Real People Changing the World

South Summit Students Set Example of Service...

2007-03-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Jessica saw a need and wanted to do something about it. Completely on their own, they organized a 3-week long fundraiser, all directed to creating sustainable change within CHOICE. Here they describe their experience:

"With little service oriented influence in our school, we had the desire early in the year to direct a service project for South Summit's service club. Because Sarah was considering participating in a humanitarian expedition this summer, we thought it would be a great opportunity to raise money for one of the projects Choice would be conducting.

With the help of club members we gathered supplies to cook and sell scones, navajo tacos, and chocolate suckers at school during lunch. As we organized and delegated responsibilities we were thrilled to see our peers' excitement and willingness to help make a difference. We feel service and volunteer work teach valuable lessons for life.

Serving others brings grateful, sincere, and caring attitudes. Having opportunities for high schoolers to serve is important for its future implications in their own lives and others around them.

Margaret Mead once stated, 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world…indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.'

From this experience we have seen first hand how every individual counts. We are so fortunate with all the many resources instantly available to us. It is great to know the money we raised will help to change the lives of others for the better."

Sarah Lambert and Jessica Niemann

Cortlund Ashton and Family See Change Firsthand...

2007-03-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

"There are so many worthy causes to consider supporting financially. CHOICE is different in some very important ways.
Not only can your contributions change the lives of the recipients, but going on an expedition and seeing your donation in action actually is a life changing experience for the donor as well. It changed me. It changed my family.
We understand better our place in this world and our ability and opportunity to give and change futures. "

Student Translates for Weekly Conference Calls

2007-03-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Del Real, fluent in spanish, takes time out of her busy schedule, between work and school, to sit in on our conference calls. She helps translate for Emily and others who don't speak spanish. Her help allows us to more quickly and efficiently share the stories from the field with each of you. When we asked her about why she takes time to help, she replied:

"I would say that I got involved with CHOICE by pure chance, only because I knew nothing about it. I spent some of my free time helping fellow students in Brazil with their English homework last spring semester. My experience living abroad changed my whole perspective and it made me want to pursue the things I had only put on a to-do-list but never actually made the time for. Volunteering was one of them. Last fall I started my search for an organization to volunteer at. Particularly one that needed help with the translation of documents from Spanish to English and vice versa. I happen to mention this to my friend Martha who knew about CHOICE, the rest is history.

I've really enjoyed being involved with CHOICE due to its values and principles and what it means to so many people because of all the differences it has made in their lives. By giving me an inside view on little known issues affecting different countries of Latin America and what can be done about them, this opportunity has also become a learning one."

Can anyone change the world?

2007-03-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

At CHOICE Humanitarian, we believe that given direction and framework - anyone can change the world. Using your unique skills and capacities, you can give your time, money and connections to help villagers change their lives. Read here how some of our community members have found unique ways of giving back...