Young Supporters Come up Big for Centre 507
June 23, 2005
U.S. EMBASSY TEENS SHOW WHAT COMMUNITY REALLY MEANS
Giving up time on Sunday mornings might not seem like a choice most teenagers would make. But the teenage children of United States Embassy staff aren’t your typical teens.
“These kids move around a lot with their families. So they understand that supporting a community is important no matter where you happen to be”, says Deborah Stillman, co-community liaison office coordinator with the U.S. Embassy. She and her colleague Donna Groves approached Centre 507 last spring looking for a way the teens could give something back to their temporary community in Ottawa.
“It was very easy to work with Centre 507. We were encouraged to contribute any way we could”, Stillman says. That contribution turned out to be semi-regular Sunday morning sandwich making. About a dozen teens are part of the group.
It wasn’t long before the teens began looking for other ways to contribute.
“After talking to Tracy [Davidson, Centre 507 Manager], the kids realized how important bus tickets are to the participants. So they decided to plan some fundraising”.
Traditional ideas like a bake sale have been floated, and the teens are hoping to offer Embassy staff a babysitting service where children could be dropped off for a movie night.
“You really have to touch a chord with teenagers if you want to motivate them. Centre 507 has done that”, Stillman says.
