More News

Project Change, an Olney-based organization that strives to give more opportunities to young people, is hoping to make community service something youths want to do, not just something they have to do as part of their school requirements.

In 1992, Maryland became the first state to mandate Student Service Learning (SSL) as a requirement for graduation.

Project Change board member and Olney resident Chris Toppe was among the researchers who conducted a national study of teenage volunteerism and civic engagement using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2005. More than 3,000 teens responded by answering questions about volunteering and service-learning participation.

The survey indicated that few students are being engaged in a way that leverages all of the benefits that community service has to offer, leading Project Change to examine the local SSL program and work towards improving service opportunities for area teens.

"While it's true that more kids are volunteering in numbers, national research shows that only 10 percent of youth volunteers are experiencing high-quality SSL," Col. Zadok Magruder High School senior and Project Change member Caleb Koch said. "This is a growing problem because it is only the high-quality SSL experiences that translate into high levels of civic engagement and lasting results."

Project Change members are working towards creating a clearing house for SSL opportunities. They have established a set of criteria to determine which non-profit organizations offer high-quality opportunities, and are in the process of surveying and conducting site visits of organizations within a 30-mile radius of Olney to determine which measure up.  

To qualify, organizations must offer opportunities that are at least six months in duration, allow the student to plan his volunteer activities to tie into his personal goals, offer an opportunity for reflection on how the service benefits the teen as well as the organization, and offer some kind of recognition of its volunteers.

Those organizations that meet the criteria will be listed in a directory that will be posted on the Project Change Web site.

At the end of the first year of the program, Project Change plans to hold a "Teen Choice Awards" event where young people will nominate non-profits that offered a high-quality experience and the non-profits will nominate teen volunteers who have gone above and beyond what was expected.

Project Change was founded in 1998 by several Sherwood High School students to create positive opportunities for youth in the community.

As the organization has grown, it has enlisted members from all five of the area high schools: Sherwood, James Hubert Blake, Col. Zadok Magruder, Our Lady of Good Counsel and Sandy Spring Friends.

Not only has it grown in membership, but Project Change is taking on more roles.

Following the success of its "You Have the Power" anti-bullying program, the organization recently produced a video, "Giving Back: Teens Transforming Their Communities," designed for middle and high school students. The video has won four international video production awards.

Another component of Project Change's service network is the Youth Empowered Service (YES) program.

"YES allows youth to be responsive to community needs, whether the need is in their town, in their state, in their country or across the globe, said Project Change Executive Director Robyn Glass. "YES projects are incubated through Project Change so students receive SSL credit by doing something that really speaks to them."

Blake High School junior and Project Change member Kirsten Petersen is particularly excited about the new YES program. She wanted to conduct a clean-up of Olney's Hallowell community, but SSL projects have to be conducted through an approved organization.

Ryan said Petersen was unable to find a local organization to support her project, so Project Change linked her with the national organization Keep America Beautiful.

"Project Change is now the Keep Olney Beautiful affiliate," she said, "and Kirsten will be able to put that on her resume."

Petersen sees the value in that affiliation.

"Project Change is not only allowing me to do something that I want to do, but they are teaching me how to make it happen," she said. "I am learning how to market my service project, how to fund it, how to evaluate it, and how to connect to national like-minded projects. I have discovered a world of possibilities that would not have existed without Project Change."

On Sept. 3, representatives from Olney-area schools and members of the county Board of Education, Montgomery County government and the Maryland General Assembly attended a Project Change presentation at The Inn at Brookeville Farms.

County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) delivered remarks at the event, lauding the efforts of Project Change.

"Whether it's Olney or Wheaton or Quince Orchard, kids who feel connected and empowered in the right ways can do some pretty amazing things," he said.  

"The place to reach youth is in their own back yard, and that is exactly what Project Change does," he added.

Project Change President Jimena Ryan said that as economic pressures increase and needs grow, the role of service will become increasingly more essential in every community.

"That's why we held this particular point of entry event — to demonstrate how Project Change can help schools and nonprofits improve Student Service Learning in the community," she said.

Leggett voiced his appreciation for that effort.

"Now that I get what this organization is all about, I believe that it is exactly what we need more of – all over our county," he said.