Inspired Magazine April 2014

ISSUE April 2014

NSPIRED Express Yourself

Winner of 2013 Indianapolis’ Sister City Program Cayman 7th Grade Decatur Blue Middle School

Sewing a Friendship

by Natalie Page 18

Tubular Talent Page 22

Franklin Central High School Excellence Award at the 20132014 City of Indianapolis VEX Robotics Championship Page 15

FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT速 FOR HEALTHY LIVING FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

JOINING THE YMCA IS GOOD FOR THE HEART At the Y, we exist to strengthen community.

Together with people like you, we nurture the potential of kids, help people understand and improve their health, and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors.

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When you do, you create meaningful change not just for you, but also for your community.

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CALL OR VISIT THE FISHERS YMCA TODAY! OUR MISSION: To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.

CONTENT

departments

features

Letter, 4

Feature, 15 Franklin Central High School’s Auto Flashes team competes in VEX Robotics competitions.

Tubular Talent, 22 Fishers Winter Percussion introduce some tubular instruments to repeat state finalist.

Maxwell Joseph, 20 Spotlight on area musician.

Children’s Museum POCA, 24

Poetry, 5 Art, 6 Photography, 12 Writing, 15 Music, 21

Peer Project, 26 A Junior Elkhart Central High School, Simon recalls his peers project

Kids Change the World

Kaylenna, 15 Sophomore Mooresville High School Camby, IN Pencil Drawing

2013 Indy’s Sister Cities Fest Student Poster Winners, 27 See the winners of the 2013 posters submissions and see how you can participate in the upcoming 2014 contest.

PUBLISHER Michael Vander Sande EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Derryl PItts ART DIRECTOR Brian Brosmer ADVERTISING For advertising information contact Inspired Magazine at 317-691-4237 EDUCATORS Submit classroom set requests and address changes to: michael@readinspiredmag.com STUDENTS Submit your original fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art, photography, music and film for consideration for publication at www.readinspiredmag.com Copyright © 2014 The Project House 9149 Lantern Lane Indianapolis, IN 46256 Inspired Magazine, our publisher and our advertisers are not responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints, or typographical errors.

All rights reserved. May be reproduced with proper citation for educational purposes.

Inspired Magazine 317.691.4237 michael@readinspiredmag.com

In Partnership With

Express Yourself 3

LETTER Letter from the Publisher We are proud to present the third consecutive issue of Inspired Magazine. It has been an amazing last 90 days and we are amazed at the continued blessings we are experiencing as we continue to launch Inspired Magazine. We have many to thank and the below are my thanking a few for their continued support, enthusiasm, and assistance helping us launch. The first among this list are not first, they are just who came to mind.

Indianapolis Public Library Indianapolis YMCAs The Children’s Museum Linzstar Brosmer Photo Graphic Conner Prairie The Indianapolis Arts Center Dr. James Lemons Pro(ACT) Community Partnerships Huntington Bank

The Noetic Institute The Peers Project The Southern Poverty Law Center’s - Teaching Tolerance IBJ Custom Publishing University High School Herron High School Holy Cross Lutheran School Broad Ripple High School Indy Eleven Fabian Knopfler, MBA

There are many others who have provided invaluable support, resources, introductions and more and we do surely appreciate everyone who has helped us get through our first quarter.

Our next quarter promises to continue the momentum we are building. May will be printed, as well as updated Apps, and will be available at our current distribution points including all Indianapolis Public Libraries, YMCAs, school, and more. Our plan is to print every quarter and update our Apps every months and to date we have stuck by that plan with the April edition being our 3rd consecutive magazine. Keep your eyes on us as we launch Young Publishers with the Fishers YMCA. Young publishers is a weekly two-hour class where Inspired is teaching Kids how to use the Adobe Creative Suite including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat!

Our plan is to print every quarter and update our Apps every months and to date we have stuck by that plan with the April edition being our 3rd consecutive magazine. Keep your eyes on us as we launch Young Publishers with the Fishers YMCA. Young publishers is a weekly two-hour class where Inspired is teaching Kids how to use the Adobe Creative Suite including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat!

Contained within this April edition are amazing stories of Kids doing things through Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s initiatives working with Kids. Our cover is a winner of posters created by Kids representing Indianapolis as a Global City via the Sister Cities International (SCI) program. Our feature story highlights the Mayor’s VEX program and the experiences of Kids at Franklin Central High School, an award winning VEX school! There is also amazing art, poetry, and stories within our pages.

Please enjoy!

Michael

4 Inspired

POETRY FLORAL CANDY

Knock it down Bring it back, We only have what we remember, What we collect.

Our fingers and your veins, grow together, I hope there is a forever.

Let’s build it, the things that connect our bones And bind us to each other.

It’s there in your hands Paint a picture, Build a home, Rock the boat, Fight and choke, Ayla Dompert, 20 Ball State University Touch and hold, Sophomore Let it go.

Indianapolis, IN

THE WORLD

The world, the place we live every moment.

Where we love our people and nurse our creatures.

The world, where the sun will always set and shine.

The only place where hope never fades.

The world, where our brightest and darkest times take place.

The place where dreams come true.

Jessica Fishers, IN

Express Yourself 5

ART DeLanie, 9 3rd Grade Northwood Elementary Color Pencil

Emily, 11 6th Grade Dubois Middle School Dubois, IN

6 Inspired

ART

Rebecca Muncie, IN Pencil and Charcoal Drawing

Express Yourself 7

ART Natalie 7th Grade Broad Ripple Middle School Broad Ripple, IN

Danny Joe, 13 6th Grade Northwood Elementary Camby, IN

Laurencio 7th Grade Broad Ripple Middle School Broad Ripple, IN

8 Inspired

ART

Abbey, 15 Freshman TriWest High School

Meredith 9th Grade Broad Ripple High School Broad Ripple, IN

Express Yourself 9

ART

Alexander Howell, 21 Ivy Tech Pen and Ink

10 Inspired

Attention Students:

Express Yourself Our goal, and Mission at Inspired is To Inspire Kids.

We believe our magazine is a great venue and opportunity for Kids to share their work. We know, first hand, the benefits of Kids being published with positive impacts of Kids confidence, self esteem, direction and more.

Submit your original fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art, photography, music and film for consideration for publication by going to

readinspiredmag.org Follow us on Twitter

@inspiredkidmag Friend us on Facebook and LIKE us

InspiredKidsIndy

EDUCATORS

Submit classroom set requests and curriculum, lesson plans or workshops to: michael@readinspiredmag.com

ways to follow

NSPIRED

Express Yourself 11

PHOTO

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Kaleb, 18 12th Grade Lawrence Central High School Lawrence, IN Photography

PHOTO

Taylor, 11 6th Grade NE Dubois Middle School Dubois, IN Photography

Kaleb, 18 12th Grade Lawrence Central High School Lawrence, IN Photography

Express Yourself 13

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Work Readiness: Philanthropy::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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FOR MAKING JA BIZTOWN SUMMER CAMP A POSSIBILITY.

FEATURE Franklin Central High School’s Auto Flashes team competes in VEX Robotics competitions.

TEAM HISTORY: The Auto Flashes team from Franklin Central High School is in its second year of competing in VEX Robotics competitions. With a grant initiated

by Mayor Greg Ballard, we started in September 2012 with six team members and have grown to twentyeight team members. Over the past two years we have competed with two robots each season. Last year we won the Think Award at the 2012-2013 Indianapolis VEX Robotics Championship. This award is given to the team that consistently exemplifies the best programming skills in both autonomous and driver controlled periods.

The 2013-2014 season brought a new game with a challenging objective called “Toss Up.” This year our robot from team 7282D won the Excellence Award at the 20132014 City of Indianapolis VEX Robotics Championship. The Excellence Award is given to the team that has the best

and a spot to compete at the 2014 VEX Robotics World Championship. Eight team members will travel to Anaheim, CA from April 23rd to 26th to compete with teams from all over the world. Check out our website for pictures and updates: https://sites.google. com/site/autoflashes/ Robotics from a: STUDENT COACH’S PERSPECTIVE…

overall robot in the many categories: designing, building, programming, driving, and teamwork. In addition to the four-foot trophy, all of our team members received scholarships for $40,000 at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Two years ago, I was asked to join the team because I was in an engineering class. Originally I worked on the construction of the robot. Then our first competition rolled around and we didn’t have a programmer.

Although I had no previous programming experience, I quickly learned ROBOTC and became the programmer for the first year. I really enjoyed the new opportunity and challenge it presented. When our student coach graduated last year, I stepped up to fill his position. My responsibilities

include supervising the building and reconstruction of the robot, completing paperwork for competitions and writing updates for team members and parents.

At competitions, I communicate with our programmer and guide our drive team on the field with the best techniques to win. My favorite part of being coach is the versatility of my job and seeing the success of my teammate’s hard work at the end of a competition or even after a meeting. ~Maggie, junior PROGRAMMER’S PERSPECTIVE… An effective robotics team is made up of many parts. As the programmer, my job lies behind the scenes in creating an effective robot. My responsibilities includes writing code for user control and for the autonomous portion of each match. The term “autonomous” means without the driver. At the beginning of each round there is a fifteen second period where the robot can only score using a pre-programmed code.

This is my favorite code to write as a programmer because it allows me to be creative in problem solving. Programming has allowed me to learn to work under pressure and be decisive. It has also fostered my interest in a future career in a S.T.E.M. field. Robotics has been a

Express Yourself 15

FEATURE wonderful opportunity for me to grow in my interests and become more confident in the math and science world. ~Hannah, junior

for me to practice teamwork and learn from other teams so that our team can continue to improve. ~Joshua Krieg, junior

DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE…

BUILDER’S PERSPECTIVE…

Being a driver for the robot can be both exciting and a little nerve racking at times, but going to a competition is the best part. I can finally see what my team has been working on and see if it is competitive with other robots. Not only do I have to focus on what task is at hand, but also cooperate with my alliance driver. We have to strategize before each match with our different partners and discuss what their robot is capable of so our chances of success are greater. While driving, I also have my coach or assistant driver telling me what I should look at and they warn me what the opponents are doing. Driving at competitions has been a great way

In the world of robotics, building is a key part. Without a well-constructed robot, a match could fall apart at the seams, literally. My role as a builder is to innovate and re-think designs of a robot that is already built.

However, that can get tricky.

Some struggles that I have to face as a builder include parts that do not fit, pieces that do not line up the way they’re supposed to, and too pliable metal. At times it seems like it would be easier to take the robot apart and re-build it entirely, but out of firsthand experience this is not the way to go. Now

16 Inspired

all we have to do is make the robot the best we can and keep it functioning while at the World Championship. ~Alexander, junior

FEATURE From the words of one of the competitors-Jasmine

The City of Indianapolis VEX Championship is an exhilarating event. The teamwork involved in getting a robot built is one thing, but actually successfully executing that robot is another. During the competition, the Franklin Central Auto Flashes placed 3rd overall. We went on to the final rounds, where our alliance lost in the first round. We were all feeling let down, until the awards ceremony at the end.

We sensed that we were a strong competitior for many of the awards, but we didn’t hear our team number called until the very end, for the Excellence Award.

During the competition, we excelled with an overall record of 7 wins and 1 loss. It took continued team work, modification, improvement and enthusiasm to win the Excellence Award. The Excellence Award is very prestigious, presented only to the team that exemplifies outstanding teamwork, enthusiasm, a passion for robotics, a welldocumented engineering process, and an overall successful robot.

The Excellence Award automatically qualified us for the State Championship as well as the World Championships being held in Anaheim, California in April 2014!

As a team, we have been preparing for California since we won the award in November. We have entered three competitions since, doing well in all three.

The robot has been modified and upgraded many times since, which is all a part of the design and engineering process.

-Jasmine

Express Yourself 17

WRITING

Sewing a Friendship

Illustrations and Story by Natalie, 13 7th Grade Orange County School of Arts, Visual Art Conservator Temecula, CA

The beautiful, twinkling, shining stars pulled away all wishes that were made that night by everyone, everyone, everyone. A mysterious moon twirled to other places, letting the sun have a chance to shine. The sun finished its duties on the other side of the world and rose from the hills turning into a bright sunrise and let all light come out to share its love and happiness with everything that day. All the trees smiled happier than ever for they saw the light in their faces. The flowers opened up and bloomed, the birds woke up and chirped a morning song, and the wind twirled wonderful music around in colorful circles.

“Hey, look at this! Meeka Venya is all ready for school!” the wind whispered as it traveled through the neighborhood.

Meeka always kept her long orange hair in her favorite two ponytails tied around with measuring tapes. Meeka loves school so much, that she would want to live there forever and ever. Sometimes she would forget to take her school uniform off at night and use a text book as a pillow. Every evening Meeka would happily wait until the next school day so that she could do her brain developing exercises.

Meeka, an avid science student, looked outside and said, “I wonder how much H2O will be in the air today.”

In a nearby tree Meeka imagined a reply from the mocking birds, “Nine times nine is eighty-one, that is our reading for today”, chirping in a language only a math person could understand.

18 Inspired

“Thanks,” Meeka replied.

Then she heard her mom’s voice coming from the kitchen, “M-E-E-K-A, have you finished your lunch from yesterday?”

“No, M-O-M. I am going to finish it today. I’ll be outside counting the clouds,” Meeka answered, describing her favorite way to pass time before school.

As the wind blew further to the next house, it whooshed by and thought, “There is no way that any child will be awake in this house. It’s only seven o’clock! Jonsy Jipsy is either dance sleeping or doing her morning exercises and fell asleep.”

Jonsy Jipsy, a princess of her home kingdom, adores her beautiful brown hair. She loves to sing loudly songs that she would create while belly dancing in her yellow room. Her favorite subject at school would be PE and hanging upside down on the bars. That’s why she does not like to wear dresses at any time.

Jonsy woke up from the floor that she fell onto while dancing in her sleep and ran to the window to look outside.

Jonsy, the one who feels deeply about everything, felt that the day would be perfect, just like her.

“Darling, what do you feel like eating this morning?” her dad asked as he bowed.

“I feel like a cherry with vanilla ice cream, a cup of dragon tea with a yellow umbrella, and a huge hot chocolate cake,” Jonsy sang joyfully.

“Yes my dear,” he obediently replied.

WRITING The wind hurried forward to a brown house next door, and wondered out loud about the young girl who lived there, “Kiki Shaver, why a long face?”

This girl always would wear darkcolored clothes and believed that everyone around her was always disappointed with her.

Kiki lived with her aunt and uncle in a tiny house that she does not like at all.

“I don’t even have my own room. It’s so noisy in this living room where I have to sleep every night on that old broken gray coach, that I can’t fall asleep until one o’clock in the morning,” complained Kiki to herself.

“The only thing that I enjoy doing is reading my scary books in THAT back yard,” Kiki complained as she described how she disliked the yard of her home.

Kiki looked through the kitchen window with a sad expression on her face while she thought, “I wish I had friends, but I don’t know how to make them.”

her own room, and washing the dishes, or even feeding the house hamster, even though her dad reminds her about it a billion times each day. Hmm Nina…”

Nina Key, the musician, was bouncing up and down on her bed to a rhythm, but then lost track of the squeaky beat of the bed springs, and found herself looking through the window.

“I hear music coming from outside to my heart. I’m so happy, and now I will go play my guitar. My dad won’t mind it, I think,” Nina thought. Nina was just about to pick up her guitar when her dad called her for breakfast.

As the wind flew to the end of the street, it knocked at the window and said, “Sokron Blossom, sleeping in again.”

Sokron was such a cute, nice, and tidy color loving girl. She always kept her blonde hair twirled into a ponytail, even at night. Sokron likes to spend all her free time looking through fashion magazines and drawings, and designing girly-girl outfits. She knows that pretty colorful clothes are to die for.

“Sokron! WAKE UP!!” her brother Johnny yelled from the kitchen.

“Wwhhaaatttt?” Sokron yawned in wonder. Still dreaming, she squealed, “I see pink high heels with a bright pink dress I’ve always wanted. I’m in h-e-av-e-n!”

Sokron lifted her head and bumped into the window, “Oops, that’s the window. Good morning reality.”

“Okay,” Sokron replied as she got out of her bed, dressed into her fancy blue dress with a cherry on the side, leaving her pajamas on, and rushed to school to meet up with Meeka, Jonsy, and Nina.

As the wind swished over to the next house, it stated, “Wow that looks like fun! Someone is jumping around on a bed! Ah ha ha! Someone is breaking the rules!

Ooooooohh ahhhhh. This girl, Nina, has such a messy room full of music notes, dolls, clothes and a bunch of rules written on a lot of paper by her dad. Oh, I doubt she likes to do her chores like cleaning

Express Yourself 19

Sponsored By:

MUSIC Maxwell Joseph When you identify yourself as a musician, it is easy to think of yourself as this separate entity from the general population because of the free-spirit nature you have somehow obtained in your pursuit of success in the music industry. But the best thing you can do for yourself and your career is to nip that idea. Although we may be slightly more free-spirited than the average working man, we are still all a part of a business. Whether you are a performing artist, mixing engineer, or a producer, we all have roles to play and together is what makes this industry run smoothly.

We all love the freedom that music gives us: the freedom to create, manage, and express our thoughts and beliefs in a way that can inspire people. We are truly lucky to have that ability and we should be grateful for it everyday. But no matter how much fun we have with it, always remember one thing. Music is still a job. It is a job like any other profession and sometimes it can be looked at as more challenging than most. The best piece of advice I ever heard that I would like to pass on to other aspiring musicians is “get up everyday and become better at your craft.” That sentence embodies what music and our lives as humans is all about. We have to improve ourselves daily in order to fulfill our dreams and help the world that we live in grow.

Time management is key. Being a student, working a day job, interning at The Pop Machine Recording Studio, and playing live gigs, you have to know when you are doing certain things and why you are doing them. Mapping out your priorities and always being consciously aware of what needs to be done first is 20 Inspired

the best way to not get bogged down in the massive list of things you need to accomplish. Every musician, if they want to make a living in this industry has to be willing to juggle multiple commitments at once and you have to be willing to make sacrifices for your career. I once heard someone say, “You will only go as far as you are willing to go,” and that statement holds true to this day.

I like to think that most of the people that play music do it because they love it and not for the money. Nevertheless, we all want to get a paycheck for our hard work, and we have to be smart about how we carry ourselves. In an industry that is all about how others perceive the art that we make, we have to be innovative, vigilant, and aware of the way we are marketing ourselves. We live in a world where the industry is all about networking. People don’t have the massive budgets that they used to, and amazing records can be made in your mom’s basement, so the industry really has come full circle

back to the saying “it’s all about who you know.” Once you become aware of that, the next step is to meet every single person that you can. Go to local shows, talk to other musicians, send letters to people you would love to sit down with and gain knowledge from. It can’t hurt you so the longer you wait the more you are reducing your chances from gaining access into a vault filled with life experience in this industry.

No matter which way a person chooses to approach this business, the one thing they need to always remember is to give their maximum effort all the time. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but there are a thousand other people just like you trying to do the same exact thing as you. So make yourself standout, be as innovative as you can, and remember it is your job so improve upon it every day.

Maxwell Joseph 2013 Graduate Cathedral High School

MUSIC Tubular Talent

Sponsored By:

Matthew, 15 Sophomore Fishers High School Fishers, IN

How does Chad Kohler, Assistant Band Director and Percussion Director, Fishers High School, follow up a very successful 2013 Indiana Percussion Association (IPA) Winter Percussion State Championship. He thinks outside the box. Actually boxes wasn’t what he was thinking about. Something more tubular! That was his inspiration!

A challenge was teaching 50 students how to play the musical arrangements scored by Mr. Kohler. The musical score consisted of a flurry of material relating to tubes, including a piece entitled, The Furious Pace of a Bellman’s Concussion, written by Don Barrett the music genius behind the TV series, The Family Guy.

A percussion student saw these instruments called rimbatubes on a YouTube channel and brought it to the attention of Mr. Kohler. He was intrigued.

Mr. Kohler asked if he knew anyone who could build these tubular instruments. Matthew promptly responded, “My dad is an engineer.”

Percussion is commonly referred to as “the backbone” or “the heartbeat” of a musical ensemble, often working in close collaboration with bass

A rimbatube are series of PVC pipes cut at various lengths to create a note. When you strike the opening of the PVC pipe with a flat rubber paddle, air is pushed through the pipe and creates a wonderful and alluring sound that comes from the rimbatubes. These instruments have been around for years. It was popularized by the creative Blue Man Group. They have been seen in other programs like American’s Got Talent as well as YouTube.

Bringing this idea home was easy part for Matthew, convincing his father to build 8 rimbatubes that he saw on the internet was a whole different note. Joe Bounds, an Engineer for Firestone, was up for the challenge after he was shown the video from YouTube. After a few of hours of internet research, CAD designs and several hours of production, the very first rimbatube was created. Joe Bounds presented the first rimbatube to Mr. Kohler. After a little tuning, the prototype was accepted. While the students learned their pieces of music on other percussion instruments during Saturday percussion practices. The adults began to create the additional rimbatube instruments.

22 Inspired

missing. The audience would see these tubes up front and no one would play them well into 5 minutes into the program. So after careful consideration and examination, Mr. Kohler decided to create a curtain that was sewn to hide these tubes until the finale. The rimbatube players would hide behind these instruments until their pieces were played.

In addition to the rumbatubes, Mr. Kohler created copper, steel and aluminum whined chimes. These are series of various copper pipes drilled and held up on its side to create a harmonious sound to the percussion ensemble.

Each of the marimba musicians has a set of copper bells attached to his instrument. It was very interesting to share the physics behind these students said Mr. Kohler After their first successful performance at Muncie Central High School, Mr. Kohler decided to add a tubular beginning to the start of the arrangment.

He added a 8 foot 3 inch flexible drainage pipe.

When it spins around in the air it creates a wonderful air like whisping sound. Which segued into the introduction of the metal tubes.

instruments, when present. Because of the diversity of percussive instruments, it is not uncommon to find large musical ensembles composed entirely of percussion. Rhythm, melody, and harmony are all represented in these ensembles. Keyboard percussion instruments include marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, timpani, drumset, auxiliary percussion and tubular bells.

Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation has developed a strong percussion ensemble at both Hamilton Southeastern High School and Fishers High School. These schools are members of the IPA. The IPA has chosen competition as its method for organizing youth activities in pursuit of high standards of achievement. This year the Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation has sent 80 students to these respected competitions.

The students practiced the arrangement of music over and over. However, an element to these rimbatubes was

These IPA competitions are held at various locations around the state.

The Hamilton Southeastern School

Sponsored By:

MUSIC

Corporation has placed at the top of their classes in competitions hosted at Muncie, Greenfield and Decatur. Both of the teams from Fishers High School and the percussion class from Hamilton Southeastern qualified for state competition on March 22 at Ben Davis High School.

After a busy week of rehearsal, minor performance tweaks, and a few secret surprises to awe the judges, state competition finally came to a packed gymnasium at Ben Davis. Fishers Open performed a very good show in the Open (intermediate) Class Division. Competition included the state’s very best and talented teams from New Castle, Goshen, Evansville Castle and many other talented 14 ensembles.

Next was the Scholastic World (advanced) Division. Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers World compete in the same class along side a very talented Lake Central and Lawrence North which has been climbing the ranks in area competition for the state championship. First Hamilton Southeastern played their ensembled called, Journey to the Center of the Earth.

A very moving and well played piece that included several solos. After a a very well played performance from Lawrence North, Fishers World was ready for the challenge.

Opening with the 8 foot tube being swung in the area to create an eerie and ominous sound to start the ensemble. About halfway through performance the students replace their drum sticks to play their drums with foot long PVC pipes, a new surprise for the judges. Finally surprising the judges with the rimbatubes when 16 musician jump up a start to begin to playing their finale on the rimbatubes.

All the crazy months of performance and rehearsals, comes down to several judges from IPA. The results of open class for Fishers with a bronze performance. Scholastic World results were a bronze performance from a talented Hamilton Southeastern percussion group and Fishers World taking State Championship for a second year in a row and fourth state title in the,past five years. So what does Chad Koehler follow up this tubular percussion performance?

We will have to see next February.

Express Yourself 23

WRITING Amber Kriech Indianapolis, IN

KIDS CHANGE THE WORLD I was diagnosed with a severe under jaw bite early on in middle school and was terrified of the possibility of slowly losing my ability to properly speak, eat, or drink. Such a rare condition occurs on only one in a million, with no set treatment or cure. Doctors predicted I would develop life-impeding difficulties if it was not corrected by a series of intensive treatments that could have consisted of long, painful surgeries.

It all started when I began researching my own condition online that I encountered children with split lips.

I could feel the children’s frustrations because they couldn’t speak and their hopelessness because many were abandoned on the roadside by their own families. I knew I had to do something to help these children, so I began the first Read-A-Thon in sixth grade for the Smile Train, a charity that provides free

cleft lip and palate surgery to children in developing countries around the world.

My continuous efforts in collaboration with the Smile Train have since supported over 70 cleft lip and palate surgeries.

Encouraged by the abilities of my peers and myself to make such a difference in others’ lives, in 2007, I founded Kids Change the World, a global youth-led nonprofit organization that encourages young people to serve in their own communities and funds educational programs for at-risk students around the world. Finally, this past summer, I received the greatest reward for which I ever could have wished. Never having been able to justify the travel expenses, I was awarded a scholarship from the U.S. Department of State to study in Xi’an, China, where I—for the very first time— was able to meet many of the children I have helped.

Anniversary

Making a Difference 24 Inspired

Last year, I was honored by the Power of Children Awards Program and a generous grant, which enabled Kids Change the World to support an additional four surgeries and provide nearly 1,000 books and 200 school planners to students in need. At the Awards, I met numerous extraordinary young people who continue to inspire me to serve the greater global community and give me great faith in my own generation. Ultimately, I want people to know that there is nothing more rewarding than serving others and that you’re never too young to make a difference.

Kids Change the World Website: www.kidschangetheworld.org Christopher Jericho, New York

The Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (YPII), is a signature program of the Indiana Grantmakers Alliance.

YPII provides technical assistance, educational resources, trainings, and best practices to advance youth philanthropy in the state of Indiana.

TTo learn more about YPII and become involved with youth philanthropy in Indiana contact: Jill Gordon,YPII Program Director (317) 630-5200 ext e . 116 jgor g don@indianagrantmakers.org

www.ypin.org

Look ffor us on Facebook– F “Youth Y Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana” F ow us on TTwitter @YouthPhilIN Foll Y

Express Yourself 25

LEADERS Simon Junior Elkhart Central High School Peers Project

Eleanor Roosevelt once said “When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.” With The PEERS Project, I’m given the opportunity to make a contribution; to the kids and the future of Indiana. During my sophomore year, I taught a lesson to an attentive group of 8th graders and later that evening, I was approached at a store by a student that had been in that class. He had shared with me how he thought everything we were teaching was “so cool!” and how interesting class had been that day. In addition to that, I have witnessed another student coming

26 Inspired

up to a PEERS leader after class and sharing how she believed we are all role models and even asked if they could be friends in high school. Its small things that happen such as these that remind me why I’m a leader.

The PEERS Project is important because it gives 6th, 7th and 8th graders a role model and a plan for success. It teaches the students how to set boundaries, how to choose a boyfriend or girlfriend properly, how to set goals for success, how to love, how to say “no” in necessary situations, or how to abstain from risky behavior to attain their goals. In my opinion, PEERS is a program that protects the young hearts from depression, pregnancy, heart-break, STDs, or permanent damage. Not all of these young people are fortunate enough to have a healthy role model of love or abstinence and they need a leader to guide them in the right direction. Before stepping in front of a class, I take all these guidelines as my personal responsibility. After giving my dedication and effort to the PEERS program, I have received countless smiles, compliments and gratitude from the community, students, and devoted director, Courtney Kipker.

CONTEST WINNERS

Winner of 2013 Indianapolis’ Sister City Program Cayman 7th Grade Decatur Blue Middle School

Express Yourself 27

CONTEST WINNERS Michaela 10th Grade Decatur Middle School

Emily 11th Grade Broad Ripple High School

Sydney Franklin Central

Zena Broad Ripple High School

28 Inspired

Express Yourself 29

CONTEST WINNERS Lizbeth 9th Grade Broad Ripple High School Broad Ripple, IN

Machaila 9th Grade Broad Ripple High School Broad Ripple, IN

30 Inspired

Express Yourself 31

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Making a Difference Anniversary

Grades 6–11

The Power of Children Awards is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

To date, 44 winners from 31 cities have raised millions of dollars and impacted thousands of lives around the world.

Will you be the next to be recognized?

Apply today!

2014 Call for Entries Are you, or is someone you know in Grades 6–11, making an extraordinary difference in your community?

Deborah Joy Simon

Winners receive:Trust Charitable n $2,000 Grant

n Four-year Post-secondary Educational Scholarship n Recognition in The Power of Children: Take Action area Online applications only at childrensmuseum.org/poca

Application deadline: Midnight, March 23, 2014 With additional support from The Power of Children Awards established by

Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Trust