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| Young Americans Mobilize to Fight Pediatric Cancer with Youth Service Grants |
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By Christina Wessell |
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Complimenting the highly acclaimed documentary film, A LION IN THE HOUSE, these $300 grants are being used to hold youth workshops, sponsor local awareness campaigns, conduct fundraising drives, and support the siblings of young cancer patients at special community events. Produced by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, A LION IN THE HOUSE was broadcast on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens in 2006.
“Any thinking human understands the hurt associated with a child fighting cancer. But this disease also inspires compassion and generosity on a grand scale, which is one of the lessons of A LION IN THE HOUSE,” said filmmaker Julia Reichert, who nearly lost her own daughter to Hodgkins Disease and battled cancer herself. “It is gratifying to see this lesson spread by young people across the country, who are using these special grants to inspire others to learn about childhood cancer and to fight this disease through kindness and their support of children and families in need.”
The 11 LION IN THE HOUSE Community Service Grants for 2007 are awarded to:
- Luisa Diaz, age 16 of Tucson, Arizona and the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Arizona to offer a free movie to children with cancer and their families and to raise money via ticket sales donations for pediatric cancer research;
- Lucas Johnson, age 13, of Murphysboro, Illinois and the Grange Hall Lads and Lassies 4-H Club who will enlist over 1500 youth volunteers to collect aluminum cans to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House in Memphis, Tennessee;
- The Bay Area Houston Alumnae-Delta Sigma Theta Society of Friendswood, Texas to conduct a “Tame the Lion” day where the group will take siblings of children fighting cancer to a local festival or recreation park. The group also plans to enlist a local political leader or Congressman to give send-off remarks;
- The DC Department of Health Maternal Primary Care Administration and the Shaed Elementary School in Washington, DC to conduct a Youth Cancer Awareness workshop where students will make individual and group presentations to an audience of their peers, teachers and parents. The students will also conduct a fundraiser to help support programs at the Children’s National Medical Center and the Hospital For Sick Children in Washington;
- The Hobby Horse Center, Inc. of Jacksonville, Illinois to host a lemonade stand as part of a nationwide fundraising effort referred to as Alex’s Lemonade Stand. At the stand, 35 youth volunteers will sell lemonade, cookies and pastries to raise money for pediatric cancer research;
- The Norfolk Panther JOOI Clubs of Norfolk, Nebraska to host a mini-carnival for patients at the Children’s Hospital in Omaha and their siblings. The mini-carnival will feature “Zink the Zebra,” a spotted zebra created by 11-year old cancer patient Kelly Weil;
- Queens Bridge to Medicine of Jamaica, New York, which will organize youth volunteers to hold an activity day for children with cancer and their families at Long Island Jewish Hospital;
- Rigby high School Student Council, whose members will raise cancer awareness by enlisting teachers and local physicians to design a Wheel-of-Fortune style game show on cancer at the local high school. This project resulted after three students in the school were diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the school year;
- Windsor Youth Services of Windsor, Connecticut to host a Family Day at the local community center with the proceeds going to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, in honor of Alex Scott who was born in Windsor; and
- The YWCA Virginia Peninsula of Newport News, Virginia to organize 40 local high school students who will man an information table at the International Children’s Festival in Hampton and then visit children with cancer at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter in Newport News.
Because cancer remains the most common disease-related cause of death for one to 19-year olds, Youth Service America (YSA) joined forces with the Independent Television Service (ITVS), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Fund for American Studies to offer LION IN THE HOUSE Community Service Grants to young people ages 12 to 25, youth organizations and schools. After receiving grant applications from around the
country, a review committee convened by YSA evaluated the proposals based on the applicants’ ability to conduct a youth-led service project on National & Global Youth Service Day. This initiative builds on the three-year national community engagement and public education campaign spearheaded by ITVS and filmmakers Bognar and Reichert.
“When A LION IN THE HOUSE aired across the country, the film was able to raise a number of societal issues, from the choices families must make between treatments to the years of physical and emotional fallout for children who survive a pediatric cancer,” said Patricia Harrison, President & CEO of CPB. “But the lasting impact of this film lies in the desire of young Americans to act on these challenges. For the public broadcasting community, there could be no better result.”
A co-production of the Independent Television Service (ITVS), which funds and promotes independent films in the U.S. and presents them on PBS, A LION IN THE HOUSE was one of the most well reviewed films of 2006, earned awards at the most important documentary film festivals, was featured at 150 public events, and directly reached almost 2 million viewers through PBS stations coast to coast.
Extending the film’s impact, the insights from the documentary have been turned into a companion book now available in bookstores, a DVD and three Web sites, including www.mylion.org, where youth can learn about ways to do community service projects that make a difference for peers, children, and families, including siblings, fighting cancer.More information about these educational tools is available at www.lioninthehouse.com.
Besides the projects taking place during National & Global Youth Service Day, A LION IN THE HOUSE has inspired numerous youth groups around the country to conduct local awareness drives around cancer issues. One example is the Community Network Association, Inc, in a region of Alabama where cancer is on the rise. Using the film as the focal point, the youth group will conduct a mini health fair for the community promoting the importance of cancer screenings.
National & Global Youth Service Day (April 20-22, 2007), the largest service event in the world, mobilizes youth to identify and address the needs of their communities through service-learning and community service. The event is organized by Youth Service America (YSA) with the support of State Farm Companies Foundation as the Presenting Sponsor. More than 115 National Partners and 51 Lead Agencies throughout the United States organize projects. Overseas, National Lead Agencies in 118 countries around the world manage national events. Planning Tool Kits, Service-Learning Curriculum Guides, classroom posters, grants, and more are available for youth, parents, teachers and organizations. For the U.S. Map of Service Projects for National & Global Youth Service Day 2007: www.YSA.org/map.
Youth Service America is a national nonprofit resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Founded in 1986, Youth Service America’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments. In addition to National & Global Youth Service Day, which takes place concurrently each April, YSA also hosts SERVEnet (www.SERVEnet.org), providing the largest database of volunteer opportunities in America. For more information: www.YSA.org.
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