TEEN ADVISORY TEAM & VOLUNTEERS 2008-09
What happens when you gather a group of teenagers together challenged with the task of helping a great cause? Plenty of creative ideas and energy ready to be harnessed!
Teen Advisory Team 2008-09 at Barnes & Noble, Waterside Shops, Naples, Florida, with guest author “Robbie” Hemingway Rothenburg at front far left K is for Kids® Foundation’s first Teen Advisory Team proved to a vital force in their mission of promoting children’s literacy and raising books for kids. The team, all students at local area high schools, earned community service hours for their hard work while fueling the Foundation’s efforts with strong energy and creative ideas. With a handful of younger students pitching in, the forty volunteers contributed significantly to the success of the Foundation’s first season overseeing the Bring a Book, Bring a Friend® Fun’raiser as a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization, enabling it to triple its programs while its community outreach soared 475%. Although launching in late September 2008 during the nation’s crippling economic crisis, the efforts were in the end rewarded — Over 5,000 children who were under-served in the community received new books to read! The Teen Advisory Team met all their challenges: Their first gathering was a brainstorming session in which each team member was asked to articulate why they were volunteering and why they felt the Foundation’s cause was important. Just a few quick days later, the teens found themselves in front of a MacBook laptop being recorded for their first video promotion [see our home page]. This captured the eye of videographer Steven B. Joyce who volunteered to shoot the T.A.T.’s first public service announcement, or PSA. The filming was an exciting learning experience for the kids! Two local authors dropped in, Robert Dean Bair and M.B. Weston, to view the action and be interviewed by three of the team volunteers, Cory, Alexis F. and Dezree. Next followed two mayoral proclamations in Naples and then Bonita Springs announcing October 2008 as K is for Kids® Foundation’s ‘Bring a Book, Bring a Friend? for Children’s Literacy Month.’ A weekend-long celebration of family fun events and a K is for Kids® Book Fair at Barnes & Noble, Waterside Shops in Naples launched the literacy month with story times, a scavenger hunt, face painting, comedy workshop and ‘mike night’ with Craig Price. The teens participated in all the events and helped young children. After guest author “Robbie” Hemingway Rothenberg spoke to the young audience with his co-author dad Jon and illustrator Doug MacGregor and a special writing workshop by author M.B. Weston, the children were inspired and ready to become young authors themselves: This was the first event where area children were invited to write a page in the Foundation’s upcoming book, later titled “Wishes, Dreams, Gifts & Things: A collection of very short stories by the children of Naples.” Teens wrote stories also, pausing quickly amid there volunteer duties, and posing for their own “photographic portraits” being created by Karen Walsh Haupt of The Studio on 5th. Teens were also treated that day, thanks to MAC the girls had make-up applied so that they could look their best and California Pizza Kitchen treated the young volunteers to lunch. Apple also gave a private workshop to the teens and their families with Starbucks donating cookies and milk. The teens volunteered, cheered, promoted and learned the whole weekend! During the October Bring a Book, Bring a Friend® for Children’s Literacy Month, Collier County Starbucks throughout Collier County and Bonita Springs held book drives as did Borders Music & Books of Naples. Other book drop-off locations were hosted by other retail businesses. [See “Get Involved” drop down for our sponsors for a complete list.] The Foundation’s fun’raising season culminated in early November with another “Writing Extravaganza” at the Bring a Book, Bring a Friend® for Children’s Literacy “Finale on 5th & 5th” in downtown Naples at photographer Karen Walsh Haupt’s Studio on 5th on the Esplanade. Teens volunteers proudly displayed their K is for Kids® t-shirts as they walked along 5th Avenue, and helped children register to become young authors. Teens also painted the faces of youngsters and handed out balloons. Throughout November and December, holiday book drives benefiting K is for Kids® were held by Barnes & Noble in Naples and Colour U Salon in Bonita Springs. With so many books to process, the Foundation literally had their hands full to get them organized and sorted for grand recipients in the Spring. This is when the teens’ moms pitched in more helping hands! In early spring 2009 the raised books were distributed and grant recipients were treated to a special shopping spree along Naples ‘booksellers row’ to purchase brand new books for their children to read. Again young volunteers assisted, this time helping librarians choose new books for the students to read at their schools, then placing them on trolleys to be processed before carting them to the cash registers for check out, and then out to the cars. It was fun work for everyone and helped wrap up a wonderful season of giving! |
TEEN ADVISORY TEAM & VOLUNTEERS 2008-09
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