Champions of Change Blog
A Continuum of Services that Inspires Youth
Posted by on July 12, 2012 at 10:08 AM EDT
Sherilyn Adams is being honored as a Champion of Change for her work to combat homelessness among children and youth.
I have always believed that a community can be judged based on how its most vulnerable members are treated. My career began in social work, where I could have a direct impact on improving the lives of children and families who were struggling with domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental illness. Later, I helped design housing and clinical programs for homeless adults with profound and persistent mental illness.
When I had the chance to go to work for San Francisco’s Larkin Street Youth Services in 2003, I jumped at the opportunity. Larkin Street’s mission resonated with me deeply: To create a continuum of services that inspires youth to move beyond the streets. We will nurture potential, promote dignity, and support bold steps by all.
Learn more about ,Experience Drives Values and Ethics
Posted by on July 6, 2012 at 2:13 PM EDT
John Gans, chosen from a from a pool of more than 1,500 candidates nominated through the White House web site, was selected as a Champion of Change for the positive impact he is making in his community.
Our youth. Wilderness. Leadership. These are things I have always held passion for at my core. As a child, when I wasn’t helping my parents run the dairy farm, I was traipsing around in the creeks and woods of Minnesota. It was there that I developed my land ethic—my appreciation and love for the wilderness. This space is invaluable to our wellbeing as individuals and as a society. It’s where we get in touch with ourselves and realize our capabilities and limitations. It’s the best classroom in the world. A classroom where the lessons are experiential and the consequences are real, where we learn the value of our wild places, responsibility for our environment, and much more.
“No” Can Be a Good Thing
Posted by on July 6, 2012 at 2:08 PM EDT
Terri Turner, chosen from a from a pool of more than 1,500 candidates nominated through the White House web site, was selected as a Champion of Change for the positive impact she is making in her community.
I came from a family with a strong work ethic. My Daddy used to tell me that if I wasn’t giving 100%, that I was cheating someone - I learned very quickly that, most of all, I was cheating myself if I wasn’t giving my all, and then some, to those around me. So I was always doing “more,” giving “more,” trying to be “more.” It was quite natural that I ended up in a community service field. For the past 18 years, I have worked for City and County governments as a Planner, Floodplain Manager and Hazard Mitigation Specialist (among a lot of other hats that I just quite naturally wear with my present position as Augusta, Georgia’s Development Administrator).
Learn more about Energy and Environment, ServiceFostering Global Partnerships through Education & Technology
Posted by on July 6, 2012 at 1:50 PM EDT.jpg)
Hussainatu Blake,chosen from a from a pool of more than 1,500 candidates nominated through the White House web site, was selected as a Champion of Change for the positive impact she is making in her community.
Access to a global education is essential in the 21st century. While education is key in any community, access to a global education makes a person competitive in an increasingly inter-dependent and diverse world. Unfortunately, many children around the world do not have the means to experience life abroad and are not exposed to an environment that promotes a variety of viewpoints and ideas. Focal Point Global, a non-profit youth educational organization, has a mission to give disadvantaged children in the United States and in African countries access to a global education without leaving their neighborhoods.
Freedom through Mobility
Posted by on July 6, 2012 at 1:48 PM EDT
Joel Berman, chosen from a from a pool of more than 1,500 candidates nominated through the White House web site, was selected as a Champion of Change for the positive impact he is making in his community.
When I started Adaptive Adventures in 1999, I did it for reasons that were personal to me. In 1983, I lost my leg in a rail accident in Chicago, Illinois. I had always been an active individual and I knew I would need to fight to stay active and find the freedom offered through sports that I had experienced throughout my life.
Searching for such opportunities made me realize that there were very few organizations that catered to providing sporting opportunities to the physically disabled. Hence, in 1999, I co-founded Adaptive Adventures, whose mission is to identify, promote, and provide progressive sports and recreation opportunities to improve the quality of life for children, adults, and veterans with physical disabilities. Our agency is driven by its belief in ‘freedom through mobility’ and core values of affordability, independence, and leadership. By adapting equipment and training to the specific abilities of individual participants, people of all abilities have the opportunity to partake in our all season sports programs on all levels.
Real Change through Global Engagement
Posted by on July 6, 2012 at 1:42 PM EDT
Hassanatu Blake, chosen from a from a pool of more than 1,500 candidates nominated through the White House web site, was selected as a Champion of Change for the positive impact she is making in her community.
Wide eyed with enthusiasm, young faces await a virtual meeting with their peers from another country in front of a computer. Two sets of teenagers in the US and an African country are armed with many questions for their counterparts overseas and ready to explore ways to address a critical issue that plague both of their communities. This image is what ran across my mind when I was brainstorming about what to say in my White House Champion of Change blog. I thought about writing what others have in the past – to describe how honored I am or provide a story about why and how I co-founded Focal Point Global. Though I am extremely honored and love to share the story of Focal Point Global’s humble beginnings, I’d rather take this time to highlight the youth who partake in Focal Point Global’s initiatives and showcase their wonderful work bringing about change in their communities. I would like to share with you my Champions of Change.
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