Sue Scheff: Honoring Teens Who Volunteer
Again, one of my favorite Blogs has a fantastic article I can’t help but share with everyone. I think encouraging our teens to volunteer is a parent’s responsibility and also builds self esteem in your teen – as they are giving to others.
Source: Tangerine Times
By Myrna Lantzsch
Do you know any teens that go above and beyond?
Who understand the power of contribution? Volunteering takes many forms and over the years, I’ve tried to teach my kids that volunteering doesn’t always mean a soup kitchen. Unfortunately, their elementary school had huge community service programs that almost always were associated with the same food programs, doing the same thing over and over. My kids got a distorted view about volunteerism. Fortunately, in the last few years, they’ve discovered their own favorite outlets to contribute. For teenagers particularly, I think it’s important to think about issues and people other than themselves.
Each year, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honors the outstanding community service of young Americans. It is the United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. The program was created in 1995 by Prudential in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) to honor middle level and high school students for outstanding service to others at the local, state, and national level. Over the past 14 years, more than 260,000 young Americans have participated in the program, and nearly 90,000 of them have been officially recognized for their volunteer work. They also have a program in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Ireland.
How Does the Program Work?
In the United States, each program year begins in September when information and application instructions are mailed to all middle level and high schools in the 50 United States and Washington, D.C., and to the following officially designated local organizations:
- Girl Scout Councils
- County 4-H Organizations
- American Red Cross Chapters
- YMCA’s
- Affiliates of HandsOn Network
Through these schools and local organizations, students are encouraged to complete by November 2.
Local Honorees are selected at participating schools and organizations in November. From these winners, an independent judging organization names the top middle level and high school volunteer in each state and Washington, D.C. Results are announced in early February. Then, 10 National Honorees are chosen by a panel of prominent public figures, and announced at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C., in May.
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Tags: Parenting, Parenting Blogs, Parenting Teens, Sue Scheff, Teen Volunteers
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[...] field trips. Most public school systems in this country are overcrowded and underfunded, so any volunteer work is looked upon favorably and can help the schools function better. In the end, maintaining the [...]