Gov’t Grants Fund Teens to Clean Up The Environment

… And  the teens are doing it themselves.

In a coastal town in Ca, a local college student applied for a government “micro-grant” to involve teens in cleaning up their community and educating the community on where the problem starts and how to avoid fix it.

The end result is an empowerment of the teens, teaching them not to wait for someone else to do what they see as needed. The program teaches resposibility and follow-through. It shows them how to move into action. It helps teens connect in a social environement which would otherwise be frought with gaming services. Now they regularly  interact with real live people on a regular basis. It helps them feel the good feeling one gets from  serving.

This teen program that got its funding exclusively from a government grant cleans up the streets and beaches in the county. The kids do not get paid. The funds go to taking before and after pics and raising awareness in the community parents/shoppers, and finally on a website the teens designed and maintain, all with the grant funds.  Good for the environment , good for the teens, good for the community. Nice!

Go Team! Go Teens! To see what exactly the teens are doing click “Read More.”

The teens are

* volunteering their time to physically pick up garbage in their town;

*getting educated about the trash issues that are global problems. According the Al gore Environmental Education Group, the plastic bottles, lids, and bags that we use have collected in the ocean to create a floating mass the size of Texas as well as killing wildlife when they eat the plastic and lids. The teens are learning what alternatives are out there to directly curb plastics use;

* getting out in the community , mostly at shopping centers, and educating their community about what they have learned and;

*  providing answers to those who want practical here-and-now answers to what they must do to remove themselves from the list of contributors to the problem, while also providing them with information on what they can do to help spread the word and get on board to save the environemtn in their community;

* and finally, the funds were used to create a website to post what they have discovered adn teh practical solutions they have come up with for their communities. This expereinece in itself is very empowering for the teens, showing them to get it going themselves, and not waiting for others to do it.

Good Stuff. $5000 well spent. You might be one of those who never considered going for a grant and doing something. Well here’s Girlgrants challenging you to do that very thing. Need some help? Get it here. Either way, look into it.. Find out what is available and see how you can get things going in your community. Or tell a friend who you think will get  something going. Move Forward.