Tuesday, December 20, 2011
How has your experience with Lead to Succeed benefited you and your community?
"I am very thankful for the time that I was able to spend with the students and faculty at the Professional Learning Institute this semester. I came into the program knowing a little about water issues that are currently facing the Milwaukee area, but mostly I wanted to learn along with everyone else and use the knowledge that I already had to help others learn. I ended up doing just that. I learned a tremendous amount during the course and semester’s research and I find myself applying the knowledge I gained to my everyday life. I have changed my lifestyle and really started paying attention to the way myself and others use water. I feel like this had not only affected me but also my community because I am treating the resources that we all share with a lot more care and respect."
How does your role of Project Manager add to your understanding of the course?
"Over the course of the semester I have been doing extensive research to both prepare myself for each week’s lesson and help to guide students along with their research. I really enjoyed the position being a project manager because I acted as a middle ground between the project facilitator and the students. When doing the research guide, I was able to include the opinions of both older citizens as well as youth and young adults. I feel as though I could use my experience as a younger adult to really relate and see the students side of the issues that we were researching."
Thanks, Ryan! The students at PLI have made great progress throughout the semester all because of your presence and input!
Lead to Succeed is an industry-driven youth leadership development program in which college students mentor a team of high school students in a service learning project that addresses needs identified by local non-profit organizations. Each project is also connected to in-demand career fields. Students awaken their inner leader, sharpen their community engagement skills, and plan for their future while designing and executing each unique, high-impact service learning project.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Lead to Succeed in the News!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Our students attended this summit as part of Lead to Succeed's partnership with Discovery World! Throughout the next four months, these students will work closely with Discovery World to create a youth-friendly water website. Check out the Fox6 News story on this week's Onsite Discovery Fieldtrip!
Our students attended this summit as part of Lead to Succeed's partnership with Discovery World! Throughout the next four months, these students will work closely with Discovery World to create a youth-friendly water website. Check out the Fox6 News story on this week's Onsite Discovery Fieldtrip!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Updates from the Project Managers
Monday, December 12, 2011
How has your experience with LTS benefited you and your community? What have you learned about yourself from this experience?
"I am studying at UWM to become a earth science teacher, and this experience helped me get a sense of what I have to look forward to in the future. This project also helped me become aware of the importance of water, and how much we take water for granted. I have learned that I have chosen the right career for myself. I love having the ability to show young minds the importance of science, and how they have the ability to change the future for the better." - Molly B., St. Joan Antida Youth Water Website Project
"This experience is one I would enjoy doing again and again. Being a project manager for the mural group wasn't easy at times. I learned that Waukesha South's student body is extremely diverse and are having some issues within the student body. Segregation is a huge problem, & diversity is not being celebrated among the student body. These students have taught me so much during our discussions. I got exactly what I was looking to get out of my time working with these students. I wanted to learn from their experiences as well as share knowledge I have learned myself through my higher education." - Taylor M., Diversity Mural
How has your experience with LTS benefited you and your community? What have you learned about yourself from this experience?
"I am studying at UWM to become a earth science teacher, and this experience helped me get a sense of what I have to look forward to in the future. This project also helped me become aware of the importance of water, and how much we take water for granted. I have learned that I have chosen the right career for myself. I love having the ability to show young minds the importance of science, and how they have the ability to change the future for the better." - Molly B., St. Joan Antida Youth Water Website Project
"This experience is one I would enjoy doing again and again. Being a project manager for the mural group wasn't easy at times. I learned that Waukesha South's student body is extremely diverse and are having some issues within the student body. Segregation is a huge problem, & diversity is not being celebrated among the student body. These students have taught me so much during our discussions. I got exactly what I was looking to get out of my time working with these students. I wanted to learn from their experiences as well as share knowledge I have learned myself through my higher education." - Taylor M., Diversity Mural
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
A Few Pictures from the Conference
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Lead to Succeed's annual Kick-Off Conference was a hit! Here's a look at some pictures from the big day!
Lead to Succeed's annual Kick-Off Conference was a hit! Here's a look at some pictures from the big day!
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A group of students enjoying one of the guest speakers   |
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Making Progress!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Our project managers come from a variety of UWM classes, all through the Institute for Service Learning. Working with a diverse group of students from many different majors, the unique Lead to Succeed projects are starting to take shape!
"My team's project is to go out into the community and volunteer, as well as get other high school kids involved and excited about volunteering. As project manager, I am keeping the students engaged and interested in volunteering in their community by making sure they realize how their actions as a volunteer affect other people. If they feel like they are making a difference and feel good about what they are doing, it will give them a reason to volunteer in their free time, or recommend it to others. I will also have them reflect on their trips on video. We will collect reflections and clips from their volunteer work to create a video to help the students inspire others to volunteer." - Amy M., Milwaukee Excel Youth Volunteerism Project
"The first two meetings working with the Youth Water Website at Waukesha 4H were great. Although we had a small group of students, they all seem to be quite interested in building and creating a website based on conserving and sustaining water. It surprised me because not only was I expecting a much larger group of students, but also I was expecting them to be mainstreamed in the local school systems, however they were not. In fact, most of our high school students are homeschooled which I found to be very unique. I think because we have a more unique group of students, we may be able to give the website a different perspective!" - Sarah K., Waukesha 4H Youth Water Website Project
Our project managers come from a variety of UWM classes, all through the Institute for Service Learning. Working with a diverse group of students from many different majors, the unique Lead to Succeed projects are starting to take shape!
"My team's project is to go out into the community and volunteer, as well as get other high school kids involved and excited about volunteering. As project manager, I am keeping the students engaged and interested in volunteering in their community by making sure they realize how their actions as a volunteer affect other people. If they feel like they are making a difference and feel good about what they are doing, it will give them a reason to volunteer in their free time, or recommend it to others. I will also have them reflect on their trips on video. We will collect reflections and clips from their volunteer work to create a video to help the students inspire others to volunteer." - Amy M., Milwaukee Excel Youth Volunteerism Project
"The first two meetings working with the Youth Water Website at Waukesha 4H were great. Although we had a small group of students, they all seem to be quite interested in building and creating a website based on conserving and sustaining water. It surprised me because not only was I expecting a much larger group of students, but also I was expecting them to be mainstreamed in the local school systems, however they were not. In fact, most of our high school students are homeschooled which I found to be very unique. I think because we have a more unique group of students, we may be able to give the website a different perspective!" - Sarah K., Waukesha 4H Youth Water Website Project
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Project Manager Updates!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The projects are off to a great start! Here's what some of our awesome project managers had to say:
"There are so many topics that were covered in the first few meeting with Lead To Succeed that it is hard to imagine the project without great leaders. After extensive discussion, the project was split into three groups and each grouping was given a project manager. The initial meeting with the students was fantastic. They are really excited to get started and see results." - Chris R., Skateboard Park Project
"In two weeks of going to St. Joan Antida I already can tell that my role as a Lead to Succeed Project Manager will be significant for me as well as for the girls. Not only will I learn a lot from the girls, I know that they have already learned a lot from me! I can tell that they feel very comfortable around me and aren’t afraid to add their opinion about our Water Website project. This was because of the several ice breakers that we did to feel comfortable around each other and get to know each other better. I noticed that the ice breakers not only helped me to get to know the girls I will be working with, the activities brought up questions that some of the girls didn’t know about each other as well." - Elizabeth M., St. Joan Antida Youth Water Website Project
"There are many career opportunities in the water industry in Milwaukee, and the Water Institute along with Lead to Succeed are trying to promote these to students who will soon be heading into the workforce. As a project manager, I will have the chance to be in regular contact with these students to facilitate the curriculum and keep them interested." - Nic M., St. Joan Antida Youth Water Website Project
"As someone who grew up in a culturally diverse neighborhood, I see it as very important and inspiring that the students are making an effort to unite their classmates and disregard the racial borders that society has put up. I believe project managers are needed to guide the kids to help them achieve their goals. With this position as a project manager, I intend to organize what needs to be done and assign students specific roles that cover each task. I also hope to give them the confidence to work in projects like this in the future." - John K., Diversity Mural
The projects are off to a great start! Here's what some of our awesome project managers had to say:
"There are so many topics that were covered in the first few meeting with Lead To Succeed that it is hard to imagine the project without great leaders. After extensive discussion, the project was split into three groups and each grouping was given a project manager. The initial meeting with the students was fantastic. They are really excited to get started and see results." - Chris R., Skateboard Park Project
"In two weeks of going to St. Joan Antida I already can tell that my role as a Lead to Succeed Project Manager will be significant for me as well as for the girls. Not only will I learn a lot from the girls, I know that they have already learned a lot from me! I can tell that they feel very comfortable around me and aren’t afraid to add their opinion about our Water Website project. This was because of the several ice breakers that we did to feel comfortable around each other and get to know each other better. I noticed that the ice breakers not only helped me to get to know the girls I will be working with, the activities brought up questions that some of the girls didn’t know about each other as well." - Elizabeth M., St. Joan Antida Youth Water Website Project
"There are many career opportunities in the water industry in Milwaukee, and the Water Institute along with Lead to Succeed are trying to promote these to students who will soon be heading into the workforce. As a project manager, I will have the chance to be in regular contact with these students to facilitate the curriculum and keep them interested." - Nic M., St. Joan Antida Youth Water Website Project
"As someone who grew up in a culturally diverse neighborhood, I see it as very important and inspiring that the students are making an effort to unite their classmates and disregard the racial borders that society has put up. I believe project managers are needed to guide the kids to help them achieve their goals. With this position as a project manager, I intend to organize what needs to be done and assign students specific roles that cover each task. I also hope to give them the confidence to work in projects like this in the future." - John K., Diversity Mural
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
2011-2012 Kickoff!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The school year is well underway, and we here at Lead to Succeed are busier than ever! With all of our projects finalized, we're ready to get started and send our college Project Managers to their locations! Here's what we've got in store for the 2011-2012 school year:
Youth Water Website- With the help of our fantastic college Project Managers from UWM and Alverno College, students at area high schools will be designing a website that will introduce youth to the Southeastern Wisconsin water industry. They'll be explaining why is water important, businesses & career paths in the water industry, and how you can make a difference in conservation efforts. Small teams of students will work on researching website content, highlighting water projects, and will even be working with professionals from Discovery World to create the website!
Multicultural Mural- A brightly colored mural will stand tall in the Waukesha area when Lead to Succeed finishes this school year! Our Project Managers will be leading a team of high school students in designing and painting this mural that will celebrate Waukesha's cultural diversity. This project will also contain a video documentary component, so keep checking our blog for updates and video clips!
Skate Park Project- College Project Managers will be leading a team of high school students from Waukesha South in planning for a new skateboard park to be built in the City of Waukesha. This is a multi-year project that will involve grant writing for the funding needed to build the park, creating preliminary designs, and soliciting input from Waukesha youth on what they would like included in the park. We can't wait for this one to get started!
Youth Volunteerism Project- Students from Milwaukee Excel High School will be volunteering at various locations in Milwaukee throughout the course of the semester. Our Project Managers will attend these short volunteer activities with the high school students and their supervisors, and act as mentors by encouraging them to think about Milwaukee's cultural diversity and community needs. Not only will the college students be engaging in service learning, but they will be encouraging the high school students to do the same by reflecting on their service. Excel students will display their achievements and successes through a PowerPoint, short documentary, youth volunteerism campaign, or other visual outlet.
Stay tuned for more details! Soon we'll have plenty of updates from our college Project Managers!
The school year is well underway, and we here at Lead to Succeed are busier than ever! With all of our projects finalized, we're ready to get started and send our college Project Managers to their locations! Here's what we've got in store for the 2011-2012 school year:
Youth Water Website- With the help of our fantastic college Project Managers from UWM and Alverno College, students at area high schools will be designing a website that will introduce youth to the Southeastern Wisconsin water industry. They'll be explaining why is water important, businesses & career paths in the water industry, and how you can make a difference in conservation efforts. Small teams of students will work on researching website content, highlighting water projects, and will even be working with professionals from Discovery World to create the website!
Multicultural Mural- A brightly colored mural will stand tall in the Waukesha area when Lead to Succeed finishes this school year! Our Project Managers will be leading a team of high school students in designing and painting this mural that will celebrate Waukesha's cultural diversity. This project will also contain a video documentary component, so keep checking our blog for updates and video clips!
Skate Park Project- College Project Managers will be leading a team of high school students from Waukesha South in planning for a new skateboard park to be built in the City of Waukesha. This is a multi-year project that will involve grant writing for the funding needed to build the park, creating preliminary designs, and soliciting input from Waukesha youth on what they would like included in the park. We can't wait for this one to get started!
Youth Volunteerism Project- Students from Milwaukee Excel High School will be volunteering at various locations in Milwaukee throughout the course of the semester. Our Project Managers will attend these short volunteer activities with the high school students and their supervisors, and act as mentors by encouraging them to think about Milwaukee's cultural diversity and community needs. Not only will the college students be engaging in service learning, but they will be encouraging the high school students to do the same by reflecting on their service. Excel students will display their achievements and successes through a PowerPoint, short documentary, youth volunteerism campaign, or other visual outlet.
Stay tuned for more details! Soon we'll have plenty of updates from our college Project Managers!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
** UPCOMING EVENTS ** Project's Progress!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Neulife-Custom Rain Barrel Business Project
April 18 – 2:30- Additional Practice Sessions at Neulife
4pm – 4:45 pm Investor Presentation at MMSD
May 1 – Final delivery date for 5 Rain Barrels sold
SUPAR-Financial Literacy Project
April 27 – Financial Literacy students present at other schools
May 2 - Financial Literacy students present at SUPAR
** UPCOMING EVENTS ** GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY!
All the UNIQUE projects the LTS students and Mentors have been working so hard to put together for Global Youth Service Day are being presented!
SUPAR (1712 S 32nd St. Milwaukee, WI 53215)
April 15
Outdoor Classroom Build at 16th Street Community Health Center
Outdoor Classroom Build at 16th Street Community Health Center
10 am to finish (we’re guessing about 2 pm)
St. Joan Antida (1341 N. Cass St. Milwaukee, WI 53202)
April 15
Rain Garden Group:
9 am Take group "before" picture
9 am to 12:00 Build Rain Garden and take pictures
12:00 to 12:30 Clean up
Art Structure Group:
8am Arrive at Saint Joan’s, take before picture, get materials ready
9:10-12:00 Will be creating the structure and finishing it
1:00- Finishing touches and Clean up
1:30- Take pictures of the finished art structure
9:10-12:00 Will be creating the structure and finishing it
1:00- Finishing touches and Clean up
1:30- Take pictures of the finished art structure
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Financial Literacy Project 4/13/2011
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in developing/presenting several financial literacy workshops at area schools
This past week in the Financial Literacy Campaign at SUPAR was very productive. We went over the presentation information and discussed the worksheet that will be given to teachers in classrooms that the students cannot present in. The students were very engaging and we reviewed what they have learned this semester. We discussed what the most important things to present to the other students are, and we clarified that they concretely understand this information. We then planned out the schedule for the upcoming weeks regarding when the students will practice and present in front of their peers, and other local schools.
-Luke Chambers
Youth Volunteerism Campaign 4/13/2011
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in learning the importance
of youth volunteerism then developing creative and innovative ways to spread
the word to their peers
of youth volunteerism then developing creative and innovative ways to spread
the word to their peers
The past 2 weeks with the Youth Volunteerism Campaign have been very fun and productive. The students started to finalize the power point presentation and include pictures from various experiences throughout the semester. They then filmed their video doing various volunteer activities to be accompanied with the power point presentation. One student even wrote a song about volunteering that may be included in the video. The students had a lot of fun filming the video and were very energetic. We then discussed the upcoming weeks and started to discuss student’s roles in the presentation.
-Luke Chambers
While it has been sometime since we last talked, the project is in full throttle to be finished. With not much time to go, the group of teens, along with the mentors and supervisors have finished the power point and are now just putting finishing touches on it. Besides the power point, the Boys and Girls Club have also been given the chance to put together some great action shots to create/promote the volunteer work they have been a part of. Even though it may have been a little dry to make/create the power point, the volunteers showed their true personalities when it came to being filmed. Many of the boys and girls were laughing, joking, and definitely enjoying themselves as we walked around making our video for volunteering.
After seeing those students passion and acting skills, there is only one thing to say, watch out Denzel Washington, there is a new group of actors and actresses storming Milwaukee! Things to look forward to as we wrap up this semester and the project, presenting our power point to the Boys and Girls Club, editing the video, and celebrating the hard work these kids have did.
-Lucas White
Custom Rain Barrel Business Project 4/13/2011
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in developing a custom design rain barrel business in which residents, businesses and community organizations can order their own attractively decorated rain barrel(s).
As the lead to succeed student continue to work on their projects, I would like to make sure that you are well informed of what they are accomplishing. This week we worked on finalizing designs and created some captions for the drawings. So far, the students have come up with the following:
Three of four designs will be finalized so at the next meeting we can actually start putting them on card stock so they will be ready to help with our other team’s business pitch to acquire some rain barrels to paint and start selling. We are getting down to crunch time and I can’t wait to see how everything comes together.
Three of four designs will be finalized so at the next meeting we can actually start putting them on card stock so they will be ready to help with our other team’s business pitch to acquire some rain barrels to paint and start selling. We are getting down to crunch time and I can’t wait to see how everything comes together.
-Codee Sigler
Big news! The end is in sight! We are making the final push before we can start sell rain barrels! The past couple of weeks have been very exciting and very busy. The business team has been working on the outline and power point slides that will be used for the sales proposal meeting with MMSD. From this meeting, we are hoping that MMSD will be willing to donate a generous number of rain barrels for us to sell as a source of “seed money” (upstart capital). When this happens, we will be looking for more interested buyers, and the real fun will begin! I cannot wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for us!
-Bryce McCourt
Global Youth Service Day Projects 4/13/2011
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in planning
water related service projects that will become part of Global
Youth Service Day (April 2011)
This week the girls at St. Joan Antida have finalized their plan for Global Youth Service Day. They will be presenting their project to their fellow freshmen class. They are working on a poster board that will include why they are making environmentally friendly hand soap and how. They will be setting up stations so that the freshmen can learn how to make it. The girls are very excited to share what they have learned and they have been working very hard. The first time we tried to make the soap we weren't so successful but we are continuing to work hard to get it right before Global Youth Service day!
-April Heath
With less than a week to go before Global Youth Service Day, our project is finally looking like a finished product. This past week we were able to receive our products needed to create our organic samples. With the time constraints and the extra ingredients needed to make the bars of soap, we ended up scratching that product from our “kit” so now we are left with shampoo and conditioner. While the products turned out quite well there are only a couple minor details left before we hand out our samples to the volunteers who are cleaning up the KK River on Saturday. The note card is completed with what is in our products, as well as the information about how these organic samples affect the environment and allow our water industry to be cleaner, fresher, and less polluted. The only thing left to look forward to is organizing our samples, handing out our samples, promoting our products, and then finally celebrate for all the hard work the ladies have done throughout the semester.
With less than a week to go before Global Youth Service Day, our project is finally looking like a finished product. This past week we were able to receive our products needed to create our organic samples. With the time constraints and the extra ingredients needed to make the bars of soap, we ended up scratching that product from our “kit” so now we are left with shampoo and conditioner. While the products turned out quite well there are only a couple minor details left before we hand out our samples to the volunteers who are cleaning up the KK River on Saturday. The note card is completed with what is in our products, as well as the information about how these organic samples affect the environment and allow our water industry to be cleaner, fresher, and less polluted. The only thing left to look forward to is organizing our samples, handing out our samples, promoting our products, and then finally celebrate for all the hard work the ladies have done throughout the semester.
-Lucas White
On April 5th the SUPAR group met after a long three week spring break, which meant we only have one class period after that until their outdoor classroom assembly and presentation for Global Youth Service Day on April 15th. As we quickly approach Global Youth Service Day at SUPAR, the students are making their final decisions on each group’s responsibilities in order to be prepared for April 15th. The mural group has constructed a beautiful piece to hang on the designated fence at 16th Street Community Health Center, and the plaque/podium group ordered a plaque to be mounted next to the hanging mural. It was quite a long process finding a mural design that fit both the student’s personality as well as 16th Street Community Health Center’s expectations. The students met both of these requirements though, designing an impressive piece. The benches group also has had success receiving confirmation on the tree stump delivery from Buckley Tree Service, and we are all very grateful of them for donating these tree stumps to the students.
All the students have left to worry about is creating the mural, receiving all the materials (such as bulbs to plant and the planter pots), and assigning individual tasks for the students to stay on task and finish the project at a reasonable time. With only so little time to go, things can sometimes become overwhelming. However, I really have faith in the students to follow through and create a really great outdoor project.
-Abby Breitenfeldt
Friday, March 18, 2011
Global Youth Service Day Project-3/18/2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in planning
water related service projects that will become part of Global
Youth Service Day (April 2011)
These last two weeks at Saint Joan Antida have been hectic. I was ill last week and unfortunately could not meet with my girls. However, they were able to come together and create a display poster board to show faculty the importance of a rain garden. This is paramount to our project for we have yet to get permission from the high school to install the garden, so I am proud that they accomplished this. Having said that, this week when I met with them to actually give the presentation, the poster board was lost or stolen from the library where it was stored! Like any good story, we came together in a flash, printed off some stored facts and information about our project and were able to pull together a proposal. The girls were fantastic and really gave some great ideas. However, there are concerns about maintenance, especially during the summer when the school is closed. So, before we can go to the Sisters, the group needs to brainstorm on who will take care of this during the break.
We also finished our budget worksheet and determined to shoot for the stars and see what we can afford. We came up with a list of all the native plants we want to implement, how much compost we need, as well as the mulch and soil. Again, we need to make sure we are able to use the lot that we requested and will hopefully know within two weeks! I emailed the peer facilitator to give a heads up and have the girls thinking of not only maintenance concerns but alternatives as well for a backup plan. Overall, we are working well and I am hoping for the best!
-Mary Jane Kunath
Today was the start of the 3rd week of our “Water Bottle Challenge”. We are a little less than half way to making our goal of collecting 100 plastic bottles. To gain more recognition for the Water Bottle Challenge we decided to dedicate ½ our time this week to creating as many posters as we could and the other ½ to hanging them up all over the school. Once this was done we finished up our resource list and also came up with all the prices. My team members want to build a rain barrel structure just by using the barrel and then creating the rest with recyclable bottles. On Global Youth Service Day the team plans to show their structure to a few 6th grade classes and come up with an educational presentation. This presentation will describe what a rain barrel is, how it works, and why we use them. Next week we are planning on contacting community partners of Lead to Succeed for a barrel donation.
-Kelly Crowley
After defining our project in the previous weeks, we finally were able to decide on the shampoo, conditioner, and soap to create from scratch. With many of the girls wanting something that would smell good, we chose many of the organic soap and shampoo products that contained coconut or honey. After getting together all the ingredients needed for each item (shampoo, conditioner, and soap), we took each amount and multiplied it to increase our sample size to be able to give away approximately 50 samples. Even though many of the girls have been sick or gone, our group is still getting things accomplished and once we receive the ingredients, we will be able to begin making our hygiene kit. Some things we still need to work on are, when the group will be able to get together and make these products and what exactly we want to type on our “educational note cards” when we hand out our kits.
-Lucas White
Things are moving along great with the group of girls that I have the pleasure of working with at St. Joan Antida. They have gotten together all the ingredients they need to make environmentally friendly hand soap and we gave it a try for the first time this past Thursday. We won't really see the finished product for a couple of weeks, but we are very excited to see how the soap turns out. The girls are also working on a poster board presentation that they are planning on sharing with the freshmen classes for Global Youth Service Day. They will be sharing with their fellow classmates what they are doing and why. It has been very cool seeing them pull all of the information together. The group has made so much progress and I am very excited to see how far they get in their project in the next few weeks.
-April Heath
Custom Rain Barrel Business Project-3/18/2011
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in developing a custom design rain barrel business in which residents, businesses and community organizations can order their own attractively decorated rain barrel(s).
Today was one of the first days that the design team could put their sketches to “life”. By life, meaning that we scanned all logos onto the computer and saved them into a Lead to Succeed folder. After doing so the students got to use the paint option which is offered from the computer and colored in their logos. These logos are going to be put into our Customized Rain Barrel “Look Book”. This is where clients will be able to see numerous logos to pick from. We are planning on designing at least 15 rain barrels for the look book. The business plan team will help with the pricing and the marketing team will use the logo and barrel examples for their marketing ideas. Next week half of the group will be focusing on new rain barrel ideas and the other half will be in the process of writing professional e-mails to possible donators. We are looking for a few “starter” barrels to experiment with paint and reality of our designs. This way we can have a real life example in our look book and will be able to estimate how much paint will be used. The team came up with the idea of auctioning these starter barrels off, for money to buy more barrels.
-Kelly Crowley
As the lead to succeed students continue to work on their projects, I would like to make sure you are well informed of what they are accomplishing. This week we worked on designing and making a catalog for our rain barrels. So far, the students have come up with the following:
The students were very interested and busy this session because we actually were able to use computers to surf the internet for ideas to draw and put on the rain barrels. We decided that each student would produce two designs for next week to put into the catalog. We, as mentors, really did not instruct this session, but instead we guided them on what ideas were good to draw for the catalog. Some ideas were themes of sports and going green. I cannot wait to see some of these drawings because I know they are going to be outstanding.
-Codee Sigler
The students were very interested and busy this session because we actually were able to use computers to surf the internet for ideas to draw and put on the rain barrels. We decided that each student would produce two designs for next week to put into the catalog. We, as mentors, really did not instruct this session, but instead we guided them on what ideas were good to draw for the catalog. Some ideas were themes of sports and going green. I cannot wait to see some of these drawings because I know they are going to be outstanding.
-Codee Sigler
Hi all! The students are still working extremely hard on their rain barrel project. The students are trying to get their "look Book" together to show potential customers what could be on their custom made rain barrels. Our students are also learning how to be professional in front of potential clients, what to say to them, what not to say and what is appropriate conversation and what is not. The students are learning quickly how to manage their time and to really start to get some work done when they come to our sessions. Our business plans are starting to develop quickly and are looking great. In no time these rain barrels are going to be ready to go!
-Sarah Hanson
Youth Volunteerism Campaign- 3/18/2011
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in learning the importance
of youth volunteerism then developing creative and innovative ways to spread
the word to their peers
of youth volunteerism then developing creative and innovative ways to spread
the word to their peers
This week with the Youth Volunteerism Campaign was very productive. We sat down with a smaller group of students and started working on the PowerPoint presentation to accompany the campaign. The previously high energy students were able to cycle this energy into making this PowerPoint, and it was very successful. We laid out the basic structure of the presentation and started to fill it with content. Through some basic research, the students learned more about volunteering. Some of these things included basic statistics about volunteering and its benefits, what it takes to be a volunteer, how they can help, and many other positive things. Through the building of the PowerPoint, they also built upon their knowledge of structuring a presentation, which they will be giving to peers and community members. We then discussed how to build off this PowerPoint and information in coming weeks with the creation of supplemental media.
-Luke Chambers
Now that we are in the midst of the crafting of the project, we have come up with some good ideas to get the presentation out to the community. The whole project work will consist of a PowerPoint, three fold fliers and a video/DVD that can all be distributed efficiently.
Last meeting, Luke and a couple of students put together a PowerPoint to be the main theme of the whole presentation. I was absent from this meeting as the session had to be earlier but from what I heard the students were very productive. Some other project ideas were to make a three-fold flier that could be distributed among schools and to the public. This flier would be based off the PowerPoint and would basically be a summary with more color and pizazz to get the students’ peers attention. Finally, we want them to put together a video that would again, be based off of the PowerPoint. The slides of the PowerPoint would be considered chapters or lessons on the DVD. The video and flier will be great ways for the students to put their personality into the project and make it more interesting to their peers.
Last meeting, Luke and a couple of students put together a PowerPoint to be the main theme of the whole presentation. I was absent from this meeting as the session had to be earlier but from what I heard the students were very productive. Some other project ideas were to make a three-fold flier that could be distributed among schools and to the public. This flier would be based off the PowerPoint and would basically be a summary with more color and pizazz to get the students’ peers attention. Finally, we want them to put together a video that would again, be based off of the PowerPoint. The slides of the PowerPoint would be considered chapters or lessons on the DVD. The video and flier will be great ways for the students to put their personality into the project and make it more interesting to their peers.
-Chelsee Bates
While it has been another two weeks since I have talked to you last, the Boys and Girls Club students are making drastic advances on their project for Lead to Succeed. In our last gathering together, we accomplished the settings for each group of the project. By putting our brains together, we were able to divide the project into a group that would work on the PowerPoint, a group that would help with the video, and the final group which would be dealing with pictures and promotional materials. With that being said, one of my fellow mentors and the students were able to get the PowerPoint outline complete and give us a great base to continue our everlasting improvement of the presentation. Things to look forward to in the future will be our homemade video about volunteering and the visual aids that will be taken to promote these students work with volunteering.
-Lucas White
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Youth Volunteerism Campaign 3/4/11
Saturday, March 5, 2011
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in learning the importance
of youth volunteerism then developing creative and innovative ways to spread
the word to their peers.
of youth volunteerism then developing creative and innovative ways to spread
the word to their peers.
Bonnie Andrews, from the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee, was able to come in and talk to the group to point out some of her expectations and open their eyes to volunteerism. It was nice to have her come in because she was able to talk about the Nonprofit Center and what she does there. This benefitted the students because I think it helped them understand who they were doing the project for.
At the end of our last meeting, the kids were able to actually partake in the activity of volunteering. We were able to go upstairs and read to the young children they call PALS. I could tell the students were eager to help the children. Now that they all have an understanding of what volunteering is and why it is important, we are going to start putting all the great advice into a presentation.
-Chelsee Bates
Hi! My name is Luke Chambers, a new Lead to Succeed college mentor that will be assisting in the Youth Volunteerism Campaign and the Financial Literacy Project. This week was my first week at the Boys and Girls club for the Youth Volunteerism Campaign. For the first half hour of the session, Bonnie Andrews from the Volunteer Center spoke about volunteering and its many aspects. The students were interactive, brainstorming, and realizing the importance of volunteering. Having Bonnie come in and speak was very helpful and the students learned a valuable amount of information. We followed up with an ice breaker in which the student had fun with. Following that, we separated the students up into small groups to read Dr. Seuss books to younger kids at the Boys and Girls Club. The students were active, engaging, and friendly to the younger kids. This group is filled with energy, and when they focus that energy, I feel the group will be very successful in the promotion of Volunteerism.
-Luke Chambers
Since I last talked to you, many new things have happened at the Mary Ryan division of the Boys and Girls Club. Taking what we have already talked about volunteering, the group made some major decisions about what their project would be. Along with the teen’s ideas, mentors met with Bonnie Andrews, our community leader from the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee, to see exactly what was needed for her agency since the Nonprofit Center is supporting the Lead to Succeed program. After meeting with Bonnie, I gained many helpful hints and a better grasp of exactly what the project is and what is needed to complete it. Some of the things mentioned about our volunteer project were creating a power point presentation that can be given to other local high schools. This is the main purpose of the project and with the help of the mentors and other adults; Lead to Succeed envisions a very knowledgeable presentation that can either be presented with the whole group if feasible or without, if there are time conflicts.
Besides the power point, other media arose to try and make this project more compatible to a larger audience. With the group of teens and mentors, the project could also include a video of the students volunteering or just interviews of the students. Along with the video, some other suggestions were to try and make this volunteer project a jump start to a career. By continuing to remind the students that volunteering opens possibilities to references, resume building, or just knowing more people to network with makes this project a huge statement in many of the teen’s lives.
After the mentors met with Bonnie, Mrs. Andrews was able to lead a 30-45 minute presentation about volunteering and nonprofit organizations to the students. It was great to see the students engage in some of the questions she had for them and also just to see exactly what they think about volunteering and what possibilities are out there. In fact, many students were unaware of what a Nonprofit is, and what purpose they have in volunteering.
After a quick ice breaker of trying to “untangle” the group, we were able to participate in our first volunteering event as a group. As a group, we read Dr. Seuss books (his birthday) to a bunch of youth that also attend the Boys and Girls Club. After taking a step back, I noticed that it was the exact same as the teens looking up to me, many of the youth began high fiving and becoming attached to their “mentors,” the high school teens. After reading to the class the Dr. Seuss books, it was another night of mentoring done at the Boys and Girls Club and I could definitely see the impact we are already having on other people’s lives.
-Lucas White
Financial Literacy Project 3/4/11
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in developing/presenting several financial literacy workshops at area schools
The past two weeks have been extremely productive for the Financial Literacy students at SUPAR. We have narrowed in on our project parameters, which include classroom presentations, an interactive worksheet, and a Facebook page containing information on the program as well as several links to various interactive programs designed by our sponsor, Wells Fargo, to teach the basics of financial literacy. Today we spent the majority of our classroom time discussing the importance of budgeting money. The kids were excited to utilize a program called "Savings Quest"(created by Wells Fargo) which interactively taught them about variable, fixed, and discretionary expenses. Overall, we are continuing to make progress and the students are showing more and more investment in the project, which is fantastic!
-Rachel Schwarz
Since we started really diving into the project guide, the students have come up with some great ideas of their own. They have really taken headway into creating a Facebook page for the Financial Literacy project. Since the network has become so popular they figured it would be a great way to connect with their peers. The page will consist of the mission statement they created, links to great financial literacy websites and activities, and we also hope to include a picture of the whole group. There are a few other things we would like to add, but they are still in the creation phase. The students also came up with goals for how many people to present to. The easiest way to start is to go do the presentation to their own classmates that attend SUPAR, then, they would like to present to the school upstairs; Carmen. Those two schools alone will help them reach out to at least 100 students. Another part of their goal is to find ten teachers who are willing to let the students come in to present. With the help of Wells Fargo’s Hands on Banking website, I know the students will be able to tell/teach their peers the importance of financial literacy.
-Chelsee Bates
Well hello there! My name is Luke Chambers, a new Lead to Succeed college mentor that will be assisting in the Financial Literacy Project and Youth Volunteerism Campaign. The past few weeks I have gotten to know the students from SUPAR that are involved in the Financial Literacy Project. Each of the students I have found to be very different from each other and myself. I feel this exposure to differences is socially and educationally beneficial to the students and to me.
The Past few weeks we have discussed the formation of the project itself, how to incorporate it into the school and spread the word of financial literacy. Being a Senior at UWM studying Economics, I was able to share with them the basics and importance of financial literacy. We cleared up common misconceptions, taught basics to banking, budgeting, and investment, and other topics. The students have started their research and started to form their campaign structure. They have found some great sources, and seem to be getting more motivated over time. I am looking forward to getting to know the students more, sharing my knowledge, and helping them throughout the process as needed.
-Luke Chambers
Custom Rain Barrel Business Project 3/4/11
College Mentors lead a team of high school students in developing a custom design rain barrel business in which residents, businesses and community organizations can order their own attractively decorated rain barrel(s).
Greetings! Since my last entry we have only had one meeting at Neu-Life, however, the business team of “Make It Rain Barrels” has completed a rough draft of its mission statement, goals, and company description on AgPlan.com. We are now moving into the actual business design portion of the project which is a daunting task since none of us (including myself) have ever designed the layout for a business. I have been thinking about this task over the past couple of weeks, doubting my ability to adeptly lead the students and successfully complete our task, I needed help! Just days after having these thoughts/fears run through my head, Laura sent out an email saying that we were going to be getting help from three new mentors from UWM! (My prayers were answered! Ha-ha) The role of these new mentors is solely to design, polish, and initiate the business plan/design for “Make It Rain Barrels.” So, now we have the opportunity to become more efficient, productive, and capable of completing our task… It’s going to be an exciting next couple of weeks!
-Bryce McCourt
Our last meeting (February 17th) was, in my eyes... the most successful yet! After the students were split into 3 groups, deciding between the design team, marketing team and business team their motivation seemed to alter. I chose to be the leader of the design team and the students involved were more focused and had a lot more energy towards the project once split into specific focus points. Our team first started off with an ice breaker to break up the silence, but as soon as it ended the ideas starting flying!
We are planning to create a look book for our future clients which will be organized according to what designs and colors we offer. The team also came up with a fabulous idea to create a logo just for Lead to Succeed Rain Barrels. We researched different ways to paint and found out that the easiest may actually be spray paint with stencils. In our next session we are focusing on the planning behind our ideas, which includes focusing on where our paint will come from and what kind is the best to use. As well as focusing on our proposal to local paint stores to possibly get some accessories donated, such as plastic tarps, nurse masks, and sturdy card board for the outlines of the logo. The three groups are planning on presenting our progress in the next session, that way we can all be on the same page. My team is finally excited about their projects and I am so excited to see what they come up with!
-Kelly Crowley
-Kelly Crowley
This week with our students we brainstormed ideas as to what to put on our rain barrels. The students came up with a great idea to find pictures of many different things, such as animals, sports teams, etc. and make a catalog (look book) of all of these pictures, and allowing potential buyers to choose what they want on their custom rain barrels. The students are very excited to start the process of building the rain barrels. Progress is definitely being made and the students are really stepping up to the challenge.
-Sarah Hanson
-Sarah Hanson
As lead to succeed students continue to work on their projects, I would like to make sure that you are well informed of what they are accomplishing. This week we worked on a private/public activity and brainstorming. So far, this is what has been going on: Only one student showed up on Thursday, so we were limited on our brainstorming for ideas on the rain barrels, but we did not lose hope. We came up with the idea to have themes of sports, animals, flowers, etc. A thought that came to mind that was very interesting was to come up with something called a "controlled random", which would be almost totally random, but have a sense of a controlling purpose of the design.
- Codee Sigler
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