Millennium Campaign Releases New Stand Up and Take Action Video

Young People,
Have you seen the new STAND UP AND TAKE ACTION Video? It's :here and remember to join the rest of the conscious world to STAND UP and TAKE ACTION to make poverty HISTORY!

Achievements in International Development Award ‘09

Know somebody who's made a real difference to the fight against global poverry? Why not nominate them for the DFID/Marie Stopes/Guardian 'Achievements in International Development Award'. Closing date Friday 24th July - http://bit.ly/BHZp2

Young People Move to Save the Planet: Flow Day of Service

An Earth Day Block Party, hosted by Step by Step http://www.stepbystepwv.org/ a community education nonprofit, was held at the Big Ugly Community Center on Saturday, April 18^th from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Students from Logan, Lincoln and Kanawha counties were joined by AmeriCorps VISTAs and Earlham College volunteers for discussions, presentations and community service. Participants and volunteers numbered over 80.

FLOW (Future Leaders of Watersheds)- http://www.stepbystepwv.org/blogs/ - participants from four sites gave short presentations about water to the public. Ric MacDowell, Director of the EPA Alternative Wastewater Demonstration Project, gave a presentation about septic tanks and wells, then led a brainstorm session that determined two pressing water issues. Youth and adults broke into two discussion groups then reported their recommendations back to the group. Community member Dale Kennedy participated in the event. “It was quite educational. I took away from it a few tid-bits about my water treatment system that I will be using.”

After an outdoor lunch, community members and youth worked on service activities, including a stream clean-up and tree planting on stream banks. Youth and volunteers waded through the creek for a half mile and picked up 236 lbs of garbage, and 75 lbs of recyclables. Mark Buchanan, with the Conservation Agency, directed the riparian (stream bank) tree planting project where volunteers planted over 150 riparian trees, including silky dogwood and tulip poplar. “It was very good thing for the community,” Kennedy commented. “A lot of the trees we have now are dying, and we needed some new life in this area.” Volunteers also interviewed 10 people and recorded their thoughts about local water issues. Project FLOW teens will use this information to create videos that highlight community concerns.

Project FLOW is a water education program that uses hands-on service learning to introduce environmental concepts, stewardship, and leadership development. This event is funded by a Learn and Serve Project FLOW grant through the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service and a West Virginia DEP Stream Partners Grant. The WVDEP’s Make it Shine Program provided supplies for the cleanup and trees were provided by the Conservation Agency. The Block Party is a combination event to celebrate FLOW Day of Service, Global Youth Service Day and Earth Day. Participating Project FLOW sites are the Big Ugly Community Center, Harts Primary, Omar Elementary, and East End Family Resource Center. Please contact Matt Walker at 304-855-5402 or mwalker@stepbystepwv.org for more information about Project FLOW or to learn more about the Big Ugly Community Center.

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