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READ STORIES:
Your Name: Kim
School: Lakeridge
Grade: 7th
Share: I have been going out with my aunt weekly for over
a year and we sell bakery items to raise money for
her to go surprise and visit her 3 children in Ohio.
They are with their Dad every other year. She loves
and misses them terribly. She also collects food
items and is always giving food boxes to others
each and every week. Last year she got gift
certificates from hotels and dinner coupons that
she gave many families.
Your Name: Georgia
School: Rocky Mountain Middle School
Grade: Sixth & Seventh
Share: We just completed our first service project as a new chapter of the Kiwanis Builders Club at Rocky Mountain Middle School. Our sixth and seventh grade members sponsored a Halloween Costume Drive for economically disadvantaged students at Heber Valley Elementary School. Our volunteers collected and sorted the costumes, and they had a lot of fun helping the elementary students select one.
We also volunteered to participate in the PTA Community Halloween Carnival where we had a face painting and fortune telling booth. We had a great time. It was very rewarding to see one of our donated costumes being worn by one of the children in the crowd.
Your Name: Ms. Brakke
School: Grant Elementary
Grade: 4
Share: Half an hour before school starts a group of 6 students each week put on orange vests and take a cart. They enter all rooms that are not locked and take the recycle bins out to the dumpster. This has not been happening for over a year due to money cuts with custodians. They just combine the trashes together. With my class, they will now help get the bins in the right place. The students like this because no students are allowed into the halls before school. These kids feel special and know they are making a difference for our school.
Your Name: Jayson
School: Timpview High Schoolbr>
Grade: Teacher
Share: I teach English here at Timpview High School and I have assigned all of my classes to do service this year. I have allowed them to choose any project that is not self serving and is not service to any persons living in the same house as the student. I have been very impressed and excited to see all of the ideas that have been submitted. I will be doing service right along with the students this year as well.
Some of the services include cleaning up parks and neighborhoods, raising money for charities and many other great projects. We will be creating photo journals and doing several other projects, in class, in conjunction with the projects.
I think my students are awesome for doing this, and I want others to know it!
Your Name: Amanda
School: Alta High
Grade: 11th
Share: This summer we had some Kenyan kids staying with us. They
were here on Tour so they could earn money for food, shelter, education,
etc. These kids sometimes go a couple days without a meal and sometimes
starve to death. They live in mud huts, and if a rain storm ever comes
(which is pretty often) their house would be washing down the streets,
and they can\'t save any of their stuff. They don\'t have electricity or
running water. To get a little tiny bit of water, they have to walk 5 or
6 miles. It was a real lesson to me to show how much we take for
granted. Even though it was very expensive for them to stay with us, it
was an opportunity of a lifetime!
http://www.singingchildrenofafrica.org.uk/Site/Home.html
Your Name: Amanda
School: Alta High
Grade: 11th
Share: I'm big into service. :] and I'm in this thing called Sandy Youth Court. I'm also in Sandy Youth City Council. Most people haven't heard of Sandy Youth Court so i'll tell a little about that. Sandy Youth Court is when a minor goes into juvenile court for a minor crime (such as theft) and gets referred to Sandy Youth Court. When they come into Sandy Youth court there's a jury of peers, which is all high school students. We ask them why they did it, interview them, and deliberate and find out ways we can help them out so they can learn from their lesson, and also make up for what they did wrong, instead of "punishing" them. Such as: community service, or writing papers. If they complete their disposition in Sandy Youth Court, and go through the program--their crime will come off their record. It's a very rewarding experience for me! Because to watch the kids really change their lives around by just making a simple mistake!
Your Name: Elyse
School: Olympus High
Grade: 10th
Share: Last month on June 26th to the 27th, i was able to go w/ a few other youth my age to help a specific refugee family of 9 from Somalia. We first visited them at their home, talked w/ them, and found some things they needed. Their home was on forclosure and they literally had days to find a new home and get out. The next day we brought over diapers, toys, and other things they needed. We took the kids to the zoo and had a great time w/ them, one of our leaders went w/ the father to find a new home. It was so great to see the children having such a fun time at the zoo and when we got back and found that they were able to find a home, we were all so happy! I loved being able meet them and become great friends w/ them and we will carry out helping them for as long as we need to!
Seasons of Service program encourages volunteerism
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News)
Utah has a long and proud tradition of volunteer service. But that doesn't mean we don't have room for improvement. There's a program managed by the Lieutenant Governor's office that is sure to get you and your family excited to serve.
Click here to read the full story.
Your Name: Gayle
School: Riverton Elementary
Grade: First Grade
Share: My first grade class is awesome! Not only have they recycled aluminum cans and electronics all year long, but they came up with a plan for an outdoor education day for all the kids in grades K-3 at our school. They wanted to clean up a special place at our school. So, we are replenishing the school's outdoor classroom by putting in planters, birdhouses, and stepping stones . To celebrate, my class and all the volunteers are having a "Garden Party" in June
Bush to honor Utah volunteer
The Salt Lake Tribune
05/28/2008
President Bush will present the President's Volunteer Service Award to Rick Pehrson today when he arrives in Salt Lake City.
Pehrson, 24, has volunteered more than 900 hours with AmeriCorps Youth Services Corps, serving as a team leader at the Utah Commission on Volunteers.
He recruited, trained and managed more than 1,300 volunteers during the Utah state Capitol's rededication and eight-day open house. He also served as co-chairman of the Lt. Governor's State Capitol Volunteer Task Force. In addition, he helped organize and facilitate the annual youth conference that emphasizes youth-led service projects. Bush has met with more than 600 volunteers since March 2002 to present the award. - Sheena McFarland
Your Name: Holly
School: Mt. Jordan
Grade: 9th
Share: The PLT (Peer Leadership Team), a group of about 23 ninth graders, at Mt. Jordan Middle School collected over 750 items to donate to the TURN Community Center in Salt Lake City. TURN offers daycare services for adults with disabilities and helps them to be productive citizens. The kids collected items such as paper towels, craft supplies, batteries, and books. Next Friday, May 23 they are going on a field trip to deliver all of the items to the center. They really worked hard organizing and carrying out this project. One of the students has an older sister who is receiving services at the center and it really meant a lot to her and her family. They are great kids and I have enjoyed being their advisor this year.
Your Name: Cressent
School: Hillcrese Elementry
Grade: 2nd
Share: Students collected specific school supplies and assembled kits to send to school children of Iraq. The students also wrote letters asking the students about their school and what they liked playing at recess. The students are hoping to find some pen pals. We talked about the war and about our country and how blessed we are to live in the United States.
Your Name: Gloria
School: usdb
Grade: ungraded
Share: Hi! Our vocational students have not only shredded paper in our school and crush cans for recycling, they also donate a Christmas tree every year to the Festival of Trees in Sandy where each class works on ornaments, etc. They have made gingerbread houses for the Bank of Utah to auction for the abused and neglected children of Ogden, was a Sub for Santa for several families in the community over the last six years and also for the last two years have decorated the tree for the Centenniel Bank in South Ogden. They are always looking for ways to help out our community. These are just a few that they undertake on a regular bases. One of the most memorable moments we have had as a class was when we recognized that everyone has challenges and we planted a "Challenge Tree" at the Governor's Mansion and got to meet the governor's wife.
Your Name: Tanner
School: Spring Creek Middle School
Grade: 7
Share: This year our PTSA group has helped organize a fundraiser for clean water in Africa. We have made blankets for the local chapter of CAPSA, that supports battered women and children. We have put care packages together for a student who is in the hospital. We have tried to mentor and support our fellow students by being kind to everyone and making everyone feel important. We also supported the Sub for Santa and our school raised over $2500.00 for local teens for Christmas.
Your Name: Bell
School: Beehive Elementary
Grade: 1
Share: I love to help others whenever I can. My Mom and I raked leaves at an elderly mans home and bagged them up and took them away for him, with out him seeing who it was. I can just imagine how happy he was to go outside the next morning and being surprised that someone had taken care of all the leaves for him. :)
We saw the man in his wheelchair trying to rake up the leaves himself on my way home from school and I asked my Mom if we could go help him, she thought it was a great idea and helped me help him.
Your Name: Leslie
School: Orem Jr High 4-H
Grade: 7-9
Share: Today my Afterschool 4H Program participated in 4 different service projects. We called is St. Pattys Service Day!
I had about 25 kids out of the 80 come and serve.
We made 5 blankets, to donate to the NICU at UVRMC, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
We also made 45 Easter goodie baggies for them to give to the NICU patients families on Easter Sunday morning.
We colored and had bound 10 ABC books to donate to Kids on the Move and local Mtld. Headstart schools.
And the biggest project was a week ago some of the adult leaders of our program went to a charity called "Happy Factory." There we traced, cut out, drilled sanded and buffed 120 wooden toy cars to have my kids at school assemble with wooden wheels and axels. Then they got to dip them in mineral oil to make them shine! The toy cars will be dispersed all throughout the world to kids that don't have anything. This seemed to be most of the kids favorite thing to do because it was different.
We had an awesome time doing these projects and completed them all in about 2 hours. The kids were happy to have served!
Your Name: Susan
School: Tolman Elemenatry
Grade: 1st
Share: In celebration of being in school for 100 Days, the children were challenged to bring some pennies to school in hopes of ending up with at least 100 pennies to be used for math concept practice (counting, regrouping etc). As the pennies started to come in, we wondered what we would do with \'all\' the pennies after our Hundred Days celebration. It was agreed we would donated them to the Primary Children\'s Hospital. This excited the children so much that once we arrived at 100 pennies, they continued to bring in more pennies. This continued over a period of two weeks, and by the cut off date, the children\'s generosity and eagerness to serve had brought the penny total to $37.02. With several dollars from the teacher, we were able to send $40 to the hospital along with letters to hospitalized children. We recognize that $40 may not be lots of money, but for these generous 1st grade students who had only been asked for 100 pennies, this effort and success was commendable.
Your Name: Kaia
School: Channing Hall
Grade: 6th
Share: I am 12 years old and my mom is in charge of the Green Commitee at school. A few weeks ago we made posters to get people to turn off their cars. We were doing the theme "idol free week". I think it raised a lot of awareness.
We also recycle paper. We go around everyday and collect paper that people threw away.Even some of our pencils at school are made out of recycled newspaper.
We call this "go green". It is a lot of fun. My sister's 4th grade class and a few 6th graders do this as well as other adults on the commitee. We hope you pick our school! Sincerely Kaia :)
Your Name: Libby
School: Hawthorne
Grade: K-6
City: Salt Lake City
Share: Every year around the holiday season, our After School Group usually does a \"secret santa\" for other kids in our program, or make gifts for each other, etc. This year I wanted to do something a little different, I wanted to incorporate the true meaning of the holiday. In order to do this, I told the kids in the program about Primary Children\'s Hospital, and shared stories about kids from the Hospital. I have a personal connection to the kids there after visiting a friend who was in the hospital for a very long time. Our After School group decided to quilt baby blankets for the patients at the hospital. Together, with our group of students ranging form Kindergarten to 6th grade, we made four beautiful blankets to donate to the hospital, our kids were so proud of what they had accomplished, some even made Christmas cards to give to the children at the hospital along with the blankets. I truly believe that their sense of accomplishment and generosity with making the blankets was a new, and exciting feeling- a feeling that could only be experienced from doing a service for others.
Your Name: Jessica
School: Hillcrest Elementary
Grade: K-6 (After school Program)
City: Orem
Share: Our Elementary school has an after school program that is held each day after school. We all decided to have a food drive to help those in need during the holidays. Our program consists of about 130 students and everyone participated. We donated 239 pounds of food to the community action food bank. I am so pround of all these students and how much they love to serve their community!
Your Name: Sarah
School: American Preparatory Academy
Grade: 6th
City: Draper
Share: Our school is collecting DVDs and videos for our anual service prodject. These movies will go to the Primary Childrens Hospital.The last count said we had over 300 movies, but our sixth grade class has collected 204. We would love a pizza party but it makes us happy that we are helping kids our age.
Share: All 100 students in our 6th grade are volunteers. We had 3 charities come and tell us about their needs. The kids discussed each and then voted on their favorites. The students do all the setting up, serving at tables, taking tickets, seating patrons, emceeing the program and decorating. Every year we give over 6k to some organization. See the attached program. All of the businesses involved donate without cost. 100% goes to the charity. We would love to have your help in our project. I would love to reward the kids for all their hard work through your program. Thank you, Mrs. Evans
Click here for information on how you can help.
Your Name: Katherine
School: University of Utah
Grade: Graduate School
City: Salt Lake City
Share: Five Graduate School of Social Work students, including myself, are involved in a social change project at the Homeless Youth Resource Center, specifically, the Drop-In Center. This Center provides meals, education, and links homeless youth to other resources in the community. The group I am working with are working to estetically improve the inside of the building; paint, organize, and decorate in order to provide a more calming, home-like atmosphere. Also, we are creating a pamphlet, including a laminated card for the youth to carry, listing resources in the community these youth can access. I am not submitting this story because my peers and I are interested in the pizza party for ourselves. We would like the pizza party for the youths at this resource center. These youths have not been afforded the opportunities many individuals have and they would truly appreciate a party for them.
Your Name: McKenzie
School: home school
Grade: 6
City: WEST JORDAN
Share: Last year my hair was really long. I loved my hair, but when I heard that my cousin donated her long hair to Locks of Love, I thought I could do the same. My mom and I looked at the locksoflove.org website, and I decided that the kids who lost their hair really deserved a helping hand. My aunt, a hair stylist, came over to my house and cut my hair. I was really nervous, but I felt great about my choice. We sent the braid to Locks of Love, and I know that it's going to someone who needs it more than I do. My haircut was really cute, and such a change, that lots of people asked me about it. It was a great feeling every time I was asked, because it reminded me of the service I had done. My hair is growing quickly, and I plan on donating it again, when it's long enough.
Your Name: Clark
School: Riverton High School
Grade: 12
Share: This year Riverton High School raised $80,159.08 for The Center for Women and Children in Crisis. The look on everyone's face and the noise in the school gym when it was revealed how much we had really done, was something no one will forget; even if they try to. The effects of my school's SilverRush event helped those affected by domestic violence in the Wasatch Valley.
None of this could have been possible if it was not for our amazing executive council (SBOs and Class officers) They sacrificed good grades, sleep and warmth to go out EVERY week day during this event and perform odd jobs to raise the slightest amount of money. Not only was money donated but a number of needed items as well.
While I am not a member of my school's executive council, I'm part of The RHS Peer Leadership Team. We as RHS PLT organized a Christmas Party for the families located in the shelter. The result was far better than anyone on the team expected. We had games, dinner, gifts for the moms and kids, Santa and Mrs. Claus, even our school madrigals came and performed their christmas program for all of our guests.
It is this experience and several others experienced by the other 2,812 students that attend the best high school in the state, RIVERTON HIGH, that we will never forget as we helped to change and uplift victims of an unfortunate situation.
Your Name: Sydney
School: Davis High
Grade: 12
Share: Last summer I was lucky enough to go to Bulgaria and assist 5 Dentists who were performing Dentistry on orphans. This was the most awesome experience I have ever had. We had to take our equipment and supplies over with us. When we arrived we set up clinic in the basement of one of the orphanages. They are living in extremely poor conditions over there. We were able to interact with the orphans and let them know that we loved them, enough to go over at our own expense. We helped 520 children, and everyone that was seen received a new toothbrush and some toothpaste! I am hooked on service! I would like to go to Fiji this summer and build houses for the poor, if I can raise the money.
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