Who Can Participate?
Although anyone of any age can apply or nominate a person or group for White Hat recognition, we want to especially encourage teens to seek out the good news in their communities and feed it to local media outlets and urge publication. They have shown that they are capable of acting as goodwill ambassadors, arranging banquets, picnics or other gatherings where they ceremoniously honor local good guys (hereafter referred to as White Hats) and award White Hat lapel pins.
Anyone who has performed community service as a non-paid volunteer through an established national agency such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Scouts, Kiwanis, Lion’s, Rotary and the many other service clubs or as an individual or part of a church, mosque, synagogue, ashram group or part of other local organizations or put individual effort into helping children, the elderly, homeless, aids victims, environmental groups is eligible to wear a White Hats lapel pin.
Roles
for students and community youth leaders
Hands on sponsors come from all walks of life in any local community but initial
support will generally start with youth leaders, religious school teachers and regular
classroom teachers. In past years classroom teachers have made the project part
of their school curriculum and have concentrated on goal #2 honoring,
encouraging and doing good works. We will soon post examples of two schools that
have earned the White Hat pins many times in the past.
To accomplish goal #1, publicizing the good things, we proposed that students communicate one-on-one with potential adult sponsors and get the local media involved. When students rotate weekly the obligation of contacting sponsors and sending good news to the media each week, little class time is required beyond planning and coordinating events. So far the schools have honored participating students during assemblies in their own way and/or by awarding certificates of recognition and lapel pins from the Harry Singer Foundation.
Participation doesn't have to be done by a class. Anyone can participate at any time. It is likely that Individual students would be restricted to interaction with the community on weekends and/or evenings. Due to time restraints in the classroom, more and more teacher-sponsors volunteer after school hours to this project or recruit capable student leaders for that role. In some schools, the White Hats program is a senior project or an honors class takes charge.