1 Peter 4:10 “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” Teens making a difference… The Wams Service Learning Program:

All Around Us… People are hungry… In 2012, nearly 5.3 million pounds of donated food was distributed to 149 agencies that helped feed over 99,000 people in Worcester County. That equates to feeding every person in a 20,000-person community, 5 times.

All Around Us… Families are struggling to stay in their homes… As of December 5, 2012, there were approximately 3,800 families with children and pregnant women in Massachusetts’ Emergency Assistance shelter program. 1,785 of these families were being sheltered in motels.

All Around Us… Children as young as 7 are ‘growing up’ incarcerated… Most are there for arguably minor crimes. Many come from impoverished families where early childhood development intervention and stability are hard to find. For some, the “cradle to prison pipeline” starts with their own parent(s) being in prison.

All Around Us… Teens are being targetted, bullied, made fun of, for being “different”… According to the U.S. National Institute of Health: Every 30 minutes a teenager attempts suicide due to bullying; About 47 teens are bullied every five minutes; The leading cause of death among children under the age of 14 is suicide.

All Around Us… Men, Women, and Teens are living in isolation from the rest of society… People don’t choose to struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues. Overcoming these illnesses requires an incredible amount of treatment, counseling and support.

How Can We Change This

We’ve all spent time fundraising and collecting items… And that’s Important.

But now… would you like to do more?

Everyone can turn something they love into something that makes a difference…

Under age 16: Prepare and provide lunch for build site volunteers Help with events by setting up, cleaning up, or handing out programs and welcoming attendees Over age 16: Work at build sites and/or Veteran’s homes needing ourside maintenance Shelve, sort, and help customers at ReStore Grade 5 or higher: Help out at a party at at homeless shelter Coordinate and run one party per month at a local shelter Any age: Bake a cake, provide stuffed goodie bags, etc. for monthly parties Create “birthday boxes,” for kids in shelters that cannot accommodate parties Any age CMHA purchases food cards in bulk from local supermarkets which you can sell at your local church. Supermarkets donate 5% of all sales to assist families at risk of homelessness. For more suggestions check out the WAMS website: thank you