Christen’s project was to establish walking teams at her church that were led by youth, ages 8-12, to create awareness of obesity and lack of exercise. The youth were to find people to walk on their teams and provide motivation and competition with the other teams. She met her goals by staying on task and meeting regularly with the youth to ensure the teams were on track. Christen learned that younger people can be great motivators to their friends and families to lead healthy lifestyles. She is a senior at Hueytown High School.
Lindsey collected unused medical supplies from different support groups and then delivered them to Cooper Green Hospital to give them to uninsured patients who might need them after being discharged. Lindsey met with administrators at Cooper Green and support groups to present her project and her goals. Through her initial project, Lindsey has set up an ongoing donation program in some of the support groups she solicited. Lindsey has learned that she is the only one who can limit herself from succeeding. She is a sophomore at Oak Mountain High School.
By using herself as an example, Hanna wrote a book to explain the problems she suffers with dyslexia so that teachers and parents could become more familiar with the symptoms. She did a great deal of research and conducted several interviews with experts on dyslexia. Hanna learned that you need others to help with large projects and that it is important not to procrastinate. She is a junior at Chelsea High School.
Kate’s project included building wooden benches for Southminster Presbyterian Church’s Prayer Garden, providing an educational nature guide to be used by the Southminster Day School’s first and second graders, and creating ideas for Brownie Try-Its. Kate organized the project, designed and purchased materials for the benches, as well as coordinated volunteers from Southminster’s Youth Group to build the benches. Kate learned how planning in advance can help keep a project moving smoothly and how to take responsibility for it. She also learned how to operate a table saw! Kate is a senior at Vestavia Hills High School.
When the house of one of Erika’s closest friends burned down just before Christmas in 2002, she became aware of the importance of fire safety in the home. She consulted with the local fire chief and created educational materials announcing several smoke alarm drives in the Moody area. She coordinated volunteers to visit homes in her neighborhood to install free smoke alarms, check batteries of existing alarms, and share fire safety tips with homeowners and their families. Through this process, Erika learned that she could be a leader. Erika is a junior at Moody High School.
In order to educate younger children on the issues they are faced with, Raven used a series of meetings, activities, and games to address poor healthcare and hygiene, low self-esteem, weight control, and lack of physical activity. Raven used fun ice-breakers, serious discussions, and educational games to show younger children how they could enjoy learning. She implemented surveys and used feedback to evaluate her project’s effectiveness. Raven learned that one voice can make a difference. She is a senior at John Carroll Catholic High School.
Nancy used her Gold Award project to help the homeless women and children at Pathways. She collected towels, toiletries, and suitcases to donate to the people served by the organization by hanging flyers to increase community involvement. Nancy also mailed letters seeking donations so she could purchase some items herself. She met with Girl Scout troops to create awareness of her project and solicit their help in collecting items. Nancy learned how to get organized and not procrastinate on important projects and goals. She is a senior at Vestavia Hills High School.
Rachel started the “Going Green at THS” program because she saw how much paper was being wasted at Thompson High School. Her goal was to encourage everyone to recycle at her school. Rachel put bins in each classroom and came up with a system to manage the program. Her project collected over six tons of paper products the first semester, and she is in the process of adding plastic this semester. Rachel has learned that if you try hard enough, you can get anybody to help you do something productive. She is a sophomore at Thompson High School.
Casie wanted to help revitalize the historic Theatre of Gadsden, so she led a team of volunteers in remodeling and reorganizing the prop area. She set meetings, obtained the necessary permissions, and wrote letters to acquire donations to fund her project. She recruited volunteers and led trainings to ensure everyone knew how to safely use the tools and then held several workdays. When the project was complete, she held an open house for the theatre members to evaluate her work. Casie learned how to supervise a project and how to manage her stress. She is a senior at Gadsden City High School.
