How a Virtual Summer Program is Creating a Global Impact

As a young teen, the process of getting more involved in the community is beneficial towards your success in the coming years. This motivation was the case for me as I wanted to make changes globally and spread awareness of problems affecting individuals worldwide. This program was recommended to me by a friend, who enjoyed the program immensely. When I joined the global challenge, I did not know what to expect as it was my first time leading a project. Little did I know that I had found something that tested my leadership potential and my ability to work in a team setting.  Hi, I am Rahil Patel, and I will tell you about the benefits of the Ambassador Program and Global Awareness Challenge. 

To start, the Ambassador Program is a fun and educational project that changes lives for the better. The program believes that change is possible across all age groups and invites youth passionate about bringing on global change and becoming a leader. The projects offered in this program are Leadership and Positive Mindset Development, Article Publication, Fundraising, Community Drives, Worldwide Remote Mentorship, Monthly Newsletters, Social Media Collaborations, and a Book Club. For just $34.99, you can take a step towards making a positive impact within the three-month Summer Program that offers students between 6th through 12th grade to participate in diverse projects.

How do Leadership and Positive Mindset Development help globally?

In the Leadership and Positive Mindset Development project, free online classes are available. They are designed specifically for ambassadors to acquire essential life skills such as the power of thoughts, building self-esteem, and necessary leadership skills like empathy and emotional self-awareness. Also, being a responsible and efficient leader is one of the significant focus areas while being in the Ambassador Program. These learnings will indeed prepare the participants to lead future projects efficiently and effectively.  

In what ways do writing articles help spread awareness on global issues?

This program allows in-depth research on contemporary social issues and proposes solutions in the form of articles. There is a set process and art of article writing developed with time during the program. Here are some essential tips to get started for an article: 

1. You should brainstorm and begin the early steps of researching the global issue that piques your interest.
2. There will be weekly meetings to check on the status of your article, and we are always available to help you through the writing process.
3. Once you are confident that your draft is ready to be reviewed, it will be shared with other Ambassadors in the program as part of the peer-reviewing process. Your peers will give you constructive criticism about the article. 
4. After getting feedback from your peers, experienced senior editors from the organization will work with you to edit the article. The editors would help you with professional feedback to understand and adjust your thoughts.
5. Once all of these steps are done and format your article with pictures and how you want it presented, it is ready to be published in the Empower And Help Blog section for everyone to hear your powerful voice.
6.  Your voice will be heard through the published article and inspire others to make an impactful change and share their thoughts with even more people. This project is specifically for youth keen to make their voices heard on various issues present in our society.

How do Fundraisers and Community Drives help others in need?

Other projects offered in the Ambassador program are Fundraisers and Community Drives. When arranging for fundraisers, there are a few crucial steps to ensure its success:

1. The first step is researching different organizations by selecting which one you would like to help. 
2. Put together an action plan consisting of questions such as: Who are you helping? What are your goals? How do you plan to raise funds? How will you market this fundraiser? These questions ensure that the fundraiser would be well organized and successful. 
3. On finalizing the action plan, preparing flyers to ensure people have information about the fundraiser is the next step. Designing flyers to get instant attention from people is very important. This would include developing strategies such as posting them electronically or in the nearby neighborhood, etc. 
4. The last step in the fundraising process is to publish an article to share actions you took from start to finish. 

This fundraiser may help inspire others to organize such fundraisers for a noble cause. Community Drives are another way to make a positive impact on our society. Empower and Help guide interested ambassadors through the process. The process for conducting a community drive is similar to that of a fundraiser. However, now you are trying to figure out the needs of a specific community. This may include collecting for a local food bank, animal shelter, women’s shelter, or any other organization that you are passionate about contributing toward. If you are someone with an innovative mind, have an urge for problem-solving, and are willing to try new things, then that’s what is needed to take a plunge into the world of volunteering.                                            

What is the Remote Mentorship Program?

In a variety of volunteering opportunities provided by Empower and Help comes the Mentorship Program. The Mentorship Program is a great way to learn from a mentor and benefit yourself with mutual learning, cultural exchange, and duality. It has been proven that peer-to-peer interaction can genuinely be helpful for the mentee and mentor. Ambassadors get to experience teaching, mentoring, and interacting with students they are paired with. The students can be from refugee families, families from low-income or adverse communities, or local families in need of academic support. 

The tasks included in this program are Zoom meetings regularly with the assigned student. The mentor (you) is responsible for creating a curriculum that matches the academic level and needs of the mentee. The subjects studied include STEM, English, and Coding. After that, the mentor sets goals for the mentee to accomplish and work towards success. The ambassadors can work in teams of two for mentoring a student, but you should expect to work individually. The benefits are two-fold from this setup, but the ambassadors get exposure to possibly working in teams and high levels of coordination. All in all, this allows you to inspire kids and help them improve their academics. This program offers a unique opportunity to make a lasting educational difference in the lives of underprivileged kids who deserve equal and fair education opportunities. 

How does the Ambassador Program promote creativity? 

The Writing Workshop is a 6-week program designed to help ambassadors become confident and capable writers. It will be a safe space to voice and explore your creativity while celebrating the fact that your stories and ideas matter and are worth expressing. During the Writing Workshop, you will have the time to work independently and with your peers. You will engage in the writing process by discussing genres, selecting topics, drafting, revising, editing, and finally, experiencing the pleasure of publishing your work.

Every other week, there will be online meetings that will include:

•       Writing prompts to help direct your creative ideas
•       Inspiring story starters and discussions
•       Mini-lessons
•       Independent writing
•       Group sharing and peer review

Each week will get you one step closer to creating a story and becoming a published author for the Empower and Help website. If you have a passion for creative writing and want to enhance your skills, then this is one program to consider joining this summer.

How are Newsletters written in the program? 

The Newsletter Writing program strategizes to send out monthly newsletters with everything with the current doings of the program. You work together to build content with your fellow ambassadors, format the information into a cohesive newsletter, create/choose what content you want to highlight, and end off by writing your newsletter following the deadlines. The newsletter project is a great way to demonstrate leadership, teamwork, and brainstorming skills to achieve an output that would inspire others.

Why is the Social Media program good for promoting the Program?

Social media is one of the most effective tools used by almost all organizations and individuals to reach the masses. Contributing to these advantages, another opportunity in the Ambassador program is to learn the science behind social media communication and sharing ambassador updates on social media. To succeed in the social media aspect of this program, working in collaboration within a group to create informative and original posts to highlight worthy causes and share a glimpse of the program online. One of the requirements for participation includes attending meetings every week to discuss ideas that reflect program highlights/give others the tasks to complete the posts quickly are the requirements for participation. If you are looking to share your thoughts on a creative edge and social media is your playing field, this project is right up your alley.

How is the Book Club beneficial to Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers?

This project in the Ambassador program is known as the Book Club. “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary” – Jim Rohn. This quote shows how the privilege of reading will educate people and inspire them to make a difference in the world. There will be two books to read and talk about in the three months of the summer program. Middle schoolers and high schoolers will each have their own assigned books. There will be group meetings to discuss the book. However, this summer, the book club will be focusing on refugee and Native American groups. This Book Club collaborates with Tasha Toth from The Book Smart Project, an organization that donates kid’s books to low-income school districts to ensure kids have access to books. The middle school books are Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell and The Arrival by Shaun Tan. For high schoolers, the books are There There by Tommy Orange and The Arrival by Shaun Tan. There will also be a storytelling activity where you get the chance to tell your own story through pictures. If you are enthusiastic about reading, this is the project for you. 

How are the  Ambassador Program and Global Awareness Challenge Connected?

When you join the Ambassador program, you are automatically registered for the Global Challenge. You can make a video; the video is submitted to qualified judges and can win cash prizes to put towards a charitable cause. The following shows the criteria essential in the process of video making: 

1. Submissions should not surpass 4 minutes in length. 
2.  Submit the video using standard video formats like MOV (.mov), MPEG-4 (.mp4), FLV (.flv), or WMV (.wmv). 
3.  The video must not include third-party intellectual property or copyright-protected content, like logos on shirts or branded products visible in the background. Videos should have original content and avoid sensitive topics that could be perceived as disrespectful, threatening, exclusive, or offensive towards any person, group, or organization. Get appropriate permissions and/or credit the source of any third-party content referenced during the speech, and submit your videos with the release form in a single email to contactus@empowerandhelp.com.
4. Once you are confident about your video, the judges will review the video for a cash prize. If you want your voice to be heard out there concerning the global crisis that you can make a difference to, then this is the project for you. 

It is clear that there is a project for any avenue of passion you may have, and it is entirely up to you in which programs you would like to partake. All the projects help you become a more socially intelligent, globalized citizen that directly helps others who may need your meaningful support. You have the opportunity to work alone, or in a virtual team setting. Whether you are working with your friends or ambassadors you just met, you are having fun, changing the world for the better, and inspiring others along the way. You are just one step away from making a difference. Register Now!

[By Rahil Patel , is EmpowerAndHelp student volunteer from New Jersey]