Leadership Project Directory
LeadNow trainees put to practice what they learn in their club meetings. Following are a variety of ideas that KidLead training grads have done in their communities. We encourage LeadNow participants to submit their projects along with photos and any publicity you gain from your leadership projects.
Warm Pajama Project, Morgan Hill, CA
LeadNow team in Morgan Hill (Silicon Valley), CA leads pajama project to help the poor. Plus, the mayor of Morgan Hill serves as a Koach for preteen leaders. Click HERE for the story.
Philadelphia Area LeadNow & LeadWell Students Raise Over $40K to Build African Well:
Click HERE for the story.
Digging Wells for Hope (Kelly Forscha)
Leader: Kelly (13)
Goal : Has raised over $50,000 and started a non-profit to benefit kids in Haiti
People : Works with a board of preteens and Trianer
Plan : We have raised over $50,000 to help dig clean water wells in Haiti. Our board is trained through LeadNow curriculum by Denise McBride, and we've sold a lot of pencils and rubber bracelets, with profits going to a partner organization that uses the money to provide clean water for people in Haiti. Click HERE for a new article in Kelly's work.
Backyard Renovation (
Leader:
Goal : To fix up our back yard so it looks nice, including installing a waterfall.
People : I am asking my mom, dad and grandpa.
Plan : We needed several equipment items, such as a wheelbarrow, shovels, truck, waterfall kit, dirt, mulch, flowers, and of course money. I called grandpa to see if we could borrow his truck. I called landscaping companies for dirt prices. I measured the hold in the backyard to see how deep it was and then we purchased enough dirt to fill it and for the flower beds. We purchased the waterfall and equipment at Lowes. We filled in the hold and installed the waterfall, and then added mulch and flowers.
Process/Challenges: The project went well and the many steps went smoothly. My team worked well together. Everyone understood what they were to do. We did not seem to face any challenges in terms of things going wrong.
Results : I think next time, I’d pick a harder project, because this one went well. Leading was fun, but it took a lot of work and skill to get everything done right.
Collecting Office Supplies for CASA (Nicholas)
Leader : Nicholas (11)
Goal : To collect office supplies for CASA, which is an organization that helps abused and neglected kids find safe homes. CASA often helps “fill in the cracks” for Family Services when they are understaffed.
People : I am asking my mom, dad and another person to help.
Plan : We needed to create some flyers and put up signs. My dad was going to do this at work as well.
Process/Challenges: We let people know that we were gathering supplies for CASA. I realized this was more work than I thought and if I had it to do over, I may have gotten more people involved or done a project that was a little smaller.
Results : People were very responsive. So far, we have over four boxes of supplies that we’re going to give to CASA.
Fixing Grandma’s Place (Jocelyn)
Leader : Jocelyn (11)
Goal : To paint my grandma’s back, front, and garage doors and mailbox.
People : I am asking 7 other people to be a part of my team.
Plan : We’ll go to Home Depot to buy supplies; lay out tarps and prime the doors, paint the doors and clean up.
Process/Challenges: We purchased the supplied on time and the idea of painting Grandma’s doors made her happy. She picked out the color. We worked well together at the start, then people began to lose interest toward the end. It trained the first day and some people were not able to come, so it was more work for fewer people. The next day it was hot, so the paint dried a little too fast.
Results : We took pictures of the beautiful, painted doors and mailbox. (We did not scan all the photos, but they looked great.) “It’s harder than it looks to be a good leader.”
Humane Society Fundraiser (Kelly)
Leader : Kelly (11)
Goal : To raise money for the Humane Society by setting up a refreshment stand.
People : I asked two of my friends to staff the stand and about eight others to help bake food.
Plan : I got as many of the resources from home and then I asked people to bake the food. My goal was to have this done on the same day as our garage sale. We needed to get food, napkins, cubs, lemonade, a table, signs, markers, paper, trash can, change, chairs and a plastic container.
Process/Challenges: Our team did three things well. We got people to bake. We cooperated with each other, helping each other. And we planned the event. I tried to have the supplied ready for the stand. Next time, I think we should make more M&M brownies because they were our biggest seller. I could have been more verbal in the beginning of our sale about what it was to do, help the Humane Society. Next time, I’d also get a solid commitment from people to be there and sell. I could have had a back-up plan, just in case someone couldn’t show up or bake.
Results : We were very close to reaching our goal of $50. We raised $49 and it was fun giving it to the Humane Society. I’d definitely do it again. I learned its good to have a back-up plan and to be organized in leading a project.
Mowing A Quadriplegic’s Lawn (Jesse)
Leader : Jesse (13)
Goal : To mow and trim a woman’s yard, who has a quadriplegic son, because her arm was in a sling.
People : I am asking 2 people be on my team.
Plan : I worked with a group of volunteers to help fix up woman’s house, who has some temporary physical challenge, whose grown son is a quadriplegic and lives in the house next to her. I realized she would not be able to do her yard work for awhile, so I plan to call her, find out when she’d like her yards mowed, and then use her equipment to do that.
Process/Challenges: I asked my brother to help mow the yard while I trimmed. I asked my mom to come and talk to the lady and encourage her while we worked. I tried calling a couple times, but someone had cut her grass the first time, so we scheduled the job. Mom enjoyed talking to the lady. We cut both yards. My brother worked hard. We found out that their trimmer was not working, so we had to do it by hand with a hand trimmer. I realized it’s good to test the equipment first and have a back up plan if needed.
Results : We made the yards look good and the woman thanked us. She has a difficult life with her husband in
Recycling At Our School (Kennedy)
Leader : Kennedy (11)
Goal : Do a recycling project at our school, instead of wasting things.
People : I am asking 3 of my friends, along with several other 5 th graders from our school. Our principal was the project supervisor.
Plan : Each 5 th grader will choose a classroom in the school. I printed a letter, telling them what we intended to do. A total of 24 fifth graders would be needed to complete the task of having 2 students assigned to collect the items in 2 rooms. We’d meet every Wednesday during recess and go to our assigned rooms. The teachers would have small tubes in their rooms for recyclables. Then we’ll have trash cans near the dumpster labeled by main groups like cans, light colored paper, etc. We needed to get some type of recycling bins. Each team member is to help make sure that each class understands why we need to recycle, what items should be recycled, and then actually get them to separate these items into appropriate containers.
Process/Challenges: We asked people to sign up and commit to helping a specific class recycle. It was challenging, getting people to separate the trash from the bottles, and put the bottles in the bin. Some of the people didn’t do their jobs, but most did and helped if someone was sick. If I had to do it again, I would have started earlier and have asked more people to help.
Results : We got a lot of things recycled and also helped people be more aware of the need to recycle. I realized that you can have fun while helping the environment.
Repairing Grandma’s Yard & Garden (Cameron)
Leader : Cameron (10)
Goal : Fill in a large hole in my Grandma’s yard and cover her old garden with wood chips.
People : I am asking 6 people to be on the team, mostly relatives.
Plan : I’m going to give the various people assignments and my mom is going to buy the wood chips and weed barrier. We’ll help each other and also trade off jobs as needed. Two of the kids I am inviting don’t get along well, so if they begin fighting, I may have to divide them into different work areas.
Process/Challenges: We finished before our deadline and Grandma was happy with our work. Toward the beginning of the project, everyone was working together. At the end, everyone was grumpy and they did their own thing. It was extremely hot, so everyone sat in the shade too much and didn’t work. Next time, I would get more involved because it was hard for me to step up and lead.
Results : We got the work done, but it wasn’t easy keeping everyone together and on task. Everyone had a little different vision. “Things don’t always go the way you plan.”
