It is easy to pass by a group of kids in the city of Allentown, and think they may be up to no good.
"They have such a negative stigma attached to them, that kids will cause problems and troubles in the city," Roberto Clemente Charter School teacher, Michael Frassetto, said.
But just like one bad apple can spoil the bunch, a few selfless gestures strung together, may just be enough to change that kind of thinking.
Student volunteer, Jazmin Tineo joined a group called United Youth to make small changes in her community.
"We're the future and I just don't want us to do all of the work when we're older," Tineo said. "I want to start now."
With help from dozens of other student volunteers from Allentown, Tineo is working to transform an alley between two buildings in the city of Allentown from a dumping ground for trash into a park.
"There used to be a burnt down house here," Norberto Dominguez of the Community Action Development Corporation of Allentown said. "Our long-term goal is to turn it into a pocket park."
The United Youth group started five years ago at the Roberto Clemente Charter School in Allentown, and has since spread to hundreds of students, willing to volunteer in the area.
"Before we started [United Youth] five years ago, there was no other group in Allentown like this," Frassetto said.
For those involved like Tineo, the hope is the movement becomes something much bigger.
"I want it to become something international," Tineo said. "I still plan to be involved in the group, but I do plan to go to college."
The group is making small changes in the city of Allentown, that are in turn inspiring big dreams.
from 69News:Home http://ift.tt/1GK0d0i
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire