UNICEF Kid Power in Michigan

By: Faith Wesorick

 

In the past school year my middle school formed the ONE Club and started using UNICEF Kid Power Bands. The idea came from my friend, Olivia Najarian, to start a club in support of the ONE Campaign, a nonprofit organization that fights poverty, in order to educate our students about people living in poverty and organize an effort to help them. A few of our projects included writing letters to President Obama and hosting a Beads For Life marketplace. With the help of two fantastic teachers at our school we gathered a group of about ten students. We were also able to get the help of Sarah Deflon, an active member of the ONE Campaign, and she shared the broader goals of the campaign.

 

When I told my grandma about the ONE Club at our school, she was really enthusiastic about it. She had heard about the UNICEF Kid Power Bands, and asked if our group would be interested in using them. The mission behind the bands is to get American kids active, and to feed malnourished kids around the world. Olivia and I tried the bands out for a little over a month, and decided that our group would love to use them. My grandma sponsored us and now Olivia and I, and the eleven other members of our group are actively using them.

 

The UNICEF Kid Power Bands helped us feel involved in the issue of solving child malnutrition. As one group member put it, “I thought that they were a neat way to help kids. Reaching towards getting kids active and helping others. The missions were a fun twist too.” The bands also encouraged healthy competition between our group members. It was fun to see who had the most steps and packets. Another group member said, “In the hallways and during meetings, it was interesting to see how many steps everyone completed. Even though some had a lot more than others, it was still a nice way for us to work toward a goal on a personal level and group level.” Over the approximate five months we donated 193 food packets by simply doing daily activities. Overall, it was a great experience for our group!