The Carl Junction Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), with the help of sponsor Theresa Wilson, hosted their first annual membership drive on Thursday, August 19th.  Last year was the first year of YEP in Carl Junction, and students from that inaugural class of YEP members worked at this year’s membership drive to increase their membership and include more students from all four high school grades. 

Carl Junction’s first year in YEP began with a bang last spring when they created a 60 Second Challenge video and won second place in the competition.  This garnered a $1,000 prize, which the Carl Junction YEP students will use as part of their first grantmaking round this year.

The Hartville R-II School District established The Hartville Teacher’s Support Fund so that each teacher will have first day of school classroom funding. Hartville is a new Agency Partner in the education category.

The newly formed Hartville School Foundation established a fund to support the programs and projects of the Hartville R-II School District. The Foundation also becomes a new Agency Partner in education.

The Reeds Spring R-IV School District and School Foundation have established the Reeds Spring Youth Empowerment Project Fund to support charitable projects and programs involving and benefitting youth.  Reeds Spring becomes the 31st Youth Empowerment Project to join the YEP of the Ozarks network.

The Youth Empowerment Project – Eldon has recently hosted an on-site stream clean up project in the Eldon area.  This project, which was funded with a youth conservation grant of the Rural Schools Partnership, was attended by students in the Mustang Force program.  Mustang Force is a program which is attended by 50 at-risk 4th-6th graders who struggle with grades, attendance, or behavior choices.   Students in the program receive training to students in conservation and preservation of natural resources. 

“This grant has reinforced the  natural resource conservation training the students received this year,” YEPe coordinator Daphney Patridge said.

The student conservation grant also funded native plant landscaping at the Eldon Middle School.  Trees and flowers were planted by Mustang Force students in April.

The Gainesville Youth Empowerment Project, with help from a Rural Schools Partnership youth conservation grant, have begun an aluminum and plastic recycling program at the high school, middle school, and elementary school.  During the summer, the recycling containers have been relocated to places in the community, where they can be used while school is out of session.  The grant funded ten portable and reusable recycling containers (like the one pictured above), which have greatly improved the recycling efforts in the Gainesville community. 

Congratulations to the Gainesville YEP on developing this meaningful contribution to Gainesville!

Congratulations to the Clinton YEP for providing $771 in grants to local student-oriented projects.  This grant round, held in May, is the second grant round to be completed by the Clinton YEP students.  In October, the Clinton YEP provided $1,389 in their first grant selection process.  The Clinton YEP was established in March of 2009 as the 15th Youth Empowerment Project to partner with CFO. 

Clinton Public School District, $275.06, 5^th Grade Math games and cubes, (teacher) Carrie Alexander (pictured) 
Clinton Christian Academy, $298.14, 21 Follett Library Resource Books, (teacher) Sandy Russell 
Clinton Christian Academy, $198.92, World Map Mural, (teacher) Carolyn Thornton

The Hollister YEP (with sponsor Chandra Pierce, top left) receive a $500 grant from YEP coordinator Bridget Dierks (top right) for their 3rd place entry in the 60 Second Challenge.

The Hollister YEP recently completed an impressive first year as a YEP of the Ozarks partner.  This program, which was started in November by Hollister High School teacher Chandra Pierce, spent this spring semester working hard to put the YEP goals of education, service, fundraising, and grantmaking to practice. 

The Hollister YEP student hosted fundraisers both to benefit their youth-oriented grantmaking program and to support the local Special Olympics chapter.  They also worked to advocate for Hollister High School in two successful Rural Schools Partnership grantmaking opportunities, which provided funding for two projects to be completed on the school grounds. 

The Hollister YEP also received 3rd place in the Rural Schools Partnership’s 60 Second Video Challenge.  Hollister students received a $500 prize, which they added to their grantmaking fund.  The video, which was posted on YouTube as part of the competition, can be viewed on the CFO website.

Upon completing a semester of fundraising, service, and education, the Hollister YEP solicited youth-oriented grants in the local community and completed their first grantmaking round.  YEP students selected four projects, which received a total of $750.  They are as follows:

• Hollister High School Communication Arts II, Charity Gibson, $250, to buy novels that explore various kinds of prejudice and stereotypes.  This follows the guidelines of the Missouri Reading Iniative’s balanced literacy model in which all students study a similar concept but are able to individualize their reading by choosing amongst several reading options.  (Classroom budgets have been reduced due to less state money so this would help make-up for the loss in funding).
• Hollister High School Physics, Vanessa Washburn, $250, to purchase a 2000+ piece rollercoaster set in order to enhance the curriculum by allowing students to apply their concepts to a real world situation.
• Hollister Summer Baseball, Kevin Roepke, $125, to help provide additional funding to the program in order to deter the cost from the youth of Hollister.
• Hollister Mentoring Program, Aaron Newberry, $125, to help provide funding that will support over 180 Hollister students from 7th-12th grade.  Over 75% of youth involved in this specific program have shown minor to significant improvements in at least one area of their life.

Congratulations to the Hollister YEP and sponsor Chandra Pierce for a wonderful year!

The McAuley Youth Empowerment Project hosted a grant presentation to Joplin Public Schools on Wednesday, May 26.  The students, along with sponsor Jane Fethers, presented a $1,400 check for the Joplin Public Schools Angel Fund.  The Angel fund provides emergency and basic needs for elementary students in Joplin.  In addition to the grant, McAuley students also presented items they had collected throughout the school year including toiletries, shoes, socks, and gently used clothing.

The McAuley YEP is part of a network of 30 YEPS throughout the Missouri Ozarks. Students work to positively impact the community through education, service, grantmaking, and fundraising.

Joplin TV station KOAM aired a story on the presentation on its May 26 broadcast. 

The Purdy High School Recycling Project recently became the 30^th YEP partner in the YEP of the Ozarks network.  This club is an already established recycling program made of students who are part of the Spanish club at Purdy High School.  The Purdy Recycling Project is managed by sponsor Gerry Wass and students who work to turn student power into a thriving recycling business in the small community of Purdy, south of Monett.  The club is currently collecting recycling for both the school and community, and the project is always growing!  Mr. Wass and the Spanish Club students hope that the Purdy Recycling Project can help people create a recycling vision unique to their own community, and they hope other schools will follow their leadership on this important topic! 

To learn more about creating your own recycling project or to receive a copy of the Purdy Recycling Club’s step by step guide to creating a recycling project, please contact Bridget Dierks at bdierks@cfozarks.org.  Mr. Wass and the students are happy to share their knowledge of local recycling!

Pictured:  The cover of the Purdy Recycling Project guide.

The Norwood High School Philanthropy Club recently became the 29th participant in the Youth Empowerment Project of the Ozarks network.  This club will include students at Norwood High School, which is approximately an hour east of Springfield.  Sponsor Jason Duey and his students look forward to networking and collaborating with other Youth Empowerment Projects in the region.  The Norwood Philanthropy Club will receive a $500 grant into their new fund through the Rural Schools Partnership.

For more information on YEP, please see our website here:

Youth Empowerment Project

To discuss establishing a Youth Empowerment Project in your community, contact Bridget Dierks at (417) 864-6199.

Pictured: Sponsor Jason Duey (left) and Norwood students learn about YEP at the annual Youth Philanthropy Conference.

The Rural Schools Partnership is proud to support the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE) Project.  This project offers tenth and eleventh grade high school students a unique educational opportunity, and we hope our Rural Schools Partners will encourage their students to apply. 

The GLADE Project is a the week-long, service-learning, peer-mentoring student academy which is held at Missouri State University’s Bull Shoals Field Station.  This year’s GLADE Project will occur June 20-26, 2010.  GLADE provides opportunities for hands-on giant cane and glade habitat restoration, species monitoring, and independent conservation projects. The program will target students from under-served communities in an attempt to give them opportunities to increase their ecological knowledge and awareness of nature, interact with environmental professionals and potential career opportunities, develop the skills needed to become environmental stewards, and restore an important local habitat.  The goal of GLADE is to inspire teens to love and protect their natural environment and give them the tools and opportunities they need to become conservation leaders in their communities.

Applications are due on March 19th.  For more information and the application (PDF form), see our website here…