Atlanta Teens Share Importance of Youth Philanthropy at Princeton
Princeton, NJ (PRWEB) November 15, 2014 -- Three Atlanta-based high school students participating in GivingPoint’s leadership program, the GivingPoint Institute will travel to Princeton, NJ with the organization Thursday to speak to more than 90 youth ministers about inspiring youth to give back.
The two-day conference entitled “The Abundant Life: Inspiring Youth as Agents of Change” is hosted by the Princeton Theological Seminary’s Institute for Youth Ministry and includes GivingPoint’s founder, Derek Smith, as the keynote speaker. Renowned theologians Dr. Kenda Casey Dean and Dr. David King will also speak on the question of how young people can become agents of change.
The conference will culminate with a panel of GPI students who will share their experiences as young service leaders, and explain how support from caring adults helped them deepen their own community engagement activities.
“We have a special opportunity to bring these incredible students from Atlanta to this prestigious institution so that they may share their passion for social change,” said GivingPoint Executive Director Miranda Hocevar. “We want leaders who work with youth all over the country to understand what motivates these young people to give back and the role they can play in supporting students who are concerned about the world around them. Our goal has always been to let the young people be heard.”
Askari Flewellen, a sophomore at Atlanta’s Maynard H. Jackson High School, has launched a youth service program called Get Ready. Get Set. Serve! to equip and inspire his peers to give back to their community. Uwezo Flewellen, a senior at Maynard H. Jackson High School launched Simple Math Today to provide a peer-to-peer tutoring program for middle school students struggling in math. The Lovett School’s Caroline Carr Grant is building a reading and literacy enrichment program for children, which will be administered by high school aged volunteers. Collectively these young leaders have contributed over 500 hours of community service and are eager to share their passion and vision with the conference attendees. The conference marks the first time any of these students have visited an Ivy League university.
To learn more about this unique experience or for interview opportunities with students and staff, please contact Miranda Hocevar at Miranda(at)mygivingpoint(dot)org or by calling 770.688.4324.
ABOUT GIVINGPOINT:
GivingPoint is an Atlanta-based, youth development organization that equips and motivates students, ages 13-24 to understand critical social issues, connect to local charities, track their community contributions and leverage their skills to make a difference. Today, more than 8,000 students are using GivingPoint’s customized online platform to connect to a network of 500 nonprofits, schools and donors eager to help young people create positive change. GivingPoint users have generated a $6 million charitable impact through their volunteerism and fundraising efforts. The organization was founded in 2009 with a mission to unleash the passion and energy of young people to create an unprecedented level of civic engagement – to create caring hearts and entrepreneurial minds. For more information on launching a civic engagement program within your organization, please visit MyGivingPoint.org or call 770.709.5010.
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR YOUTH MINISTRY:
Princeton Theological Seminary established the Institute for Youth Ministry in 1995, providing fertile ground where a new conversation about theologically informed youth ministry could take root and flourish. Committed to integrating theology and practice, The Institute for Youth Ministry (IYM) collaborates with church leaders, congregations, scholars, and adolescents to promote the strategic importance and practice of ministry with young people from early adolescence through college age. The IYM seeks to revitalize ministry with adolescents by helping the church integrate youth ministry into the total mission of the congregation and by encouraging a theologically rich approach to this ministry.
The IYM initiates and integrates research related to the church’s mission with young people through offering programs, events, and resources for leadership development. Princeton Theological Seminary’s professors and doctoral students intersect with the work of the IYM through research in practical theology as well as lectures at Forums and in the online classroom.
Miranda Bryen, GivingPoint, http://www.mygivingpoint.org, +1 (770) 688-4324, [email protected]
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