Children
"Mad Dads is a group that mobilizes men in the community to become role models."
Keri Wiatrek, Falls City High School, Falls City, Texas
"In Connecticut there is a Community Renewal Team's Community Life Skills program which serves the community in many ways. Part of the plan is to aid destitute children, and instill self-esteem and skills to do well in life. In this program a mentor is assigned to each child to personally help and guide the child. Such a pair, consisting of Barbara Wallace, a busy mother, and an anonymous eighteen year old girl who has lost her father and whose mother had resorted to drugs, worked together for the best. The girl's grades went from average to A's and B's, she participated in a hunger walk, and has joined Barbara's church. After having had a paved path to failure, she is now looking forward to going to college with a purpose in life."
Jesse Callaway, South Kent High School, South Kent, Connecticut
"Dance Outreach, has opened new doors for disabled children."
Kristy Foreman, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania
"I myself have volunteered my services at a camp for mentally and physically disabled persons for two years. This camp is held for one week. All of the counselors are volunteers. The pay comes from knowing that you helped about 100 people have fun
for a whole week."
Kerri Knutson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"Our local Business Professionals of America chapter has set up a program called Chapter 1 to allow high school students to tutor elementary children with learning disabilities."
Richard Blagg, Jr., Aubrey High School, Aubrey, Texas
"Corporate/Community Schools of America (C/CSA), located in North Lawndale, Chicago, a tough inner-city area is a private organization run strictly by corporations. It...offers 300 school age children a tuition-free system with new teaching and management methods."
Stephanie Brown, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey
"Little Tikes has also contributed to the improvement of childcare by designing and building stimulating childcare centers on-site of their company. Little Tikes discovered that the care center was not only needed, but was also good for business."
Kirsten Sinkola, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota
"In Valhalla, New York, at least 75 students, including myself, volunteer at Blythedale Children's Hospital. We work with children ages two to the teenage years. Every Saturday I spend three hours playing games with the kids and watching television
with them."
Larry Weingarten, Valhalla High School,Valhalla, New York
"The Caring and Sharing Store is an annual event that allows children to take home Christmas presents for their parents."
Erika Grossell, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota
"Kids Against Crime offers a hotline and a center with child fingerprinting, graffiti cleanups, and crime prevention training. The leader, Linda Warsaw-Champin, also organized a crime busters group of junior high students who created posters, attended trials, and put on plays concerning drugs and gangs."
Leann Fleming, Falls City High School, Falls City, Texas
"A prominent rock video displayed hundreds of pictures of runaway children, urging them to call or return to their loved ones. At least half a dozen of the children featured either called or returned home. This occurrence was not nearly as noted as the negative things."
Kristy Wanner, Conrad Weiser High School, Robesonia, Pennsylvania
"Chris Webber, a rookie star in the NBA and a former All-American on the college and high school level, used his money and fame to start the Time Out Foundation to help under-privileged kids get a better start on life."
Hao Duong, Antietam High School, Reading, Pennsylvania
"[Examples] Drive by Shooting (DBS) drills that teach children to hit the floor when gunfire breaks out. There are other organizations being developed to help promote safety for children; like SAFE: Schools Are For Education, which was started in 1990 by George Sams. NSSC: National School Safety Center, which is a developed training program in crisis prevention, management, and resolutions was also formed to better the safety in our communities."
Jacqueline Jensen, Luck High School, Luck, Wisconsin
"Froid also has problems with kids being bored during the summer. Froid has no swimming pool because there aren't enough kids to keep it open, so the organization, Gals in Action (GIA), pays for a school bus to take the kids to Medicine Lake five times a week during the summer."
Scott Crain, Froid High School, Froid, Montana
"At our local mall at Christmas there was a huge tree
called the angel tree. On the tree were hundreds of cards [each bearing] the
name of a [needy] child. ...People came and took the cards off the tree and
later returned a present to the tree for that particular child."
Angie Olson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
"The Big Buddy program in Queens, New York, pairs a college student with a homeless child. One day each weekend, the two spend the day participating in a wide variety of mutually chosen educational, cultural, and recreational activities. The children benefited by having someone who cared about them and their education, and it was good experience for the college student as well."
Jeremy Wyatt, Camden High School, Camden, Tennessee
"The New York Yankees are also deeply involved in volunteer work. Yankee players and personnel, such as Don Mattingly and General manager Gene Michael, are very active with children. Michael is the founder of the Gene Michael Fund, a chapter of the Tomorrow's Children's Health Fund, a service which provides mobile medical care for homeless children in New York City."
Craig Sjostrom, Central Islip High School, Central Islip, New York
"A recent action of responsibility was Westchester's [New York] Invest-In-Kids fund. The Fund focuses on 'preventing problems, ...and preparing young people to become productive citizens. The Fund wants to set up programs for kids who aren't getting the care and guidance they need."
Amy Torchia, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York
"Borden, Incorporated, gives funds to develop programs in three cities that will help parents protect their children from the effects of homelessness, and try to help the parents cope."
Teresa Woodard. Camden High School, Camden, Tennessee