To get a headstart on this 2011 goal, we’re posting a blog today about All Roads Lead to Green, an awesome Kids to Kids project in the Dominican Republic that included all four of our project categories: arts, sports, education and environment. The success of this project is best shown through photos.

To see the more of All Roads Lead to Green in pictures, like Kids to Kids on Facebook and visit our photo albums.

To support more Kids to Kids projects like this one, please make a donation to the Kids to Kids All-Kids Fund here.

Lauren organizing a fundraiser with her school's Kids to Kids Club

12/16/10 – Fundraising events are a powerful tool for Kids to Kids Members to raise money to support Kids to Kids projects; but how do you get more people involved and raise more funds? As a Kids to Kids Member, I have organized many fundraisers and raised over $4,000. However, not all of this money has come from my planned fundraising events. I enjoy writing letters to family members and friends asking for support; they are always eager and willing to help. I have also been lucky in asking local businesses to support my ventures. I know that it may not be easy to go around and ask for money, but the key is to be confident and assured that people want to help you, and not turn you away.

In order to be successful in reaching out to your community and raising funds, you will need a well-developed plan. I know from past experiences that you need information about your organization or venture to give to people from whom you are seeking donations. You should also provide a means of communication such as your e-mail address or a phone number for people to contact you in case they have questions. I believe communication is a key element in fundraising. People should never have to try to figure things out on their own, because they may become frustrated. You should make it a point to work closely with everyone involved and give them all the information they need to support your fundraiser.

Always be positive and have fun, and you will become successful in whatever you want to achieve!

Last year when I went to my very first Kids to Kids meeting, I started talking to a girl in the grade above me, Kate, who had never been to a Kids to Kids meeting before either. Somehow we started talking about our love for baking and we decided to start a bake club. By the end of the meeting, this idea had morphed into a bake sale fundraiser for Kids to Kids!  Last fall we had our first bakesale and it went so well that we decided to do it again this fall.

First, we sent emails to our entire school a week before the bakesale to gauge interest and get more people to help us bake. Kids signed up with their friends, and many asked faculty members if they could borrow their kitchen for a couple hours (Groton is a boarding school). On Friday Kate and I went to the grocery store and bought all the ingredients needed for the various groups to bake. We divided all the ingredients into plastic baggies and left them in my room for people to come pick up whenever they were ready to start baking.

That Sunday (the day before the bake sale), Kate and I spent the entire day baking at her house. We made cakes, cookies, fudge, penuche, caramel apples, and much more!  There were six other groups of kids baking in total. Each group baked things like brownies, cookies, cupcakes and rice krispie treats. On Monday we sold all these treats at lunch. We had so much food that it carried us through dinner as well. The entire event was really successful. In the end, we raised more than $600 for Kids to Kids!

*Lizzy is a member of the Kids to Kids Youth Advisory Board. Any Kids to Kids Member may submit a favorite project blog by contacting the Kids to Kids Program Coordinator at patrick@worldconnect-us.org.

“We were completely surprised by the amount of community members that came to see the students’ projects. At some points during the day there were over 500 people in the park to see the students! We were able to bring the students’ projects, our [community-based] organization and the idea that we are all responsible for the environment to the forefront of the community’s mind.”

There were two elements to the project. First was an exhibition where students presented their art and environmental projects. Some students presented their work in composting and reforestation, while others presented and sold jewelry made from recyclable materials. One student performed a poem about the “abuse of water” to a crowd of over 500 people!

The second element of the project was a fashion show where students displayed traditional clothing they had created from recyclable materials, previously destined for trash bins. This type of fashion show is popping up all over communities impacted by Kids to Kids! The following projects also included or inspired wildly successful and fun kid fashion shows:

Youth Environmental Conservation and Leadership Conference – An Experiential Kids to Kids Exchange within Peru!

Cacahuatalejo Art Camp and Festival

To see more fun photos of From Trash to Treasure: Arts and Traditional Clothing with a Twist!, “like” Kids to Kids on Facebook and visit our photo albums. To support more Kids to Kids projects like this, please make a donation to the Kids to Kids All-Kids Fund here.

Young Girls in El Salvador

My favorite Kids to Kids project is Glow: Girls Leading Our World. I really enjoyed learning about this project because I can relate to the education and wellbeing of young girls and women.

I attend a private all girls’ school in Rhode Island and I love it! We spend time thinking about how we can make a difference in the world. I think it is so amazing that, through Kids to Kids, girls in developing counties are able to learn how they can make a difference in the world too!

Glow: Girls Leading Our World was a camp that helped 21 Salvadoran girls between the ages of 11 and 18 find their voices in the activities they do and in the people the meet. At the camp, the girls participated in various workshops that allowed them to become their own leaders and inspired them to build up their confidence and self esteem. These girls were taught how to shape their futures by learning about the importance of their physical wellbeing and promoting their individual self-worth. Camp Glow is a perfect example of what can result from the hard work and dedication of Kids to Kids Members all over the world.

*Lauren is a member of the Kids to Kids Youth Advisory Board. Any Kids to Kids Member may submit a favorite project blog by contacting the Kids to Kids Program Coordinator at patrick@worldconnect-us.org.

Former Kids to Kids- Belize Grantee Jacquelyn Hunter with Christa Thoeresz

11/02/10 - This past weekend, Kids to Kids’ all-star Christa Thoeresz, our first, fearless and fabulous adult leader, attended the 2010 Net Impact Conference in Michigan. Net Impact is a really neat organization that connects people who are making a difference in the world through business. You can learn more about them here on their website if you’re interested.

While at the conference, Christa met one of our first ever Kids to Kids grant recipients! Jacquelyn Hunter served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Belize. While she was there, she worked with an organization in her village called Youth for the Future. Together, they received a Kids to Kids Grant Award to hold a Volleyball Empowerment Camp and Tournament. While the camp was only a few days long, Jacquelyn says that it was one of the most transformational things that happened in her community during her service! Ms. Hunter is now studying business at the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

In September, Kids to Kids added five new members to the Youth Advisory Board for the 2010-2011 school year! To read bios for the Kids to Kids Youth Advisory Board click here. Congratulations Lauren, Annie, Gwen, Gen and Lizzy!

3/4 of the Kids to Kids Youth Advisory Board

The Kids to Kids Youth Advisory Board is comprised of youth leaders and spokespersons who are changing the world! The Advisory Board plays many important roles in the Kids to Kids program, but most importantly they represent all Kids to Kids Members’ voices to World Connect to ensure that Kids to Kids remains youth-led. They also represent Kids to Kids in the media and at youth conferences and write blogs and content for the website. Of course, they also lead rocking Kids to Kids Clubs at their own schools or in their communities. In short, they keep Kids to Kids fresh, youth-led and awesome!

This school year, the Kids to Kids Youth Advisory Board will lead the charge in organizing and raising awareness about Kids to Kids online voting (December 2010 and June 2011), the 2nd Annual National Kids to Kids Day (April 29, 2011) and the 1st Annual Kids to Kids Global Service Summit (July 2011). More info on all these things will be coming soon!

Two things that you should always do at Kids to Kids Club meetings are:

• Make sure everyone in attendance is a Kids to Kids Member.
  • Tip: Print copies of the Membership Pledge for people to fill out in the meeting and then enter their information online later.

• Read the most recent Member Call to Action out loud.
  • Tip: At the beginning of every month Kids to Kids Members receive a new Call to Action delivered to their email. Print this out and bring it to each meeting.

And here’s a couple other fun things you can do with your Kids to Kids Club just about anytime!

1. Plan a membership drive at your school with a goal to sign up 50 new Kids to Kids Members at your school.

2. Have a discussion about why supporting Kids to Kids projects is important.

• Tip: Discuss success stories from completed Kids to Kids projects and have your Club advisor (or your favorite teacher!) moderate the discussion.

3.  Plan a fundraiser for Kids to Kids!

• Fact: Kids are the most creative fundraisers on the planet! Check out our website for fundraising ideas or read our blog to see what other Clubs have done to raise funds for Kids to Kids projects.

4. Watch a documentary about the countries where Kids to Kids projects take place!

• Tip: Ask your Club advisor to help you find an interesting movie.

5. Send an e-postcard to a Kids to Kids project!

• Tip: Kids around the world LOVE knowing that other kids are working to give them amazing opportunities to participate in arts, sports, education and environmental projects. Any time your Club accomplishes a goal you should pick your favorite Kids to Kids project and share your success!

6. Get out the Kids to Kids Vote!

• Tip: Kids to Kids voting periods are in December and June. Make sure every kid in your Club votes on the Kids to Kids website!

Do you have suggestions for other Kids to Kids Members about things to do in their Club meetings? We’d love to hear them and add them to the list! Leave a comment here or drop us a line.

10/15/10

Handwashing with soap before eating or preparing meals and after using the bathroom could have major impacts on health worldwide by reducing cases of diarrhea, pneumonia and other infections. Studies also show that handwashing by birth attendants during delivery significantly increased newborn survival rates by up to 44%. Such a simple action with major health benefits!

We’re are promoting handwashing among children and teens through several of our Kids to Kids projects. Somos Promotoritos (“we are little health promotors”) in the Dominican Republic and Aprendiendo a Vivir Bien (“learning to live well”) are both training kids to teach other kids as well as adults about the importance of washing their hands!

Also, several projects supported by our World Connect Grants program are working to increase handwashing in their communities in their own way by ensuring people have access to soap and water. Project Pilas in El Salvador is bringing potable water to people’s homes in a rural village through the construction of pilas (outdoor water storage centers) for handwashing and daily activities like washing dishes and clothes. Cooperative Moving Forward in Rwanda is also looking to increase rates of handwashing in their community by creating a locally-made soap.

To learn more about the benefits of handwashing, check out this fact sheet.

On the day we planted trees, there was one young man who stood out amongst his peers. He was patiently explaining to the smaller children the proper way to plant a tree. He was so attentive in his explanation, teaching the children how to cut off the bottom of the bag to free the tree roots and the proper space needed between each newly planted tree to best allow the trees to grow.

His name is David. He is 18 years old, in the 7th grade and a dedicated member of the Environmental Youth Group at the school. He has three brothers and both his parents work in a local farming cooperative. He and his family are very poor. They live in a small, humble house made of adobe.

David with the local PCV and Community Leader

I spoke to David later about the project:

PCV: What did you like about the environmental week?
David: When they told me that we would have an environmental week, I wanted to collaborate with themes about the environment and it’s importance in our lives. I also liked the opportunity to help others.

PCV: What did you learn?
David: I learned how to plant trees properly, like the importance of cutting the bottom of the bag on the tree so that the roots are free. I also learned the space that each tree needs to grow and the use of a 3 meter triangle to measure. I was very happy to explain to the other students how to plant trees so that they can now do it themselves.

PCV: What do you want to do when you grow up?
David: I would like to study agronomy (the study of using plants for food and fuel) at the university if God permits it. Then, I want to work with people in my town and in the countryside.

PCV: I am going to send a copy of our talk to Kids to Kids Members in the US. If you could tell them one thing about El Salvador, what would it be?
David: We are hard workers and we fight always to improve ourselves and come out on top. Thank you for supporting us.