What's Wrong In America?

All right, so my friend and I are starting a Youth Venture. It's a program that will give up to $1,000 to a group of two or more kids between the ages of 12 and 20 to start a venture that will help their community/world/etc. Many things have been done - there's one that gives supplies for birthday parties for kids who can't afford them, one that helps raise money for water cleaners in Hundorus, etc. Where there's a problem, you can start a venture to help. (There are also many similar ones, since someone who paints murals in one area isn't doing it in another.)

My friend and I are a little stuck though. We want to do something, and have been shooting ideas back and forth, but still aren't sure what to do, or how to keep money coming in - we get start-up money, but after that we have to have fund raisers and such to continue. How do you get people to continue giving money?

So I decided to ask you guys. She and I really want to do something in our community/town, since then we'll really be seeing a change, and I was wondering if you could offer some ideas? When you go outside, what do you see wrong? How can we fix it?

I'd love some help on this! And if you're interested, you should think about starting one - it's fun and looks great for colleges, haha.

Website: GenV.net

Thanks guys!

~JFW1415

Trash, drugs, and texting while riding the bike (seriously, wtf???).

I believe the best thing you should go after should either be trash/raising awareness of the environment and more groups for kids to join.

Awareness of the environment is so crucial currently, what with the constricting vice oil corporations have the world in and the collapsing economies. Raising awareness could lower oil demand, and perhaps create the next generation's scientist who finally manage to create a 100% efficient solar panel etc.

Creating more extracurricular groups and teams for kids will help them stay away from bad influences, such as gangs, drugs (Though I do believe in legalizing marijuana, but that is another discussion for another time), and general teenage stress. It might also them get interested in new hobbies.

Anyway, that's my $0.05; I believe what you are doing is great, and that you should be proud of yourselves for trying to improve our communities.

~EP

There's a lot of stuff you can do...

Care Packages for Soldiers: During the first Gulf War, I remember the entire school making and sending care packages to the soldiers in Kuwait. I don't know if that goes on anymore, but it's something simple that goes a long way. A lot of soldiers just like getting something as simple as a letter. Beyond that, the best thing to give are magazines (the Economist is a favorite). I have run across a few people who think doing this means supporting the war, but that's ridiculous; it's supporting the troops. A lot of soldiers are only 18, 19, or 20 years old, and a lot are on their third tour of duty.

Cycling or Hiking Club: What I see wrong when I go outside is that there are no children outside; they're inside on the computer or watching TV. Getting people outside and doing something is important for a ton of reasons. One, it's healthy. Two, it supports environmental awareness. Three, it promotes socializing. Etc.

Dispose of Electronic Equipment Drive: Almost everyone knows that you can't dispose of a computer like you do a tissue, but they don't know how. What ends up happening is people keep their old computers in the attic (or simply throw them away like a tissue). Organizing an electronic waste drive is something that needs to be done more often. You can also print up brochures for people so they know how to do it in the future.

Books for the Poor: Have people donate books in good condition, then give the books to Churches in shelters in impoverished areas.

Improve a local park: A lot of parks need benches, picnic tables, etc, and it's easier to do than it sounds.


Each one of the above was a Boy Scout Eagle project that I helped with, so they're quite possible to do. The important thing to do is to think small and local.

I vouch for care packages! They're so much fun to do. I did a BUNCH for my cousin when he was in Iraq and he sent me an e-mail about how appreciated they were [actually, he said the shipment turned him into something of a drug dealer, but... yeah]. They're really easy, too -- all you have to do is tell people that you're sending care packages and they'll give you stuff. CDs, toiletries, DVDs, anything, really. Dollar store stuff works, too. The soldiers really love anything at all.

My cousin's unit gave me a shiny, special medallion for my efforts. ^.^ It's way cool.

Teague
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