We started the morning with a quick flight to Detroit to visit with the teens of Art Jam of Detroit–an after school mentoring program aimed at inner city youth– which gives them hands on experience and education with a variety of visual and performance arts. At a difficult time economically and under hard circumstances, these teens have chosen a positive outlet for their creative energies and have simultaneously built their own little community to encourage each others talents.
From Detroit, we flew back to Chicago to meet up with a South Side teenage filmmaker. 17-year-old Terrence Thompson uses his talents in film making to mentor other South Side youth, thereby giving them a voice and empowering them to tell their stories from a personalized perspective. Terrence’s future behind the camera is limitless, and while he acknowledges the likelihood that he will leave Chicago to hone his skills, his sense of responsibility to serving his community runs so deeply that he plans on one day returning to Chicago to use his talents for the betterment of the South Side community in which he was raised. Poetry, cinematography, production: Terrence Thompson’s boundless talents may only be eclipsed by his sense of duty to those he mentors and the community he loves.
From Chicago, we flew down south to the Nashville area. Tomorrow we will highlight two Nashville area youths who are hiking the entire Appalachian Trail to raise money and awareness for a cause dear to them. Stay tuned to the blog, Twitter, and our Facebook account for all the details. From Nashville we will head to Atlanta–as we get one step closer to our NYC finale on September 12th, the National Day of Encouragement.
We started the day in Dallas, TX at the Cowboy Golf Club honoring a group of teens representing the Interact Club’s “Recycling to Eradicate Poverty” program who collect used cell phones in order to raise money to send to poverty stricken Chiappas, Mexico. These 25 high school students are socially conscientious and are bent on breaking down the “social stigma attached to their generation.”
From there, we traveled to Little Rock, AR to honor Stephen Green. Stephen–a high school senior–has taken the lead role in bringing together youth from all over the state to a Youth Summit and subsequent rally at the state capitol. Under the slogan “Enough is Enough,” Stephen’s goal is to spark a dialogue about the chronic problem of violence that plagues Little Rock. Stephen’s enthusiasm and steadfast determination will undoubtedly make a difference in what he calls the “crisis in our community.” You can follow his cause on Twitter at ARenough and Friend “Enough is Enough” on Facebook. Above all, you can encourage people to support the Arkansas Youth Summit movement and subsequent rally at the steps of the Arkansas state capitol on October 18th at 3:00.
The 7 Days crew is spending the night in Chicago, IL. After an early rise, we’ll be off to Detroit, and then back to Chicago, before heading south to Nashville, TN for the evening. As always, continue to follow our cause by checking out the blog, encouraging as many people as you can to friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, and most importantly doing your part to encourage someone every day.
In Oklahoma City, we met Ryan Jones and Paige Arter, two 14-year-old kids who have taken up the cause of Wishing Well. Ryan and Paige both took it in their hands to raise money in their schools to help provide clean drinking water in Africa. They started the day by walking 2 miles carrying large drums of dirty water in honor of a Rwandan youth named Eden–a 13-year-old boy who spends his days carting 45 lbs of dirty water miles for his family. Check out Wishing Well @ www.wishingwellafrica.com for more information on this worthy cause and the kids who are working hard to make a difference on the African continent.
We then headed west to Houston, TX to meet a world innovating scientist and inventor whose invention could quite possibly rewrite energy use around the world. 15-year-old Javier Fernandez-Han’s invention the V.E.R.S.A.T.I.L.E. system “is a comprehensive algae-powered system for treating waste, producing methane and bio-oil as fuel, producing food for humans and livestock, and sequestering greenhouse gases while producing oxygen.” In layman terms, Javier plans on focusing on the world’s population that lives in desperate conditions to better their lives in practical ways while helping make them self-sustaining. Also, Javier recently founded Inventors without Borders, a summer camp that will bring other socially conscientious youths from across the country together to try and tackle issues that plague third world countries. Along with winning a $20K scholarship for his invention, Javier also secured a $35K grant to further develop his invention. In more popular terms…Javier is legit. This is a socially aware teenager with a heart the size of this boundless intellect who plans on changing the world on a large scale.
After our inspiring time with these kids, we headed out to Dallas, TX. Tomorrow we’ll be at the Cowboy Ranch, Little Rock, AR, and Chicago, IL. Stay tuned to Facebook, the blog, and our Twitter account for more updates.
After a 6 a.m. flight out of Lake Tahoe, we headed back to Phoenix to meet up with Austin Gutwine and Faith Johnson. When he was 9, Austin founded Hoops of Hope, an organization raising money for victims of AIDS in Africa. Along with regularly speaking to thousands of kids all over the country on the Revolving Tour, Austin has found the time to raise 1.5 million dollars, build 2 medical clinics for AIDS treatment, build a school in Zambia, and plans to raise another 500K this year to build a dormitory for the school–all while trying to be a typical 15 year old. 10 yr old Faith was inspired by Austin’s example and recently started Flip Flops of Faith which aims to collect flip flops to send to Africa.
After spending time in Phoenix, we headed to Denver, Colorado to meet up with Aurora Bamba and Rachel Beenken. After a family tragedy left her and her two brothers living with their Grandmother, Aurora Bamba went years headed down the wrong path. It wasn’t until a 7th grade teacher pushed her to be better, that she decided to refocus her life on being a light to others. Now, as a 17 yr old Senior she has a 4.03 GPA, actively tutors and mentors younger kids throughout the Colorado Springs School District, and has become a leader in her school and throughout her community.
Rachel Beenken is the co-founder of Hats for the Homeless, an organization that makes hats, scarves, and blankets for the homeless of the Denver area. Rachel has helped secure a 10K grant and has involved over 850 other students committed to volunteering their efforts for this cause and simultaneously hoping to unite a community around a common effort.
The 7 days crew is sleeping in Oklahoma City tonight. We’ll have three more stories tomorrow from Ok City and Houston: Two kids helping raise money for clean water in Africa and a Houston area kid-scientist who may rewrite the books on energy conservation around the world
We just finished filming with Ashlee Smith and her friends. She let us know that she plans on not only growing her foundation, providing toys for children who are victims of disasters, but also expanding to include toys for disadvantaged children. Oprah, Hasbro, and the Red Cross believe in her, it’s a safe bet she’ll make it happen. The 7 days crew is off to Phoenix at 6 a.m. Day 1 was a huge success, and we’re looking forward to many more cities with many more inspiring kids telling their remarkable stories.
