day, so when we sell a raffle ticket for $3, that has a huge impact,” Hart said.

The money is not only used for scholarships and projects like the library — plans are also in the works for a college guide and a trust fund.

The guide would be comprised of a directory of schools, scholarships, and financial aid possibilities that the students could use as references for their lives after high school, Serra said. The universities are from all over the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Kenya.

The trust fund runs in a similar vein, as it would ensure that the scholars will continue receiving funding for their entire high school career, Hart said.

A growing mission

Through their work during the past two years, members of the group said they have found that it is almost impossible not to expand their goals in order to continue helping the students. It’s particularly tempting to venture into different fields now that the group has established a firm foundation, Hart said.

Two years after its commencement, the group is at a “tipping point,” Cronin agreed.

“We are at a unique point right now where we’ve established the organization, and we’ve got our foundation set to the point where we can look to expand,” Hart said.

The impact is greatest, however, if it is concentrated in a small area. By only directing their attention to the students at Ben Bella, S4Si ensures that they make at least a marginal difference for one or two people, Cronin said.

“Every effort I put into the group has a really tangible result in the lives of students in Zanzibar,” Hart said.”[The students in the program] have some of the most potential to impart change and help their country grow out of disparity. $10,000 really makes a lifelong difference.”

Making a Difference With Education

2008-02-13T00:27:00.002-08:00

Who: Jorge Miranda
Age: 29
What: Opened MATCH Charter Public High School in Boston in 2000

Making a difference with education, Jorge Miranda opened MATCH Charter Public High School in September 2000. The school aims to close the achievement gap by preparing inner-city students not just to get a spot in college, but to succeed there as well. MATCH is turning kids around with its long, hard hours and teachers that care. The students recently learned that this almost entirely poor, minority school was number one in math on the state standardized test. Read the ABC News story below:

Tough School Propels Inner-City Kids
Charter School’s Long Hours Pay Off With Some of the Best Test Scores in the State
Oct. 7, 2007 —

At age 13, Luis Sanchez’s mother kicked him out of the house — permanently — for misbehaving.

“She just brought me to court and was just, like, you know, ‘I don’t want him,’” Luis explains.

The memory hurts. For two weeks he lived on the streets.

A year later, angry and on drugs, he arrived at MATCH in Boston, a high school where school starts at 7:45 a.m. and the day lasts until 5, or even 8 p.m. — late hours required for any kid falling behind.

Watch Dan Harris’ report on MATCH tonight on “World News.” Check your local listings for air time.

MATCH, opened its doors in September 2000, aiming to close the achievement gap by preparing inner-city students not just to get a spot in college, but to succeed in college as well.

Like other charter schools, it is a tuition-free, independent public school. MATCH receives two-thirds of its operating support from the state, and must raise the rest privately.

The school is supported by Boston University, which provides use of athletic facilities and allows students to audit courses, and with other colleges, universities and local businesses.

Students are admitted by blind lottery. Almost all of them are minorities, the majority live in poverty, and most arrive at MATCH well behind in math and reading.

MATCH provides a mix of rigorous rules, demanding academics and regular tutoring. The rules are posted everywhere at MATCH. Principal Jorge Miranda says signs dictate, “everything from the dress code, unexcused absences, tardiness, poor posture in class.”

Reprimanding students for poor posture might seem to hail from a former age, but Miranda believes schools need to make it important.

“If you’re in the classroom and your head is down on the table or you’re leaning back, you’re clearly not focused on learning,” he says. “And even if it’s for a minute, that’s a minute that we’ve lost and we don’t have any time to waste.”

Get enough demerits for infractions like an untucked shirt, and you’ll end up in detention on a Saturday morning.

It wasn’t easy for Luis Sanchez to take at first.

“It felt like a burden on me, because I wasn’t used to it,” he says. “And it just hurt me sometimes; it got me frustrated and angry sometimes.”

What makes the rules work is that they’re backed up by — and this is a word they actually use at the school — love.

There are only 220 students at MATCH. Classes are small and the kids also get one-on-one tutoring from dozens of recent college graduates who live right in the building.

Hundreds of applicants apply to be part of the elite MATCH Corps. The 45 who are accepted receive a small stipend, which is partly funded through a grant from the federal AmeriCorps program, and dorm-style lodging on the school’s top floor. In exchange, they make a one-year, more-than-full-time commitment to tutor students and assist teachers. (See related stories section for more on the tutoring program.)

The program has worked for Sanchez.

“They cared,” he says. “I mean, Mr. Sposato, who was our principal back then … took me aside about every day and just told me, you know, ‘You’re here to learn. You’re here to do something with your life.’”

Many of the students at MATCH need such attention. Christina Bernal learned a few years ago that, as a baby, the state had taken her from her drug-addicted mother. The woman who raised her was actually her aunt.

“When I found out,” Christina says, “it just hit me like, I just felt like I’ve been lied to all my life.”

When we asked another student, Izzy Herrera, about her home life, she simply sobbed.

Despite all the trauma, and despite the students’ academic deficits, MATCH is turning kids around. Just days ago, the students learned that this almost entirely poor, minority school was number one in math on the state standardized test.

As they were handed their individual test results, many students discovered their lives had changed: They scored high enough to get free tuition to any state school in Massachusetts.

But here are the questions: Can this success be replicated nationally? Can you re-create, on a large scale, this sort of small school infused with missionary zeal, where teachers work 11-hours days for low pay?

MATCH executive director Alan Safran answers, “If we can agree as a nation that we have to do it, then we will do it. I don’t think we have in the agreement on the have-to yet. I don’t believe people understand there’s a crisis in urban schools.”

Sanchez may illustrate what the stakes are.

“I think I woulda never come into high school,” he says. “I think I would have dropped out at eighth grade and probably been a drug dealer. … Maybe a year later I woulda got shot. Maybe a year later I would have been in prison. Something like that.”

Instead, he’s an honor roll student applying to colleges — and planning a future he never thought he’d have.

“It hits me every day, especially now, being a senior and getting close to graduation,” he says. “I never pictured myself walking around in a school like this and just being happy every day — and knowing that in a couple of months I’ll be walking down the stage and, you know, maybe my eyes will be tearful because it’s something that I’m gonna be proud of … and all my friends and teachers here are gonna be proud of.”

MATCH is having extraordinary success in taking students like Luis to the next level: every member of its first four graduating classes has been accepted to four-year colleges. And the Massachusetts State Board of Education has rewarded that success by approving the school’s plan to double in size and to open a new middle school.

Think: MTV

2008-02-13T00:27:00.001-08:00

Who: Youth, MTV
What: think.mtv.com

This week’s post is on a site started in beta last month. MTV launched think.mtv.com, a site devoted to bringing together youth who want to make a difference around the world. The site has amazing potential. Below is the about section on the site, check it out when you get a chance.

Think is your community where you, your friends, and your favorite celebrities can get informed, get heard and take action on the issues that matter to you most.

MTV has launched Think to give young people everywhere the opportunity to make your life, your community and your world better. The Think community provides the tools so you can do just that.

Think is for the sunny-day volunteer, the die-hard activist and literally everyone in between. To any and every young person who’s done with standing around when they see injustice, welcome home. This is your place – a connector and organizer of college students, high school dropouts and people on both sides of the political spectrum. So, whether you’re all worked up over the environment, global poverty or education rights, you can use Think’s one-of-a-kind tools and resources to get a crew together and change the world for the better. Your cause. Your effect.

So sign up, create a profile, and get busy making change. Here, we’ll get you started:

• Get Connected: Find and meet other activists who share your world-changing passions
• Get Educated: Learn about a wide range of issues that matter to you, ranging from Politics, to Education, to Relationships and Sex, to the Environment and beyond
• Get Heard: Express yourself by creating, viewing, commenting on, or rating video, audio, images, blogs, forums or games
• Get Active: Take action on your own or with a group, whether it be registering to vote, contacting your elected official, volunteering, or creating a Group or Action Project on issues important to you
• Get Rewarded: Get recognized by earning Action Badges, prizes and other cool swag for taking action to make your life, your community or your world better

The Big Green Bus

2008-02-13T00:26:00.001-08:00

Who: 11 Students from Dartmouth College: Hayley Kennedy, Whitney MacFadyen, Esther Perman, Colleen Wearn, Lucas Schulz, Nate Raines, Kate Parizeau, Brent Butler, Frances Vernon, Merritt Jenkins, Chris Barth
Age: 19-23
What: 11 Dartmouth students, 1 veggie oil powered bus, 12,000 sustainable miles, all for a greener tomorrow

15 ultimate frisbee players made history in 2005 by starting The Big Green Bus. This summer, the third group of Dartmouth students made its way across the country in a vegetable oil powered bus. The mission of The Big Green Bus is: We are promoting the use of sustainable energy though education and example. As we travel around the country on a school bus converted to run on used vegetable oil, we seek to discuss environmental responsibility, the viability of alternative fuels, and tangible solutions to local and global energy issues. Our target audience is tomorrow’s leaders: college students, young politicians, young corporate leaders, young families, and others who are most likely to be affected by future energy issues.

Read the story from the Boston Herald below, and check out The Big Green Bus website:

“Change Your Fuel, Change the World”
By Erin McDonald
Boston Herald In Education
April 16, 2007

That’s the slogan of a group of Dartmouth College students who have crossed the country each summer since 2005 on an old school bus converted to run on used vegetable oil. A new crew is already gearing up to ride the bus out of the college town of Hanover, New Hampshire on June 11th and return to campus on August 30th after making over 40 stops across the United States to educate people about alternative energy sources.

The vision for the project began in 2005, when 15 ultimate Frisbee players from Dartmouth decided to take a cross-country trek to reach out to the Frisbee community at tournaments and raise awareness about the negative effects that burning fossil fuels has on the environment. They wanted to show people that alternative fuels were not a far-fetched idea of the future; they were available here and now. Instead of stopping at gas stations along the way, the Big Green Bus pulled up behind restaurants and (with permission, of course) filled up the tank with used cooking grease that would have otherwise been wasted. They also wanted to prove to the world that even though they were a small group, they could make a great impact on the environment and the way that people think of alternative sources of energy.

With the help of some handy engineering majors and professors, the students were able to create a bus that could run on waste vegetable oil, known as WVO for short. This “grease” is thicker than regular diesel that most school buses run on, so the bus needed two fuel tanks. The bus would begin by running on regular diesel until it warmed up enough to make the WVO thinner. Once the WVO was the same consistency as diesel, the entire engine switched over to run on nothing but the WVO—a fuel that doesn’t pollute our air!

In 2006, a new crew of bus members (with a few returning crew members) set off on another tour, but this time, on a new bus. During this second cross-country trip, they stopped at concerts, environmental fairs, camps, Dartmouth Alumni meetings, and other busy venues to reach out to the youth of America in a variety of settings and teach them about the benefits of alternative energy sources.

The summer of 2007 will be another busy season for the new team of Big Green Bus members, as they travel from New Hampshire to Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, California, Chicago, Ohio, and just about every state in between. They will make a stop in Boson on May 28th before heading back home to Dartmouth College. It’s not too often that one can see a giant green school bus rolling through town, so the students hope that the bus leads to plenty of media attention to better spread their message of going green to help the environment.

The Big Green Bus is a great example of the incredible impact that a small group of young people can have on the way citizens of America think about our environment. What do YOU think about the Big Green Bus and the message the students on the bus are trying to spread? How long will it be before all cars are running on waste vegetable oil instead of gasoline? Let your voice be heard! Check out our message board www.bostonheraldineducation.com

You can read blogs written by the bus members and see updated photos as the Big Green Bus crew makes its cross-country trip this summer at www.thebiggreenbus.org!

Habitat for Humanity builds more than just homes

2008-02-13T00:25:00.000-08:00

Who: Johns Hopkins Habitat for Humanity Chapter
Age: 18-25
What: Renovating homes for deserving families

The Johns Hopkins University chapter of Habitat for Humanity has an interesting take on the process–they renovate existing homes for deserving families to move into. Check the article out here or at the Johns Hopkins Newsletter.

Habitat for Humanity builds more than just homes
By: Alex Vockroth
Posted: 10/18/07

Weekends are a time many Hopkins students use to their advantage. Students may catch up on lost sleep, spend their time socializing or make the more enterprising trek to MSE. There is, however, an exception.

Each Saturday, a group of Hopkins students work hard to improve the health of the Baltimore community - and it’s not by working at the med school. The Hopkins chapter of Habitat for Humanity joins forces with other students and volunteers to make the city more vibrant by rehabilitating rowhouses in West Baltimore’s Sandtown neighborhood.

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit housing group which aims to cure homelessness by building inexpensive, low-income homes for deserving families suffering from poverty. The Hopkins Habitat chapter has been around for about 10 years, and in that time, the group has restored nine homes for low-income Baltimore families.

“We try to build a house every year,” said senior Ariana Barkley, president of the Hopkins chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat’s goal of providing safe, simple housing for the poor is accomplished through the work of volunteers, and it may appear that their generosity could be taken advantage of. However the process for determining who will buy the houses is rather rigorous. The families must first submit an application that is reviewed by a selection committee.

The chosen families are those living in tough situations who are willing to work for a better life. Each family must work alongside other volunteers, including contractors and other professionals, to make their dream of a new home become a reality. The members of the Hopkins chapter help these dreams come true in what Barkley calls a “three-pronged goal.”

The first of these three goals is, obviously, to actually provide the labor necessary for building the houses. Many Habitat groups build houses from the ground up, but in Baltimore, the organization chooses instead to renovate some of the many already standing abandoned rowhouses that populate the city. They spend every Saturday in the Sandtown neighborhood gutting and then restoring the house.

In order to make their work possible, the team requires a great many resources, the most crucial of which is funding. Each year, the chapter must raise at least $30,000 in sponsorship for materials, tools and other needs. To reach this goal, Habitat members do a lot of fundraising. Their efforts come in the form of everything from Krispy Kreme sales to bingo nights. They like to organize less common fundraising methods as well.

“We do a lot of social events … to get the Hopkins community involved in a fun way,” Barkley said.

Seeing the devastating conditions in which much of the country lives inspires Habitat to attain its third goal of raising awareness about issues surrounding poverty. Often, the chapter invites speakers to general body meetings to inform students on community problems. The group wants people outside its own membership to be more mindful of these matters as well, according to Barkley.

“This type of organization is not only going into the community getting hands on experience … but it’s also exposing the community to issues these people are facing,” she said.

Providing families with a fundamental need is clearly a rewarding experience, but participating in Habitat leads to many other positive opportunities. Perhaps the most prominent of these is the connection that members form to the community.

“When you actually go on the trip a lot of neighbors in the area know Habitat,” Barkley explained. “They’re usually very, very warm, and you’re not only meeting the homeowner you’re working with [but] … you also get an opportunity to talk with other neighbors in the area.”

Meredith Mirrer, Hopkins Habitat’s Marketing and Publicity Co-Chair, agrees with Barkley’s statement. By getting involved, she said, “We build lasting relationships with members of the community, and strong friendships with one another.”

Members also believe that Habitat provides excellent practical experience for college students who may otherwise be consumed by academic pursuits. Mirrer’s co-chair, Natalie Draisin, reminds us that a world outside our campus exists.

“Sometimes, while living in the ‘Hopkins bubble,’ we forget how privileged we are to simply have roofs over our heads, or to have the opportunity to attain a prestigious education,” Draisin said. “Nearby, there are many who do not even have a place to call home. As residents of the Hopkins community, it’s our responsibility to … build foundations for them in order to strengthen our communities and bring them together.”

Indeed, the efforts of Hopkins Habitat improve the whole community, not just the families lucky enough to acquire a new home. Bringing a hard-working, determined family into the neighborhood invariably enhances it, and improving the lifestyle of one family can have “a domino effect” on the community, according to Barkley. Habitat’s projects affect how the community perceives itself, and having outsiders take an interest in their home gives residents a greater sense of pride.

Students interested in helping Hopkins Habitat aid the people of Baltimore can easily do so - even if they’ve never held a hammer. Many members first became involved by participating in the week-long Habitat Pre-Orientation program, but certainly all are welcome. Barkley, who claims to have had little experience with manual labor before the Pre-O events preceding her freshman year, encourages anyone who is eager to help to come and learn. She assures prospective volunteers that everyone affiliated with the organization is welcoming and willing to teach newcomers.

As much as Hopkins Habitat has contributed to the city of Baltimore, their impact can be felt far beyond state lines. Every year, they team up with chapters from around the country to participate in other Habitat missions. Recent years have seen spring break trips to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, where the group had the chance to actually help build houses from the ground up. This year, members will be heading to New Orleans to help Katrina victims rebuild what they’ve lost.

International Activist

2008-02-13T00:24:00.000-08:00

Who: Remzi Cej
Age: 24
What: Fieldworker, Amnesty International

Remzi Cej is a native of Kosovo and a citizen of Canada, but a son of the world. Cej speaks eight languages (English, Albanian, Serbian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, Spanish, French, and German) and puts them all to use in his efforts to make a difference around the world. He was recently named a recipient of the 2007 Terry Fox Humanitarian Award. Below is the write-up from the Terry Fox program and and excerpt from Cej’s page on Taking It Global (also a great site for those that Believe In Youth).

Terry Fox Humanitarian Award Recipient, 2007
Remzi Cej St. John’s, Newfoundland

Remzi is passionate about international human rights and this is reflected through his work with a number of organizations including; The Association for New Canadians, Anti Racism Day, War Child, Amnesty International, the United Nations Association, the Refugee Immigrant Society. Remzi is the youngest ever recipient of the YMCA Peace Medal Award and was also recognized by the government of Spain for his work with the Spanish Red Cross during the crisis in Kosovo. Remzi is currently studying French and German Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

“Remzi Cej is at the very forefront of young people I have known in my personal and professional life over the course of my 65 years. He is not only willing but passionate in his determination to be of service to his world-wide community, especially in promoting respect for Human Rights.”

-John Fleming, Amnesty International

Profile, Taking It Global
Remzi Cej, Student, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Remzi has been a fieldworker with Amnesty International since 2004. In 2005, he joined the organization’s diversity task force, an internal group formed to discuss the application of diversity to Amnesty International programs and projects.

He was also a board member of the Youth Advisory Board at War Child Canada from 2003 to 2005.

He served on the executive board of directors of Community Youth Network from 2001 to 2005, an organization working in the policy development and advocacy for the well-being of youth-at-risk in the St.John’s community.

Remzi volunteers with the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador.He recently joined the United Nations Association in Canada National Youth Team on HIV/AIDS to develop new local, provincial, national and international strategies of HIV/AIDS education.

Since 2001, Remzi has volunteered and periodically worked with the Association for New Canadians, the local settlement agency. In 2004, he worked with the Refugee Immigrant Advisory Council.

Currently, Remzi is working on a non-fiction work on the effects of war on youth and is a freelance journalist for the CBC Radio.

Emory's Superwoman

2008-02-13T00:23:00.000-08:00

Who: Elizabeth Sholtys
Age: 23
What: Started multinational orphanage in India

Elizabeth Sholtys is doing amazing things at a very young age. The profile and links below speak for themselves. Make sure you check out the orphanage website.

Q&A Profile: Emory’s Superwoman
By Steven Stein
Posted: 05/01/2007

Elizabeth Sholtys, an Emory senior and the director of a multinational orphanage in India, talks about picking lice out of orphans’ hair, speaking to her cat in Marathi and what it’s like trying to save the world.

So when exactly did you decide to try to save the world?
It had a lot to do with Paul Farmer [Emory’s Commencement speaker]. I read Tracy Kidder’s book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, in my freshman seminar, and I remember just being struck by what he wrote. Here was someone in college who was working in developing countries to make a difference. The book got me thinking, “Why aren’t I trying to do something now?”

Why did you decide to open an orphanage in India? That’s not exactly your normal class project.
Reading Mountains by Mountains got me. It’s just one of those things, an epiphany. You wake up one day, and decide to do something. And the more I wrapped my brain about it, the more concrete it came, and the more determined I became to do something about it. I formed a board of directors within a week of my epiphany. I returned to India in January 2005, and six months later, we opened up the orphanage.

How difficult was it to complete Emory classes while you were 8,000 miles away in India?
It seemed like I was simultaneously trying to exist in two different worlds. One time, when a friend from Emory visited me for spring break, she actually brought me books from the library so I could finish a project for class.

So, when you’re not trying to save the world, what do you do for fun?
I know it sounds lame, but I work with street kids. For me, that’s fun. I also adopted a kitten, and while I was getting the orphanage home together, she and I spent a lot of time together. I was living in a huge apartment, and lonely, and spent a lot of time conversing with the cat in Marathi [a variation of Hindi].

How ironic is it that, because of your work in India, you’ll be missing Paul Farmer’s Commencement speech?
I’m really sad, but I’m excited that other people will hear him.

What do you miss most when you’re in India?
Bagels, actually, as crazy as it sounds. I can’t find them anywhere in India.

Do you get frustrated when you read about investment bankers making more than $100,000 their first year out of college?
I fully understand the work I do isn’t for everyone. Most people wouldn’t be interested in picking lice out of street people’s heads. I just hope people find a way to contribute. If you’re going to be an I-banker, throw some money to a poor orphanage director.

Twenty-five years from now, what are you doing?
Some people are old, crazy cat ladies. I’m going to be an old crazy orphanage director.

Find out more at the orphanage website: http://www.ashrayainitiative.org/
And more articles: The McGill Daily, Ithaca News, Humanitarian Award

Being Smart Is Cool

2008-02-13T00:22:00.002-08:00

Who: Nicole Lapin
Age: 23
What: Hosts “Young People Who Rock” on CNN and started “Being Smart Is Cool” campaign

Nicole Lapin should be interviewing herself on her weekly series, “Young People Who Rock.” At just 23, Lapin is on the fast track to becoming one of the most well known reporters at CNN. Working hard to give young people a positive role model, Lapin is doing her part to step up and make a difference. “Young People Who Rock” is a weekly interview series focused on people under 30 — from CEOs to entertainers to athletes to community and political leaders — who are doing remarkable things. Lapin introduces them on her blog, then interviews them Fridays on CNN Live Video (log on in the 3 p.m. ET hour to catch the interviews).

Lapin also started the “Being Smart Is Cool” campaign, featuring a series of chats with young people, for the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation. Check out the article below from CAA Speakers:

Nicole Lapin is one of the brightest young stars in journalism today. The child of a former Nobel Prize nominee and a beauty queen, it is easy to see where Nicole gets her brains and her beauty. But, this first generation American has created her own niche as the face of online news and a powerful role model for young people worldwide.

Often described as the Doogie Howser of news, Nicole became the youngest anchor on CNN at 22. She started as one of the first anchors to launch CNN Pipeline, now CNN.com LIVE. Reporting on the forefront of the digital revolution, Nicole contributes to various divisions of the network, like CNN Headline News, CNN U.S. and CNN Student News, with what’s hot online. She also produces and stars in a podcast about new gadgets and tech gizmos.

With the idea that there are other young people like herself making a difference, Nicole launched a series Young People Who Rock. Each week, she profiles a different person under 30, from community leaders to politicians to entrepreneurs, doing amazing things. Her columns appear on CNN.com on her own blog every week with broadcast interviews to follow. She incorporates nominations through the network’s user-generated content initiative I-Report so that unknown young people have a chance to tell the world what they are doing.

Expanding her reach as a positive young figure, Nicole created a campaign called Being Smart is Cool. Every week she holds a chat about current events with children from the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation. She was appointed ambassador for the charity and travels on their behalf to inspire youth across the globe to care about issues in the news.

Utilizing her unique and conversational communication style, Nicole has made a name for herself anchoring major events like the Israel-Hezbollah War, Gerald Ford’s death and the Virginia Tech massacre. Prior to CNN, Nicole worked as a business and technology reporter on the floor of major stock exchanges. She also paid her dues as an investigative reporter and local news anchor at several news markets across the country. On the way, she picked up accolades from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Association of Women Journalists and Society of Professional Journalists, among others. Nicole graduated as valedictorian with honors in political science from the prestigious Medill School Journalism at Northwestern University.

Bike and Build

2008-02-13T00:22:00.001-08:00

Who: Jackie Soo
Age: 25
What: Bike & Build Providence to Seattle trip, 2007

Bike & Build organizes cross-country bicycle trips which benefit affordable housing groups. Specifically, they fund projects planned and executed by young adults, aged 18-25. They have donated $752,804 in their past 4 seasons, and have pedaled thousands of miles, spreading the word about the affordable housing crisis in America. Through pre-arranged gifts, Bike & Build funds affordable housing projects executed by their participants in communities where their events begin. Through their grant program, their organization identifies and supports exciting projects involving young people all throughout the nation. Bike & Build also supports local affordable housing organizations along each route through on the road donations. Bike & Build’s programming introduces young adults to the affordable housing cause, engages them in a unique and interesting way, and creates a prolonged and intimate connection.

In addition to the aforementioned, the mission and guiding principles of Bike & Build make it the perfect organization for BIY to profile:

“Mission Statement: Bike & Build is pedaling to end poverty housing. Through fund-raising cycling trips, Bike & Build raises money for and awareness of affordable housing efforts. Our events act as a catalyst to build homes, foster the spirit of service, and empower young adults… mile by mile, house by house.”

“Guiding Principles: We are young, and we could change the world. Young adults are capable of incredible things. Bike & Build’s events unlock the potential of young adults to do good work. We strive to encourage our participants to test their limits, reach their potential, and affect change. Our energy is contagious, and there is much to be done. Safety is our top priority. During our events, the health and safety of our participants is paramount. In our first two years, Bike & Build participants cycled an aggregate of 680,000+ miles without a serious injury or accident. We work on a tight budget. Contributors have a right to demand – and we have a responsibility to ensure – that we be good stewards of the money entrusted to us. We are constantly looking for and implementing innovative ways to increase our effectiveness as a fundraiser.”

Here is the profile of one of this summer’s riders, Jackie Soo, a 2005 graduate of UC Berkeley:

Jackie Soo
Irvine, CA
UC Berkeley

Hi! My name is Jackie, and I grew up in sunny southern California. I went to UC Berkeley, and graduated in 2005 with a BA in English. Unsure about what kind of job I could find with a major like that, I escaped the job hunt and went to Taiwan, where I taught English for a year. That was one of the most amazing experiences of my life – I fell in love with 5 year old Taiwanese kids who couldn’t put together a sentence of English, but who told you “I love you,” put their arms around your neck, and delivered big sloppy kisses on your cheek. Then, I moved to Italy, and lived there for six months. I also taught English, but more to adults who didn’t tell me they loved me, didn’t drape themselves all over my legs, and didn’t kiss me every day. Oh, well.

Now I’m back in the States, and I’m really excited to be a part of Bike & Build this summer! While I haven’t had extensive experience with affordable housing issues in the past, public service and volunteerism have become increasingly important to me. The more I see and the more I understand of this world, the more I realize the necessity of actively working to create a world that I believe in. And I am ready to work hard!

For me, affordable housing means more than just building a house. It means building a whole system of sustainable and low-cost housing, a system that is integrated within the city or community in which it is located. Development must find some way to keep up with population growth. Ultimately, I would like to see a system of housing that provides simple, affordable units to people in need, that at the same time takes into account the environmental health of the city as a whole.

And to do all this while…bicycling across America! I love challenging myself, and I love doing things…differently. I can’t wait to see America the way few have seen it, and I can’t wait to share the experience with you all!

Tennessee to Tanzania: A Mzungu Adventure

2008-02-13T00:20:00.000-08:00

Who: Brian Christie
Age: 23
What: Volunteering at HIV Clinic in Tanzania

Daniel Joseph, an avid BIY reader, sent us this story a little while back. It is a great thing when recent college graduates take the time after graduation to do something good rather than jumping straight into corporate life. It benefits both them as individuals and many in need of help. This is the story of one young man doing just that. Brian Christie is a 2007 graduate of Dartmouth College from Nashville, TN, volunteering at an HIV Clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for most of this year. He is blogging about the experience here. His first three posts from July are below:

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

First Post
Hey.

My name is Brian and this is my blog. I left this July to work for a pediatric AIDS clinic in downtown Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Moving from suburban USA to sub-Saharan Africa, from the ups and downs of America to the hilarity and tragedy that is the third world, there’s a lot going on over here.

I want to use this space as a spot to tell you about where I am: the beautiful places I keep going, the crazy people I keep meeting, the horrible circumstances that seem to constantly engulf so many peoples lives. Although I’ve just gotten here, this experience has already taught me so much, and promises so much more. I hope that, in the few reflections I manage to get in here, I might share something with you.

And if you’re reading this, feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Where We Live

Theres 2 1/2 of us who live together. Paul and I stay together, and Ben is here about 1/2 the time. Paul is one of my best friends from high-school; he just graduated from Penn. He’s staying here with me through April. Ben is a rising senior at Dartmouth and is here for a month longer. He spends most of his time working at the school that I’ll tell you about later.

So when Paul and I got here, Ben had already cased the joint out and found a couple good places for us to stay. We wanted to use the internet at home (so we could apply to med school) which meant we settled on the first place we came to. Its called Lamada and its hilarious.

Lamada is a hotel with apartments. What that means is we basically live in a glorified hotel room all the time. If you see a picture of the place, or walk around, it looks awesome. But as soon as you spend more than 15 min here, you start to notice things. Nothing works. As I’m currently typing this, there are 2 guys flipping the power on and off and messing with switches cause 3 of the lights in the main room don’t work and no one knows why. The main overhead light stays on all the time cause they forgot to put a switch in for it. Other funny shit includes– no door handles, a sink fixture with no pipes, and bathroom sink in the kitchen.

But don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. This place is 1000x what we expected coming here, so its more entertaining than enraging. People come in all the time to fix something, tell us theyre going to get a wrench or a cord, and then never come back.

That brings me to the staff. We’re not actually sure who runs the place or is in charge, we only know the people we see every day. We’ve got:

Stephen: Receptionist, first guy we met. Probably about 20, speaks pretty good English. If we ever ask him about anything though, he just “HAHAHA!!!”s at us until we finally go away.

Fake Manager: We don’t actually know his name, we just know that he’s the main guy we talk to, that he acts like the manager, and that he’s not. When we asked him why the internet goes out all the time he shrugged his shoulders and set “Its a 3rd world country!”

Patrick/Joseph/3 other guys: The technicians. Always in to fix the internet and what not, but they have no actual expertise in the area. The just fiddle around on our computers til they get bored and then leave.

Mr. Martin: No idea what he does. Not even actually sure he works here, he just talks to us a lot. Unsure of his real name, except that the first name he introduced himself as “Mr. Martin. Mr. Martin Luther King! Hahahahahaha!!!!”

Terry: Receptionist. Shes probably about 20 years old and cares less about her job than the people at the DMV. They have some rule here that theres 24hr reception service, which means that she has night shifts a lot. She gets sheets and just lays out on the floor and goes to sleep.

So thats our apt. All in all, its a good time and a lot of fun. As much as we might want to get angry about the total lack of any work getting done here, people joke around about it so much that its hard to get mad.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Where I work, Part I
So I work at a couple places. The first one, the main one, is called the Dartmouth Pediatric Program. Its a pediatric HIV clinic in downtown Dar, about 200m from the ocean. Its a collaboration between Dartmouth and the MUCHS, the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences. I work there with about 8 other people. There are 2 doctors, Dr. File and Dr. Jema, both new doctors a couple years out of Muhimbili, the premier teaching hospital in Tanzania. File (pronounced “fee-lay”) is a really warmhearted woman, who loves to laugh and who knows her stuff. Jema is much the same way– they speak pretty perfect English, and use it to give me a hard time (all in good fun), especially about the fact that I suck at Swahili.

Speaking of Swahili, damn. All the native speakers here are like “Its an easy language!” or “You’ll be speaking in no time!” F that. This language has zero indo-european or romantic roots, so every word is straight memorization. Sure, the verb forms are pretty easy and straightforward, but that doesnt help much if you cant remember verb youre looking for is. As you can tell, its not coming too easily for me.

So back to the office. We’ve got our 2 counselors, Sister Janet and Sister Elimina. I havent gotten to know them very well yet, except that Elimina absolutely delights in all forms of humor that come at my expense. More on that later. Next is Etigala, who does most of the cleaning and other things (boiling water to drink in the morning, etc). Having a bit of a hard time to break through to her, seeing as she doesn’t speak much English.

The clinic is run by Dr. Helga Nuburi. She teaches at Muhimbili, among having her patients there and also being in charge here. Helga is a rock star. She’s super nice, gets right to the heart of what a problem might be, and just all around kicks-ass. She is only around once every couple days, which sucks, but when she is, things get done.

And I can’t forget Joyce. She’s our receptionist, and I share a room with her where my computer and desk are. She speaks pretty good English and, as I just learned from lending her my ipod, LOVES the Kings of Leon. Shes also the closest person in the clinic to my age, minus Margi, another intern. What that means, is that, because we share an office, everyone gives her tons of shit about the two of us. Constantly, people will speak really quickly in Swahlili to her and, even though I can’t catch a word of it, I can tell by her reactions and the way they keep glancing at me, that they’re giving us shit. Afterwards, as though I knew what they said word for word, she says “Sorry, they were joking!” Of course, the primary culprit for these acts are Elimina.

So those are the people I work with. Well, except Margi. Shes a rising sophmore at Dartmouth and has been here about a month longer than I have (I got here the 9th of July, I think). She works mainly in trying to connect DPP with other programs, and so is constantly exploring other NGOs and meeting new people. It seems like a pretty cool deal. She speaks a lot better Swahili than I do.

You might be wondering now, what do I do? Good question. Considering I have no medical education thus far, really, it would seem like an extremely specialized clinic (by Tanzanian standards) wouldnt be the best place for me. Well, I’m doing a couple things. The main one is helping with getting an online database running here. After getting everything online, I’m analzying it to try to help get kids on ARVs (anti-HIV drugs) faster, as right now the time between figuring out they have HIV and getting them on drugs is taking too long. Besides that, I’m doing alot of random things, like teaching the nurses how to use computer applications, designing a new broshure, and trying to learn how AIDS treatment works. Oh, and I’m the resident “my computer broke, come fix it” guy. So I’m about 33% awkward American, 33% medical student, and 33% IT guy.
Oh, and 1% total badass.

Ben Goldhirsh: GOOD Magazine

2008-02-13T00:19:00.000-08:00

Who: Ben Goldhirsh
Age: 27
What: GOOD Magazine Founder

In a city where rich, spoiled, and obnoxious make headlines, Ben Goldhirsh is an anomaly. The 27 year old son of Bernie Goldhirsh, the founder of Inc. Magazine, is using his inheritance for good, literally. Planning to raise one million dollars for twelve charities through its first year of subscriptions, GOOD Magazine is showing that a conscience is part of a successful business model. There have been a lot of articles written on Ben and GOOD Magazine, plus a video interview, that we link at the bottom of our chosen article from the January/February edition of the Brown Alumni Magazine. Oh and by the way, all of his initial 12 employees at GOOD Magazine were under 30.

Making Virtue Hip
By Hugh Hart
Brown Alumni Magazine

“How the hell did ‘do-gooder’ become a pejorative?” That’s what Ben Goldhirsh wants to know. That’s also the perception he wants to change by promoting a virtue-is-hip sensibility.

Goldhirsh’s tools are movies and magazines, and he has the money to use them. Dressed in rumpled khakis and a T-shirt, he oversees Reason Films and a newly launched magazine, Good, from a funky two-story building overlooking Sunset Boulevard. His office is littered with half-finished bowls of Cheerios, cups of day-old coffee, a can of Red Bull, and one white sock. The start-up employs a dozen or so twentysomething staffers and is financed by a trust fund established by Goldhirsh’s father, Bernie Goldhirsh, the founder of Inc. magazine. (Bernie Goldhirsh sold that magazine for $200 million just before he died in 2003.)

While Daryl, the dog Goldhirsh adopted from a pound, busies himself with a chew toy on the floor, his owner says the relaxed atmosphere encouraged by his “invisible” management style belies high expectations. “I would expect myself to succeed if I started with nothing. Given that I’m starting with so much, I damned well better succeed now. We’ve really bitten off a lot.”

Indeed. Current projects under way at Reason Films include Which Way Home, about three Mexican kids traveling across the border to the United States, as well as a documentary about Greenpeace founder Paul Watson and a profile of Illinois senator Barack Obama, which Goldhirsh is coproducing with actor Edward Norton. First out of the gate, though, is The World 2006, a soccer documentary by Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist, Coal Miner’s Daughter). It’s now playing the film festival circuit.

Shot on location in Iran, Senegal, South Africa, Argentina, China, the United Kingdom, and Germany, the movie was inspired by a paper Goldhirsh wrote at Brown, which argued that soccer’s nearly universal appeal is a metaphor for what he calls “common denominators of values across broad geopolitical spectrums.” “I thought soccer is so visceral and has so many fans that the subject matter would work as a film rather than just as political theory,” he says.

Goldhirsh moved west to make movies but dropped out of the University of Southern California’s graduate film production program after just one semester. “I decided there was a more efficient path,” he says. Still, movies take a long time to gestate, and Goldhirsh decided to expand media platforms by launching a magazine targeted to professionals between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-five. “Technology used to be for nerds,” he notes. “What Wired magazine did for technology, we want to do for [doing] good. We want to really cover the sensibility, blow it up, give it some teeth, give it some angle.”

Goldhirsh called on his former Brown roommate Casey Caplowe ’03 to serve as Good’s creative director and recruited Zack Frechette ’04, a former editor of the Brown Daily Herald, to manage the magazine, which made its debut last fall. The second issue features a cover story on NPR humorist John Hodgman. To lure subscribers, Goldhirsh is donating all subscription fees to one of the dozen nonprofits collaborating with the magazine.

“In Hollywood,” Goldhirsh says, “so much energy is spent watching your back because of the short-money hustle. Everyone’s so hungry for that next deal.” With $2.5 million already invested in Good and another $10 million set aside for the next five years, that’s not a problem Goldhirsh will have to worry about any time soon.

Hugh Hart writes about the entertainment industry in Hollywood.

For more on Ben, GOOD Magazine, and Reason Films, check out the following links:
www.goodmagazine.com
www.reasonfilms.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0BkGSKNZbo
http://www.latimes.com/business/careers/work/la-tm-goldhirsh30jul23,1,2209009.story
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115335722100411900-iYndgCPoSp4ciFKIIVkYHjSN5Z0_20060727.html
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003504.html
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004949.html

Update From Lwala Kenya

2008-02-13T00:18:00.000-08:00

BIY got a note from Milton Ochieng after our feature on him this past Sunday. The clinic has opened and been a great help to the community, but there is still much to be done.

Here is the note from Milton:
“Thanks for featuring our project. We have made quite some progress, but with a lot of support from many young people. I just included some more websites that might give you a sense of what we have done and what else is still to be done.”

http://www.realmedicinefoundation.org/initiatives/IN1-13.asp

http://www.pulitzercenter.org/showproject.cfm?id=39

http://www.hopeforlwala.com/

An excerpt from the first site:
“During the first three months of operations (April-June 2007) the Lwala Community Clinic saw a total of 1854 new patients with nearly 60% of those patients being children under the age of five; approximately 13% more new patients each month.”

Brothers Start Kenyan Clinic

2008-02-13T00:16:00.000-08:00

Who: Fred and Milton Ochieng
Age: 25 and 26
What: Two brothers start clinic in hometown of Lwala, Kenya

The following is an interview with Fred Ochieng from Exquisite Safaris. Fred and his brother Milton (pictured, center) are two of the most inspiring people we at BIY have ever met, so it was only natural to start with their story.

Who are you, where do you come from, what are you attempting to accomplish?

My name is Frederick Otieno Ochieng and I am the 3rd born in a family of 6 children. My brother Milton Oludhe Ochieng is currently in his 3rd year of medical school at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine whereas I am in the 1st year class. We all grew up in Lwala, a rural village without running water or electricity, in Nyanza province of Kenya. To get to see a doctor, one walks 5.5 miles down an unpaved road, then waits for public service vans, matatus, to take them on a bumpy 20 mile ride to the nearest government owned hospital. The lack of health facilities at times had tragic consequences. We vividly remember how one time, a pregnant mother who developed complications during labor had to be hauled in a neighbor’s wheelbarrow to try to get her to the paved road then to the hospital, passed away en route. The body of the baby and the mother were returned to a wailing village by the same wheelbarrow. While growing up, we were always aware of the lack of health care in our village and surrounding communities. Both Milton and I got interested in medicine. With inspiration from a cross-cultural service trip to Nicaragua during his undergraduate years in Dartmouth College when they built a medical clinic, Milton was inspired to start a clinic in our village during his first year of medical school. He consulted via e-mail and phone with my ailing father, Mr. Erastus Ochieng. He spoke with me about the vision. In early 2005, while he and my father worked on the plans and details, he asked me to begin fundraising for the clinic. During a Navigators Northeast Conference at the end of January 2005, I gave an address to students and staff from some 13 colleges and universities who raised $9,000 for the clinic. Unfortunately, along the way, we lost both our parents to AIDS. Beloved Margaret in January 2004 and Erastus in May 2006. My eldest brother Maurice Omondi Ochieng has taken over the role of the coordinator back in Lwala, working with the community members. The vision has gathered momentum. We hope to see patients early April 2007. Now we need funds and partners to sustain the running of the clinic.

How do two brothers in a remote village in Kenya get scholarships to Dartmouth and attend medical school at Vanderbilt?

My mother taught in primary school and my father taught Chemistry and Biology in secondary school. They both valued education; they acquired loans to send us to good boarding schools and instilled in us good discipline. Milton was the 1st to qualify for admission to Alliance High School, the oldest and probably the finest high school in Kenya. I joined him a year later. In his 3rd year, he was one of the 2 students selected to represent Alliance High School on an exchange program with Brooks School, Andover, Massachusetts. He met Alliance alumni who were attending Harvard, MIT and other colleges in the U.S. The capable advisors and fellow students guided us through the test and application process. We both gave up our chances to attend medical school in Nairobi University for liberal arts training at Dartmouth College in the U.S. The need-blind admission policy offered a unique opportunity for a wonderful education for both of us. Getting into medical school is especially tough for an international student given the narrow selection of schools that admit them. However, Milton, a Biochemistry major, was later accepted into Yale, Vanderbilt and Dartmouth Medical Schools. Warm weather for his tropical soul, a full tuition Deans Scholarship, amongst other things drew Milton to Vanderbilt. A Biophysical Chemistry major, I got in after taking a year off to do chemistry research at Dartmouth, fundraising and conducting a needs assessment survey for the clinic. Looking at how far we have come, we are always heartbroken to reflect upon the countless sacrifices our parents made for us to get educated, yet neither of them ever witnessed our college graduations nor ever got to see the country where they had faith to let their children go to learn.

What challenges do you face starting and managing a medical clinic in a remote village in Kenya while attending medical school in Nashville, TN

Medical School is very involving and intense. It is tough staying on top of the material you cover, making time to exercise and play soccer, let alone fundraising, and designing a functional clinic thousands of miles away. Poorly developed communication infrastructure in the village makes it tough to connect and frankly, quite frustrating. My brother Omondi has to travel to Rongo town 9 miles away to charge his cell phone. Due to the 8 hour time difference, we try to call either early in the day or late at night here in the U.S. We are but novices. There are lots of complex decisions that we have to wade through.

How would you describe the current need for medical, educational and basic infrastructure in Kenya?

Very urgent, especially referring to medical services and basic infrastructure. There are many more educational facilities around. However, with the HIV/AIDS pandemic, TB, malaria menace, just to mention a few, there is need for a more robust health network. Unfortunately, some recent changes may not be beneficial. Mandatory retirement at the age of 55 for physicians and the fact that young doctors right out of medical school are no longer assured of assimilation into the field are two examples of recent policy recommendations.

What’s your vision for the future of Lwala/Kenya?

To provide affordable health care to thousands in a rural setting.
To address and reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.
To improve maternal and child health.
To improve the education of youths in Lwala and introduce microfinance projects.

How often do you travel back to Lwala?

Once a year, as school schedule and money allow. This year, due to the opening of the clinic, we may get to go home twice.

This article and photo are courtesy of Equsite Safaris and available at: http://www.exquisitesafaris.com/index.php/journal/more/philanthropic_visionary_travelers/

More articles on Fred and Milton are available at:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dartlife/archives/17-2/ochieng.html
http://thedartmouth.com/2007/03/27/news/alum/
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=lwala