Our Youth Leadership Seminar (YLS) is just around the corner and it is not too late to start thinking about service project ideas for your school! If you recall in our blog two weeks ago, we discussed all the features of YLS, one being the Break-Out Sessions. As a refresher, during the break-out sessions, schools will be paired together to brainstorm ways to make a difference in their community. This brainstorming session will be utilized towards establishing an idea for the #AMFCHALLENGE. We want to give you a couple advice tips for brainstorming, but first, let’s see a few examples of service projects schools took part in the past few years to give a little perspective.
1). Kettering Fairmont High School
Name of Project: Sparky’s Spark for Childhood Cancer (December 2014, February 2015)
Description & Impact: Students took an interest in helping children with cancer and worked with Dayton Children’s Hospital. In December, students performed a whole school initiative of coloring pictures and writing inspirational notes to children at Dayton Children’s. They collected over 500 pictures and notes. In February, students organized a drive for Emily’s Beads of Courage, a non-profit organization through Dayton Children’s that awards each child battling cancer with a necklace and beads for every procedure they have gone through. Raising profit towards Emily’s Beads of Courage, students designed and sold t-shirts. They also hosted a “Purple-Out” themed basketball game to support cancer awareness.
2). Mount Notre Dame High School
Name of Project: Spark your Inner Beauty (March 2015)
Description & Impact: Students strongly believed in the effort to pass along a message to young girls that they are “enough.” They developed lesson plans implemented with 5th grade girls at Reading Central Elementary School to concentrate on the importance of appreciating inner beauty in themselves and others. Each student was encouraged to present ideas and develop activities to communicate the message that inner beauty is what takes precedence.
3). Amelia High School
Name of Project: Amelia Ambassadors (January-March 2014)
Description & Impact: The 10th and 11th graders designed a program for the 8th graders coming to the high school. These high school students acted as peer counselors to these 8th grade students, teaching lessons and facilitating activities to encourage positivity, school spirit, and self-esteem. During last year’s Youth Leadership Seminar, freshman Amelia students identified bullying and fighting as a prominent issue at Amelia, therefore, this project was centered on alleviating that problem.
We are so proud of all the dedication that these high schools put in to making an impact in their community. Here are just a couple of tips to keep in mind when brainstorming service project ideas:
We cannot wait to see all the wonderful ideas each one of your schools bring forth to YLS this year! We believe that each school has the power to make a difference and be Now Trending leaders.
Ilana Siegel
Events Intern
#NTCincy15