Sue Scheff: Kids Are Heroes Day 2009 – Don’t miss it! Help these kids!
by Sue Scheff on Aug 28, 2009
WHAT: Kids Are Heroes Day 2009
WHEN: Saturday October 24. 2009
TIME: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
WHERE: Francis Scott Key Mall (Center Court) in Frederick, Maryland
WHY: Recognizing amazing kids that are making a difference and helping others. (Please help with travel expenses for these two inspirational young girls). They are part of our future. Meet 9 year old Calista and 16 year old Cati!
About Calista Pierce:
My project is fundraising for Crawford County Special Olympics. I fundraiser for Special Olympics because my brother is a Special Olympics athlete. He is my inspiration because he loves to do the competitions. I overheard the Special Olympics management team talking and they said they weren’t raising enough money to go to all of the competitions. So, I started Calista Cares. I love to see my brother and all of the athletes happy knowing they can do the trainings and go to competitions. I hope you can support my family and me to go on this trip. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to go. I would love to go because it would be nice to sell my crafts somewhere I have never been before. I also think Special Olympics will be extremely proud. If you would be able to help me, it would be so great. I also really want to go because I want to make new friends who are also doing community service projects. Some people don’t understand why I do my project. It would be fun to meet others who understand and feel the same way. I think it would also be really fantastic to get the word out about Calista Cares and also getting the word out about Special Olympics. I think it would be a really fantastic trip.
Thanks for your help. Learn how you can help Calista!
About Cati Grant:
What a great honor to have been invited to Kids Are Heroes Day!
Please help with travel expenses so I may attend to continue to raise awareness about the epidemic of cyber bullying among kids!
This is an amazing chance to meet young philanthropists from all over the country and learn about their inspiring causes.
Please help me to be a part of it 
Cati
MY MISSION: Please Help Me STOP CYBER BULLYING
and Help Keep Teens Using the Internet SAFE!
My name is Cati and I am a 16 year old junior at a local high school in San Diego, CA. I want to help make our world a safer place! I decided to start this site on my 15th birthday as a way to reach out to other teens about how important INTERNET SAFETY is and how we can join together to STOP CYBER BULLYING.
TURNING TEARS INTO ACTION…….
Unfortunately, many teens have been the victims of internet crimes and cyber bullying.
Take the pledge to not be a bully and to BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE!
I continue to strive to be better every day of my life and I live my life to the fullest. Being a teen isn’t easy and each teen should be able to face middle school and high school prepared and ready for some of the tough issues they may face.
I want everyone to be able to feel safe on the internet and be confident that they WILL NOT be cyber bullied. Join ME and use my tips to stay safe and to stop the vicious trend of cyber bullying.
Please help with travel expenses so I may travel to be a part of Kids Are Heroes Day on October 24, 2009! Thank you and God Bless! Learn how you can help Cati.
For more info: Please take the time to help these amazing girls. Donate for Calista, Donate for Cati, Learn more about Kids are Heroes. Visit Calista Cares and CatiCares. Follow Cati on Twitter!
Tags: Parenting, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Kids that inspire
by Sue Scheff on Aug 24, 2009
This past weekend I wrote about teens that inspire. The response was overwhelming. What I discovered was that there are also many kids that are not quite teens, yet they are full of inspiration and dedication to their causes. Here are only two of many! I will write another article soon about these amazing kids!
I have written about Kids are Heroes on another one of my Blogs, but it deserves to be recognized again. They are a growing group that continues to encourage and recognize kids all over the world. Did you know a 10 year old girl, Mary Margaret created this idea? Her encouraging father, Gabe, put it into action for her. The website is full of kids, parents, schools and others that are making a positive difference in lives today.
Don’t be shy, go ahead – nominate someone special today! Parenting a child in a positive direction builds self esteem and confidence, both emotionally and academically.
Another amazing kid is Jaylen Arnold! Only 8 years old and on a mission to STOP Bullying! His story is one of courage and strength. He is determined to stop childhood bullying, especially for kids with special needs as himself.
I also Blogged about him recently, but like Kids are Heroes, we need to keep the positive energy flowing and more parents and people need to take an awareness to what young people can accomplish!
Remember: Kids, tweens, teens – they are our future! Let’s keep driving them in a positive direction! All these kids, and others, are making a difference. Help support them – visit their websites and follow them on Twitter!
Follow Kids are Heroes @KidsareHeroes and on Facebook.
Follow Jaylen @JaysChallenge
Tags: Bullying, Parenting, parenting advice, Parenting Blogs, Parenting Teens, Sue Scheff, Teen Self Esteem
Sue Scheff: Which Nonprofits Are Making a Difference for Youth in Your Community?
by Sue Scheff on Aug 19, 2009
Which Nonprofits Are Making a Difference for Youth in Your Community?
San Francisco, August 2009 – The 2009 GreatNonprofits Youth Thrive Awards (www.greatnonprofits.org/youth ) will recognize the top-rated youth-focused nonprofits. In the months of August and September, the small, medium, and large organizations with the most positive reviews will be featured on GreatNonprofits and Guidestar, the premier site for philanthropic research on the Web.
The contest asks clients, donors, volunteers, and board members to write reviews of these nonprofits. All reviews will be automatically visible on GuideStar.org.
“Reviews show the real human impact of a nonprofits and raise the visibility and credibility of those organizations,” says GreatNonprofits CEO Perla Ni. “This will help highly-rated nonprofits attract more support and volunteers.”
GreatNonprofits is a nonprofit Web site where people can post reviews of nonprofit organizations, similar to “Yelp” or “TripAdvisor.”
Nonprofits with the most positive reviews in their category will be announced as winners and receive promotion on GuideStar.org. Awards will be given out of 9 categories (6 geographic US regions and 3 budget size – small, medium and large). Contest Deadline: September 30th.
In addition, everyone who writes a review is eligible to win great prizes such as a certificate to Birkenstock, Clif Bars, delicious treats from Greyston Bakery and more.
About GreatNonProfits
GreatNonprofits enables user-generated reviews about nonprofits. You already know that one of the best ways to find a good restaurant or a good hotel is through that reviews by other people who have tried them. If you have direct experience with a nonprofit—as a donor, volunteer, client who has been served, board member or professional in the field – GreatNonprofits makes it easier for you to share your knowledge so that other people can discover the great nonprofits that are out there.
GreatNonprofits is a non-profit 501© (3) organization itself, which is funded by foundations and individuals.
Tags: Community Service, Parenting, Sue Scheff, Teen Community Service, teens volunteering
Sue Scheff: Teen Entreprenuers and Summer Volunteering
by Sue Scheff on May 16, 2009
With today’s economy teens and kids are watching or hearing about many of their families having to cut back and become more aware of what they are spending. As parents we need to encourage our kids to look at their future – build a foundation – nurture a dream. With today’s technology the ideas are always expanding. Check out this article and get your kids started in a positive direction!
Source: Connect with Kids
“I’m a gigantic believer in the value of an entrepreneurial experience- if there’s any time in someone’s life when they ought to take a risk it’s when they are not saddled with an enormous number of financial and family responsibilities.”
– Andrea Hershatter, Ph.D., M.B.A.
When today’s teens talk about what they want to be when they grow up … the answer that is becoming more common than ever is: my own boss.
Like a lot of college freshmen, Sean Belnick has a job on the side. He works for a company that brings in more than 20-million dollars a year. It’s his company… he owns it.
“We started off with a couple of orders a day and it just mushroomed from there,” he says.
A huge warehouse now stocks the office chairs he sells online. But it all started in his bedroom, when he was 15 years old.
“I always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” he says.
More teens than ever are tapping into their entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, according to Junior Achievement Worldwide, interest in entrepreneurship camps is up 30 percent.
What’s more, experts say, kids have a huge advantage as entrepreneurs because they know the web and know network sites like Facebook and Myspace.
“They intuitively understand the power and potential of using web based services for distribution, for marketing, for outreach… for connections,” says Andrea Herchatter with Emory University, “And they’re incredible networkers who have a very large number of human resources in terms of their peers at their disposal.”
“That’s the whole thing with the internet really,” says Belnick, “Anyone can put a web site up. And it looks professional. But there’s nothing saying that there’s a 20-year-old kid behind it. Which is the biggest thing about the internet, you know, you can create your own credibility.”
Experts say parents should encourage entrepreneurship in their kids… whether it’s moving lawns or an online business.
They may not make millions… but they will learn a lot about managing a business and turning a profit.
“I think they learn, they grow, they mature. If they are not enriched financially then at least they are enriched in terms of life experiences that will serve them forever,” says Herchatter.
Tips for Parents
With the employment rate down for teens, many are opting for volunteer positions instead of paid positions. And despite many adults being convinced of a decline in the values and morals of today’s young people, recent surveys show that many teens are giving of their time to work for causes in which they believe and to help those who are less fortunate. Teens find volunteer opportunities through religious organizations, school-based programs and community agencies.
Teens listed several reasons for volunteering:
- Compassion for people in need
- Feeling they can do something for a cause in which they believe
- A belief that if they help others, others will help them
In addition, some teens volunteer their time in occupational fields in which they are interested. In addition to being helpful, they are able to use their experiences in deciding on future career choices.
Teens reported benefiting from their volunteer experiences in many ways, including:
- Learning to respect others.
- Learning to be helpful and kind.
- Learning to understand people who are different from them.
- Developing leadership skills.
- Becoming more patient.
- Gaining a better understanding of good citizenship.
- Exploring or learning about career options.
- Developing new career goals.
Children learn from their parents. The survey showed teens that reported having positive role models were nearly twice as likely to volunteer as those who did not. Encourage your child to volunteer by setting an example. Youth Service America provides additional ways to increase teen volunteerism:
- Ask them to volunteer.
- Encourage youth to get involved at an early age. Volunteering when young creates lifelong adult volunteers.
- Encourage children and young adults to participate in community groups, faith-based organizations, student government and school projects.
- Encourage a positive self-image so young people are able to help others and contribute to their communities.
- Be a mentor in your community.
- Provide young people with opportunities to take courses that include and even require community service.
References
- The Higher Education Research Institute
- The Independent Sector
- Youth Service America
Sue Scheff: Top Ten Youth Volunteers – Receive Awards
by Sue Scheff on May 15, 2009
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. For their extraordinary efforts in serving others through volunteerism, ten middle and high school students from across the country were named America’s top ten youth volunteers for 2009 in a ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters, capping the 14th year of The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.
Tags: Community Service, Parenting, Parenting Teens, Prudential Spirit Awards, Sue Scheff, Teen Community Service, teens volunteering
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