For the Win: FROGs for the Future

Will Lourcey (Photo Courtesy of Points of Light).

For the Win is a guest blog series featuring the remarkable initiatives that young Americans are advancing to win the future for their communities. Each week we highlight a new young person and learn about their inspiring work through their own words. 

Will Lourcey, founder of FROGs, is a fourth grader at Tanglewood Elementary in Fort Worth, Texas. He enjoys writing, traveling and fighting hunger. Willwas recognized as a 2012 Hasbro Community Action Hero, an award recognizing outstanding young service leaders presented by Hasbro in partnership with generationOn, the global youth service enterprise of Points of Light.

I was inspired to help the hungry about two years ago, thanks to baseball. One hot, June night I was riding home from a little league game and when we stopped at a red light, I saw a man with a cardboard sign that said: Need A Meal; written in red ink. Right then and there I had no idea what it meant, but I felt bad for the man. When we got home, I talked to my mom and dad, and decided I wanted to help the man. Dad said we couldn't give directly to the man, but he knew a member of the local food bank and scheduled a meeting. 

A few days later, I came into the food bank with a pen, a legal pad, and a smile. I told Dad’s friend, Mary Kathryn Anderson, that I wanted to start a group called FROGs, Friends Reaching Our Goals, and raise money, cans and awareness for the food bank. Mary Kathryn thought it was an excellent idea, so I rounded up some friends, made some arrangements, set up a goal and made a huge success!

I am inspired by many people. Local celebrities have helped my causes, such as TCU football coach Gary Patterson and Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief. They helped bring attention to my cause and spread awarenessof the hungry. Local businesses such as Barlow & Garsek, Pickens Energy Corp. and also national companies such as Hasbro and Build-A-Bear Workshop have sponsored and encouraged my efforts.

Community service is a fun and easy way to give back to your community. All you have to do is find a need in your community, gather up some friends, set a goal and take action! No matter how tall or small you are YOU can make a BIG difference!

For more info about FROGs and helping the hungry, go to: www.fortworthfrogs.com and http://communityactionheroes.generationon.org/hunger

This summer you can make your mark on the world and inspire others to do the same through generationOn's Community Action Heroes summer program! Visit communityactionheroes.generationon.orgto find out more about the range of youth service projects you can get involved in to help prevent hunger in your local community, as well as the national recognition and prizes that you can win for your creativity and effort.

Check out previous For the Win blog posts:

• For the Win: Erasing Hunger at Home
• For the Win: If You Build It, Change Will Come
• For the Win: The Power to Create Change
• For the Win: The Building Blocks of Service
• For the Win: Pennies FUR Pets
• For the Win: Feeding the "Book Famine"
• For the Win: Losing Yourself in Service
• For the Win: Paper Memories
• For the Win: Bilingual Performances
• For the Win: Re-mark-able
• For the Win: Treasuring the Extras
• For the Win: The Business of Making a Difference
• For the Win: Winning on the Road
• For the Win: Healthy Messages
• For the Win: Sounds of Service
• For the Win: Paramore to Morehouse

Ronnie Cho is an Associate Director in the Office of Public Engagement.