The mission of Team Kids is to inspire and empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for community service. Young people crave the opportunity to participate and to feel they truly matter in their school and community. Ultimately, the Team Kids’ mission is to inspire today’s youth to become compassionate leaders and philanthropists of tomorrow. Team Kids helps kids, and adults, realize the power and capacity young people have to improve conditions and the lives of others in their community. Since 2001, over 21,000 Team Kids participants in Orange County public schools have contributed over $200,000 in value to local youth-serving charities. A pre-post evaluation conducted by WestEd, a leading educational research firm, has demonstrated this program’s effectiveness for promoting positive identity, community engagement, and prevention of high-risk behaviors, such as alcohol/drug use, early pregnancy, and violent behavior.
To learn more about Team Kids or to donate, visit their website . Volunteers are always welcome. Email Jtapp@teamkids.org or call 949•861•4887 to volunteer!
The Team Kids Youth Council is a group of remarkable young people committed to making a positive mark on their world.
Their commitment is evident by the fact that on an early summer morning, these teens were not found sleeping-in late, but busy making hundreds of sandwiches to be delivered to a local homeless shelter. This in fact, was just the first of several service activities they completed this day, as part of a 12 hour ‘servathon.’ In just that single day, the TKYC also volunteered their energy at Ronald McDonald House, cleaned-up a beach, wrote letters to soldiers and sick children in need of hope, and engaged in many other activities to make good happen. Learn more about TKYC and the extraordinary teens that make up this group here, or contact Jenny Heenan at jheenan@teamkids.org.
The Center for Living Peace recently had the honor of hosting the Team Kids Youth Council for part of their self-planned 12 hour ‘servathon.’ At CLP they made hundreds of sandwiches and delivered them to a local homeless shelter, and moving on to several other service activities that day.
Thank you Team Kids Youth Council for all that you do for our local community and world. You inspire us!
The results are in! Our Grand Opening Weekend service project – a community food drive – collected 190lbs of food for Orange County’s hungry. We teamed up with volunteers from Team Kids and the Second Harvest Food Bank to encourage visitors to our University Town Center to donate.
Did you know…..
1 in 6 Orange County residents are at risk of hunger. Our unemployment rate still lingering above 12% and that does not include the underemployed, those individuals whose unemployment benefits have run out, or those that have been discouraged from job seeking. Due to the high cost of living in Orange County, an income slightly above the federal poverty level would still be insufficient in helping maintain economic stability and food security, which is especially important in old age when medical costs can be overwhelming. More than a third of those at-risk of hunger in Orange County are children. Children account for 35% of the 615,000 individuals in Orange County that have to worry about going to bed hungry.
Thank you to everyone who donated, volunteered and spread the word. It is exciting to be a part of, and a part of giving back to, this wonderful community.