Issue #39 | May 2021
Hello Changemakers - from all of us here at United Way Youth Venture/Changemaking and the Portrait of a Graduate team.

Our Elementary School Venture Teams have been moving and shaking! Three Teams have launched this month!

We have been hard at work preparing the videos from the Healthy Minds Virtual Youth Conference sessions and they will soon be available on our YouTube channel and at our website.

Once again we wish to thank all of our sponsors, presenters, moderators, volunteers, student attendees, families, teachers and community members who helped make this event such a HUGE success! THANK YOU!

Be sure to click on the sponsor logos, below, to visit their web pages.

~the United Way Youth Venture Team!
Reingold Roadrunners, Reingold Elementary School

This group of third and fourth grade students wanted to help members of their community that were in need. They recognized that due to the pandemic, the number of people in need was rising. They took a special interest in helping families and senior citizens. They reached out to Ginny’s Helping Hand to see what supplies were running low. Socks for kids and toiletries of all kinds were in great demand. The students will place boxes at all the entrances of the school and collect items for one week. They hope to collect a good amount of socks and hundreds of toiletries to help people in need all over North Central Massachusetts.

They're off to a great start having created some fun flyers! Thank you to UWYV Champion Greg Wironen for his dedication to these students and in supporting their Venture. Thank you to Jon Thompson and Donna Toothaker for sitting on their Panel and hearing their project idea and providing feedback and encouragement.
South Street Changemakers, South Street Elementary School

The students of the South Street Changemakers Team wanted to help homeless animals. After researching how they could help locally, they decided to raise money to help buy beds and pay for medical care for animals being assisted by the Animal Control Officer in Fitchburg and Leominster. To raise these funds, the students duct tape their principal to a wall in a Covid-safe manner. This "fun" fundraiser provided a great opportunity for students and staff to participate whether in person or remotely.

Thank you to Champion Jenna Roberts for guiding and supporting this Team. Thank you to Melissa Beaulac, Sally Craigen, Michelle Crowell, and Jon Thompson for taking time out of your day to be a panelist. Your feedback and insight was invaluable to these students.
Crocker Cubs Care, Crocker Elementary School

The Youth Venture Team at Crocker Elementary School also chose to help homeless animals and to do this they were going to raise money by selling masks. After a few logistical hurdles, the Team quickly shifted to collecting canned food and clean towels to donate. This group of students worked throughout the year juggling both remote and in-person learning, and came up with a plan that would include all students while being Covid-safe. The students' goal is to collect 300 clean towels and canned food items to donate to the Fitchburg/Leominster Animal Control Officer.

Thank you to Champion Debra Jeffries for your support of these students in creating their Venture. Thank you to Melissa Beaulac, Jon Thompson and Donna Toothaker for listening to this Team's project idea and providing insight and encouragement.
We look forward to attending the virtual United Way Thank You Event, on May 9, when we'll announce the UWYV Scholarships to three very deserving graduating seniors.

UWNCM is so grateful for the steadfast generosity of our donors throughout our 2020 campaign year. Together, we rose to the occasion like never before to bring relief to countless people in need who were impacted by the COVDI-19 pandemic. As we begin to reimagine and rebuild an even stronger community, we are thankful for your continued partnership.

We hope you will join us for a special virtual event to thank you for all of your support. The event will include featured speakers, fun contests (and prizes!), polls, and award presentations to local companies in recognition of all they do for the community and scholarship awards to impressive local students.
While we had anticipated having a virtual event in June to recognize students and Changemakers, as well as to reveal the Portrait of a Graduate - - we heard from our partners who shared that during this busy time, an event might be unwelcome for students, families, educators and community members.

We recognize that our stakeholders contributed valuable ideas and we want them to know that they have been heard. As such we invited students to help us convey those ideas through a social media video series that is launching in June. Stay tuned for more information. You won't want to miss it!
Thank you,
Healthy Minds Sponsors!
Changemakers



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