Tag: "service"

ReachUP! 2021 for the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11

ReachUP! 2021 for the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11

WHAT: In anticipation of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, young people across the country will demonstrate through service to others that they want  to live in a world of compassion and cooperation where the best of each person is brought out.  They are seizing the initiative to create the world they want to live in.  They want no part of the fear and extremism that have defined the last ten years.   Instead, they are acting to make real a vision of a united and compassionate world in 2021.

In the process, a new generation of leaders will be strengthened to learn self-reliance, personal responsibility and develop the resolve to make a positive impact in the global community.

Through the service they perform, and the Unity Project’s Transformation Exercises, they will be learning valuable lessons about their hidden strengths.  They will learn how to identify needs in their community.  Together, these will ignite a vision of what they are capable of and provide the motivation to finish school and pursue a career or trade.  They will forge friendships and working partnerships with their peers all over the world to knit a fabric of peace and stability out of the broken cords of despair and conflict they see around them.

They did not create the climate of fear and extremism they are growing up in.  They don’t want these negative themes to govern their lives.  They have a say in what they will do about it.   They want the next decade to be about compassion and cooperation, not fear and extremism.  Working together toward that vision of 2021, in thousands of places around the world, act by act, they are building that world.  This Unity Project initiative is called, “ReachUP! 2021.”

WHY: The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is an opportunity for this generation of young people to say that the lesson of 9/11 is not that we should fear each other or label each other as enemies.  We recognize that we have another choice.  We choose compassion and cooperation instead of fear and anger.  We want this choice to be demonstrated in countless acts of cooperative service throughout the country.

In this way, as media attention turns to the anniversary, we will be ready with dynamic positive examples of the future we are building now.   Young people will be role models for a positive future and set the tone for the national dialogue for the next decade.

HOW: The Unity Project will provide its service based resilience building training and programming to any community-based organization that wants to participate in ReachUP! USA.  These services will raise the caliber of skills of our partners so they can better help the kids they serve.

The Unity Project methods empower kids to identify and fix problems that affect their lives.   Since these problems are things the kids feel strongly about, they are committed to finding a solution and seeing it through.

At the same time, they elevate the culture of their schools and communities and learn problem solving and group cooperation skills guided by the highly innovative and effective Unity Project Transformation Process.  Kids develop a vision for their future, a sense of hope in a stronger community and the skills they need to have the confidence to move their lives forward in a positive way.  The more kids develop these core strengths, the less pull they feel to dysfunctional behaviors that cripple a young person’s growth.

We intend to highlight in the media specific youth projects across the country from now until the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  In this way, we intend to uplift the tone of the discussion in the country about the meaning of the anniversary and where we are going as a nation in the next decade.

WHEN: Trainings for participating community-based organizations in New York City began in November, 2010 and are continuing nationally since then.  Youth service activities were launched after January 1, 2011 and will continue through 9-11-2011.  There will be culminating events around the anniversary of 9/11.

After 9/11, the work will continue into the next phase of youth capacity building as project “2021” to raise the culture in schools and communities, improve high-school graduation rates and college matriculation as well as prepare graduates for the workforce.

WHO: The Unity Project (a 501(c)3 corporation) will host these activities.  Any community-based organization, school or after-school program across the country is eligible to participate.  The Department of Youth and Community Development of the City of New York and some of its contractees are among the first participants in this effort.

“Like” us on Facebook:  ”Reach UP! 2021″

CONTACT: margodeselin@unityproject.org at (203) 241-5525.

DONATE: By PayPal at www.unityproject.org.

Please make checks payable to: “The Unity Project” sent to:

4 Still Hill Rd.

Sandy Hook, CT  06470

Related Posts:

Service as the Beginning, Middle and End of Self-Discovery and Learning.

Mobilizing the Dignity of a 16 Year Old.

Feb 08, 2011 | 0 comments View Post
Joy, Motivation and Enthusiasm naturally follow when we discover strengths we didn't know we had.

Service as the beginning, middle and end of self-discovery and learning.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in twelve years being a principal,” Mike said as we were watching the students in his high school go about their work in their Action Teams. “In four years, I have not even noticed this girl who is now completely transforming the menu in the cafeteria!  She was so quiet before!  Now, she turns out to be this amazing leader.”

How many kids are we missing like this?  They don’t relate to what activities we offer them in and after school.  So, we assume they have nothing to offer or that they need to be “led” by popular kids elected to student councils.  I think we underestimate these kids and need to use another lens to view them.

Creating a way for kids to contribute to something they care about is a phenomenal means of building their confidence, their competence and motivation to learning in general.  This kind of service is like a shovel that excavates the “gems” latent in us all.  It pulls out what was hidden in us.

Joy, Motivation and Enthusiasm naturally follow when we discover strengths we didn't know we had.

When we discover a strength we didn’t know we had our natural enthusiasm and creativity come to life.  We become naturally more self-motivated, curious and happy. Service is is the best way to discover these hidden capacities.

What appear to be sullen and self-absorbed teenagers turn out to be independent thinkers with highly creative goals that were just waiting to be tapped.  This newly found sense of competence then generalizes into other areas giving reason to do better and finish school, to consider college or training for a career.

Without the opportunity to challenge themselves and discover this latent potential a young person’s motivation sours.  They can become resentful and withdrawn.   Creating appropriate challenges that stretch the young person is the name of the game.  (See the series  on the “Five Stages of the Bowl” to see how the Unity Project creates the means to do this.)

When I do workshops with teen-agers we spend a lot of time talking about how school is mind numbing, unchallenging and demeaning.  All too often, the experience of kids is that school is what turns them off to self-discovery and growth.  What a tragedy!

We want to create the experience of real self-discovery through action.   The kids see for themselves how action brings out their best “gems.”   There’s no need to lecture about it.  It’s obvious.  Their own excitement and motivation is proof enough.

Then, having the time to disengage and reflect on the new self-discovery allows for the learning to be internalized, a more personal motivation to be enkindled and new forms of group identity to emerge.  Moving back and forth between this kind of action and reflection is highly creative and growth inducing.

Let’s hear of your experiences with kids involved in service learning activities.  What have you learned from this method you’d like to share with others?  Let’s hear what questions and comments you have.  Better yet, let’s hear what you have learned from your own action/service learning.

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Feb 09, 2010 | 0 comments View Post