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Issue #17 | February 2019
Happy February!

It's the month of LOVE and we sure do love our Youth Venture Teams, Venturers and all of our Champions, Allies, Technical Allies, community partners and schools. Thank you for being part of the Youth Venture program and for being such important people in the lives of our students.

Another busy month included a launch, a carnival, a Youth Venture fair, a celebration, and a Changemaking Storytelling Session. Whew ! We appreciate that our Venturers keep us so busy and we wouldn't want it any other way.

We will certainly have a busy March as well as our biggest event of the year, the UWYV Spring Showcase is happening on March 14 at Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg from 5-7pm. Read all about it below! And please join us on March 14! You can register today!

As always, we appreciate you and thank you for your continued support!

~the United Way Youth Venture Team!
UWYV Spring Showcase is happening on March 14 at Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg from 5-7pm. More than 60 Venture Teams will set up and share with you their ideas and mission.

Click here for more information and to register!

This is a unique event that presents the wide-ranging, inspiring, and innovative social ventures of the engaged public school students in North Central MA. It is an opportunity for parents, teachers, business and community leaders to see how teams of young social entrepreneurs are leveraging their passion and skills to generate solutions for their school’s and community’s challenges. The event will give community members an opportunity to hear from these active Venture Teams and support their efforts, and meet other invested community members.

Please register in advance so we can plan accordingly. Suggested ticket donation of $5 each.

Click here for more information and to register!
Changemaker Champions
The Youth Venture Leadership Team of 4th and 5th graders at Fall Brook Elementary School recently presented at a Community Panel and successfully launched with $325 in seed funding.

This Team is focused on helping stray animals in Leominster by donating resources to the Leominster/Fitchburg Animal Control Officer. Through their research, the Changemaker Champions learned that the Animal Control Officer works alone and is in need of supplies. They are designing and selling their own custom buttons, and presenting him with a check so that he can purchase the items that he needs .

Congratulations, Changemaker Champions on a successful panel and launch!
The Sky View Winter Carnival is always a great success and this year was no exception. On January 26 several Youth Venture Teams from Sky View set up as vendors to raise funds for their causes and talk about their mission with all the guests and visitors at the Winter Carnival.

We are so proud of these Venture Teams who commit a full Saturday to raise awareness for their causes, network with other Venture Teams (and guests!), distribute informational materials and have some good fun in selling their products or hosting their games.

Way to go Sky View Middle School Venture Teams. We were so excited to see all of you! Great job!
Big Donations for Tiny Lives, a Youth Venture Team from Longsjo Middle School recently went to the Sterling Animal Shelter to drop off their donations of needed supplies!

They learned that just because they were young didn’t mean they couldn’t make a difference.

Way to go Team! All it takes is a tiny step to make a big difference! We are so proud of you! Keep up the great work.
This month we held our Changemaking Storytelling Session for our second cohort of Changemakers. Changemaking participants l everage storytelling as an essential vehicle to spread Changemaking momentum.

We were joined by two of the best storytelling experts we know, Vipin Thek of Ashoka and Maria Milagros of Mariamilagros.net - - who guided us all by sharing great storytelling techniques.
Sky View
Youth Venture Fair
Sky View Middle School hosted their first Youth Venture Fair. Several Sky View Venture Teams displayed information about their Teams and fundraised by selling items and offering fun activities.

All Sky View students had the opportunity to visit the Venture Team Fair during their
Workshop Periods to learn more about Youth Venture AND about all the Venture Teams currently active at their school.

Participating Teams included:
  • DC Bound: Benefits 8th grade Washington, DC trip
  • Paws for Love: Raises money for local dog shelter
  • Cool the School: Raises money to purchase ergonomic/quiet fans for Sky View classrooms
  • Literature Leaders: Provides books for kids
  • Team Girls Rock: Donates money to worldwide organizations dedicated to empowering girls
  • C is for Cure: Benefits local cancer organizations
  • Holiday Helpers: Raises money to buy toys for children with cancer
  • Love Yourself, Find Yourself: Dedicated to promoting mental health awareness and positive self-image in teens
  • Sports for Smiles: Donates gently used sports equipment to students in need
  • Sports Spreaders: Provides assistance with sports fees for students in need
  • Faith and Love for Elderly Care: Raises money to provide activities for residents of local nursing homes
  • I’m Fine, Help Me: Provides mental health resource information
Holiday Spreaders is celebrating five years as a Youth Venture Team! They have been visiting the Alzheimer residents at Leominster Crossing monthly for five years! Incredible!! They plan activities, interact with the residents and enjoy the time they spend together.

On Sunday we got to celebrate this special milestone with Holiday Spreaders and the residents they see each month. There was music, cake, refreshments and a presentation of gifts. We were honored to be a part of this event and to share in the milestone of this incredible Team!

We are so proud of you and appreciate all you do! THANK YOU!
Interested in writing for the official UWYV blog? Our audience wants to hear from YOU!

The Venturer Voice blog seeks students, Champions, Allies and community contributors to write pieces for our new official blog!

Do you have a UWYV story (or idea, event, news item) that you would like to see featured in YV Monthly?