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Each December, the TeenWorks board gathers and votes for the project they feel embodies the spirit of TeenWorks and  community service as a whole. Originality, dedication to fundraising, and close consideration of union made materials all aided in making this year’s decision a three-way-tie. Each recipient showed passion for their project as well as a clear understanding and appreciation of the goals of TeenWorks.

Kurt Keller of Boy Scout Troop 8 presented his Eagle project to TeenWorks last March. He planned to construct 25 shadow boxes, small displays that house pictures and other mementos, for the Alzheimer’s and Dementia wing of the Lehigh County Cedarbrook Nursing Home. He intended to build a shadow box for each room so that every patient could improve his or her memory. Kurt’s goal, while ambitious, was important, and board members were impressed by his dedication to the project. What affected the TeenWorks board most of all, was Kurt’s genuine desire to better the lives of Alzheimer’s patients and their families. We know that this passion is present in his project and continues to improve the Cedarbrook community every day.

Eugene Harris came to TeenWorks this past summer with a project for the Children’s Home of Easton, an organization designed to increase youth involvement in the community. The project centered on the organizations job training program. Youth attend classes Monday-Friday mornings and learn from a curriculum that fuses in-school lessons with hands-on experience. Not only are participants in the program equipped with a skills set that prepares them for the working world, but also the ability to pursue a secondary or trade school education with the help of a counselor. The youth graduate from their training by using their new abilities to renovate a water-damaged house. The Children’s Home’s goal was to provide each young builder with the necessary tools to complete the restoration. The job training program, exemplifies one of the most important qualities to the TeenWorks board: a progressive effect on the community. By introducing youth to service projects, local job shadowing, and strong work ethic, the Children’s Home fosters the utmost pride and positivity within its own personal community as well as the community of Easton.

Megan Frey presented to the TeenWorks board this past September. One of the few Girl Scouts to ever request a grant, she planned to construct a duck pen – complete with fencing, roof, and tarp -- at the Gress Mountain Ranch. The board was immediately invested in providing a better home for the ducks, since the animals at the ranch are first rehabilitated themselves, and then used as therapy animals to help better the lives of sick individuals. However, it was not only Megan’s innovative project that impressed the board, but also her meticulous attention to finding Union made products. TeenWorks is an organization funded mostly by Unions, and so it is important to us that the youth seeking grants try to do the same. Megan’s thorough research proved to the board that she understood our cause as much as we understood hers.

TeenWorks:
TeenWorks began in 1999 as a collaborative effort between organized labor in the Lehigh Valley and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. The partnership is funded entirely by labor unions in Lehigh and Northampton Counties and allocates grants to teens executing community service projects throughout the community. Members of the TeenWorks program gain experience in leadership, board governance, planning and teamwork; accountability and responsibility; programmatic and fiscal decision making; proposal writing; instilling pride and confidence in themselves; and improving the lives of those around them.