Venture Description: "Operation Backpack" is a project geared to help elementary school students with achieveing academic success. My "Cream Team," if you will, provides backpacks filled with school supplies to students that do not already have them so that they are at equal advantage of excelling academically as the other students are. With this motivation we hope that the supplies will encourage them to do well. This project is fueled by the volunteers in the community that donate new or gently used backpacks to our organization. We hope to spread this project to other schools and motivate the youth to make a difference in their own communities.

Venture Origin: I was Vice President of Key Club in my junior year of high school and we always wanted to help young students. We talked of this idea but never went through with it until I won Ben and Jerry's "Scoopers Making Change" program and was equipped with the encouragement and funding I needed to begin the project.

Innovation: There is a 56% poverty level in Horry County, South Carolina. There has always been a lack of funding for schools and I wanted to change this. My project helps students who are elligible for free or reduced lunch to also recieve backpacks and supplies. We raised about fifty dollars and also recieved thirty backpacks donated by the community in Myrtle Beach and put in to our designated drop boxes.

Impact

Impact: "Operation Backpack" has donated 70 backpacks to Loris Elementary School and also donated school supplies to 30 more students who had backpacks but not school supplies. Every student in Loris Elementary School is now prepared for school and not lacking the tools he needs for academic success. Our goal is to spread this project to other area schools and then onto other schools outside of the county and state.

Engagement with the community: Of course the Ben & Jerry's headquarters helped me launch this project by choosing me as a "Scooper Making Change." They gave me a $800 grant to launch my project. Also I recruited five team members that have helped in every aspect. There was also a bulletin board set up in three Ben & Jerry's stores that spoke of my project and urged the community to donate to the backpack dropboxes.

Impact and engagement progress since launch: It makes me so happy to recognize the impact I have made on the community. Our "Cream Team" has successfully launced the first instance of the project and we are hoping to spread it further to other schools. I have also informed the community about this need and hopefully sparked an interest with them. This project is definitely not over and will continue on for a very long time.

Impact and engagement strategy: My group is going to set up organizational workshops to further the encouragement of doing well in school. I will also interview the teachers for any more ideas on the type of school supplies to find. We have come up with an idea called "Left Behind" where we would stand at the doors of highschools on the last day before summer vacation and collect any backpacks students would like to donate.

Awards: I won Ben and Jerry's "Scoopers Making Change" competion and flew to Vermont where they helped me launch the project.

Budget

Amount of Youth Venture seed grant: $800

Money raised: I raised fifty dollars from cash donations for the purchasing of school supplies. Also I had thirty backpacks donated from the community for my project.

Creative ways of raising resources: The backpack donations were a great help because the bulk of the money was spent on the supplies themselves. I also only spent the money on supplies and a few more backpacks that children needed. All other expenses were in-kind and we stuffed the backpacks at a Ben & Jerry's store where we work.

Strategy

Expansion plan for next 6 months: I am going to set up times to meet with teachers for their opinions of furthering my project. I am also going to brainstorm with my team and get together a brochure to hand out at organizational workshops and have a slidshow of the students.

Plans for sustaining the project: When I go off to college I will leave a team member incharge of my project in the community and also continue with dropboxes and hopefully promote my project to recruit volunteers. So many people at Ben & Jerry's and Youth Venture have also committed to help me sustain my project and make change.

Vision for three years from now: Three years from now I hope to have won the Staples project so that the money can go towards helping every school in Horry County. "Operation Backpack" will spread throughout the state and my team will be going on television shows encouraging the youth of the country to take up this idea or their own and make a difference in someone's life. My project will be the start of a revolution of change.

Project impact: “Operation Backpack” has made life easier for all of the students at Loris Elementary School. They no longer have to wake up in the morning and dread going to school because they did not have the crayons to color in a homework assignment. They will be excited to learn because they are equipped with the tools for success. A sense of equality was established for this school. Every child has an equal opportunity to learn. Money does not have to be a constant issue even at school and discourage children. In elementary school, children are at the age when growing is important and they do not need to stress. They are way too young; consquently, "Operation Backpack" has avoided this unneccessary stress.

Youth Venture movement - what it means and how you can contribute: I am so proud to say that I am a member of Youth Venture. Youth Venture is such an amazing opportunity for teenagers to recognize a problem and join together to change it. It centers on helping communities and others and that is what I want to do with my life. I believe that everyone can make a difference in the world and it just takes one small first step. Ben & Jerry’s and Youth Venture have helped me with this initial step and I hope to encourage other teens to do the same. We are the future of America and it is up to us to provide a positive environment for our country. No problems will be solved in the world if there is no one to spot them and work to change them.

Author:
Darielle
United States