Youth United Ready for Fall - Cranbury Girl Scout Troop 1805 Awarded!
The warm weather on Sat., September 9th drew a happy crowd that passed by a group of 11 and 12 yr. old girl scouts at the Annual Cranbury Day festivities. To bring awareness about Habitat and Youth United to their community, the troop displayed a table with Habitat and Youth United information. (Click here for a photo.)
On Sunday, during their 1st meeting of the year, Jeanne McCarthy conducted an education event for the girls, who received the first 2006-2007 Habitat Youth United Participation Award. This group of girls (and some mothers) enjoyed two Habitat videos, one of which showed Bon Jovi singing his recent release, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home Again?” when he built a Habitat house last year. Click here for a photo of the troop's kickoff meeting.
The troop plans to earn a bronze award in scouting for serving lunches to the build teams and offering to maintain flower or vegetable gardens for the Habitat home owners on Evan Drive in East Windsor. Congratulations to them for kicking off our Habitat school year and for achieving an award for helping with our 1st Youth United theme of this year, “Raise Awareness”!
See below for how to contact Jeanne McCarthy, our Youth United Program Director, if you're interested in participating in Youth United events.
Opportunities For Youth
T-Shirt Sales
We are now offering the opportunity for Youth groups to sell our new Habitat for Humanity MBA and Youth United T-Shirts! The sizes are L and XL and each cost $10. Please contact Jeanne if your group is interested.
Be a Greeter
Greeters are the first person volunteers see when they come to the work site. Click here to find out how Greeters help as part of our mission.
Activities: Ages 16-18
New Jersey Law prevents any youth under the age of 18 to work on a construction site where power tools are used. However, youth ages 16-18 are permitted, with their parent's permission, to work on other activities that will help prepare the partner home under the supervision of either a Building Crew Member or Building Crew Leader. Other activities may include:
- Build picnic or lunch tables for the work site.
- Tutor younger partner family children.
- Provide babysitting for children of homeowners or volunteers.
- Clean a Habitat house before the dedication.
- Talk to a partner family about how Habitat has impacted them. Write about their experience and publish one of their reflections in a newsletter.
- Organize and serve meals to volunteer builders.
Activities: Ages 12-15
Just because you're a younger volunteer doesn't mean that you can't help! Click here to find out how our volunteers ages 12-15 are helping our affiliate. See below for Jeanne's contact information if you are interested in volunteering or if you just have more questions. Other activities include:
- Design an affiliate Web page or newsletter.
- Create your own fundraising project and have a Habitat awareness table at your school or community festivals.
- Learn about another country where Habitat builds and coordinate a fund-raiser to help sponsor a home there.
- Register volunteers at the construction site information table.
- Paint doors and baseboards off-site before they are put into the house.
Activities: Ages 10-12
- Speak to classmates about the mission of Habitat with the help of a local campus chapter or homeowner family.
- Construct and paint window boxes to be used as housewarming gifts or as fund-raising items.
- Help clear the construction site of debris before or after construction.
- Sell our Habitat T-shirts at your own Habitat event(s).
- Help fold or stuff newsletters or mailings.
Activities: Ages 7-10
- Write messages or blessings on 2x4 pieces of lumber at the site (before the house framing).
- Have a fundraiser to buy a window, door or other material for the home's interior.
- Landscape, learn about the local environment and plant environmentally friendly bushes.
- Make wooden key holders, picture frames or doorstops from scraps on site.
- Coordinate a birthday gift project for partner family children.
Activities: 5-7
- Make a welcome basket for the homeowner family and sing a song at the dedication.
- Stock the pantry for a new Habitat for Humanity partner family.
- Draw greeting cards to be sold at a Habitat fund-raiser.
- Construct house banks as a fund-raising tool for affiliates.
Need More Information?
Our Youth United program is directed by Jeanne McCarthy, who helps Youth United volunteers coordinate their efforts and make our program a model for other affiliates to follow. For more information, you may either email Jeanne or call her at 609-936-0798. You may also see what other Youth United chapters are doing around the U.S. by reading the Youth United Best Practices Bulletin.
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Youth United = The Future |
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Young people energized |
