Do you cringe when you see all the stray cats around your town? Do you burst into tears when you see the homeless people downtown? Do you think your school needs to be fixed up?
It's time for you to make an impact on your community by fixing these problems. You can do it! All by yourself or with a team of people.
Pick your cause: I'm going to use my close friend's (NewAngel) story. When she realized how many stray cats and dogs there were around the community, she came up with an idea to open up her very own no-kill animal shelter. But the task would be hard, and she needed help from the right people.
"I knew that I couldn't open it up on my own property. I needed a person with more land, and an adult who could get the licenses and stuff!" -- NewAngel
So she asked her aunt if it would be possible. It took a whole lot of pleading and extra chores, but finally her aunt agreed. They are going to open up their very own animal shelter!
Okay, so maybe that kind of 'help-out' is too big for you. So pick a battle that's a little more simple.
Plan: Time to get more people involved. Say you want to organize a race for cancer research. Bet your cross-country team would love another race to win! So recruit them.
If you're doing this task with a bunch of kids, you will need to assign officers to each different position. You, more than likely, will want to be President. You need a Secretary to keep track of participating people, a Treasurer to calculate money made, and so much more! Have a meeting to discuss all of this.
Don't forget to advertise all over the place! Print out multiple flyers.
Wanna petition? Petitions are a great way to get people involved! And all they have to do is sign their name! Then submit your petition to folks who would care about it. Don't give the principal of your school a notice about homeless people. That should be in the mayor's hands, my friends. Editor's Note: Although, properly motivated, your principal might be a great hand in helping you get your mayor's attention!
Don't give up! Tons of people give up on battles they never think that they can win. Don't! You will be the one person who actually makes a diff' in this world.
Resources: Check out these websites for more tips on how to be a cool leader in your community! You can also ask your school's guidance counselor for brochures on volunteer activities.
VolunteerMarch -- www.volunteermarch.org. This site is the best. I use it all the time to find out fun things that I can do to help out. All you need to do is type in your zip code and, voila! A million things to do pop up.
The Hunger Site -- www.thehungersite.com. This site is a dream come true! You can just click on the link "Donate Free Food" and you will instantly give food to hungry people!
You can also search your favorite search engine for more activities by typing in things like "saving the whales" or "helping the homeless". Try it out!
Don't forget, you CAN make a difference!
