Mission Statement: |
To empower girls at our school, college, and in our community to advocate for climate change. An increasingly urgent issue with the rise of carbon dioxide, that has affected each of us personally. Through advocacy, tree planting events, and encouraging others to vote and use their voice, we will make our community an aware and active participant in the movement to tackle climate change. As we show all girls how to soar high and address the issues that seem impossible.
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Project Need: Climate Change (Goal Before COVID-19)
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This year, our team has decided to address the growing and urgent problem of climate change, through advocacy and service.
Each one of us has personally experienced the horrendous effects of growing carbon emissions, increased heat, and loss of biodiversity. Living in a desert, we are faced with climate change in our daily lives, and we are determined to join the movement of advocates creating change to benefit our future. We choose to tackle this problem because we have experienced dry lakes, extreme temperatures, and raging wildfires first hand. According to NASA, the warmest years on record have occurred in the past five years. The planet's average temperature has also increased approximately 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century. This heat can lead to worsening health conditions and extinction of species. Our goal is to stop this from continuing! By bringing awareness to the global effect of climate change and offering realistic solutions, we can help our community address this issue. Global climate change needs global action now. The alarm bells ought to be ringing in every capital of the world. "- John Gummer |
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Process:
Our initial plan was to tackle climate change. Our team met once a week in person, on Mondays during lunch in room S9, to discuss our project, work, and plan. Through social media, we brought awareness to the issue of climate change and encouraged everyone to vote, because by voting, we can elect leaders who will work to solve the problem of climate change. We also attended and live-streamed the California State Senate Democratic Debate for District 21, to support our coordinator who was running, and to inform our community about the candidates who were running. Our team became an official club at school, and we planned to have a table at the L.A. County Air Show and the Home and Garden Show with activities and information related to climate change.
But, our climate changed in the blink of an eye. Social distancing due to a virus has changed our lives drastically. This made us realize that our mental health is very important; regardless of how strong we try to be, we need to take time to focus on ourselves and prioritize our mental health. We are strong leaders and here we are suffering the consequences of the Stay-At-Home order. These consequences mean no graduations, no Sweet Sixteens, no celebrations. With this said, climate change is a secondary issue when many lives are being affected and when the feelings of fear, doubt, and sadness are being manifested throughout the entire world. The climate that we live in has changed for us all. We are facing a worldwide pandemic and the best way to support others through this is with words of encouragement and with words that give hope during times of crisis.
That is why we decided to host a virtual forum, using Zoom, titled, "How to Cope During Times of Crisis". Our team coordinator: Mr. Dana LaMon, who is the World Champion of Public Speaking was the keynote speaker for our event. We advertised our virtual event on social media, Google Classroom, and with the help of Girls Build and SOAR High School. Our attendees included SOAR High School students, Girls Build teams and coordinators, and other community members. We recorded this event, and shared it on social media, so everyone who was unable to attend could still be impacted by the powerful words of wisdom and hope. After our event, our team continued to share messages of hope and encouragement. We also supported our fellow Girls Build teams, such as LAPCMS Girls Build, by attending their "A Conversation with a Nuclear Engineer" virtual event. During this pandemic, our team continued to meet once a week on Mondays at 4pm, through Zoom. We continued to discuss our project, plans, and new ideas. We communicated through a group chat, as well.
We started the year with the goal to advocate for, and bring awareness to the issue of climate change. When COVID-19 began to affect our community, we knew we had to do our part to make a difference during this difficult time by providing words of wisdom, hope, and encouragement.
But, our climate changed in the blink of an eye. Social distancing due to a virus has changed our lives drastically. This made us realize that our mental health is very important; regardless of how strong we try to be, we need to take time to focus on ourselves and prioritize our mental health. We are strong leaders and here we are suffering the consequences of the Stay-At-Home order. These consequences mean no graduations, no Sweet Sixteens, no celebrations. With this said, climate change is a secondary issue when many lives are being affected and when the feelings of fear, doubt, and sadness are being manifested throughout the entire world. The climate that we live in has changed for us all. We are facing a worldwide pandemic and the best way to support others through this is with words of encouragement and with words that give hope during times of crisis.
That is why we decided to host a virtual forum, using Zoom, titled, "How to Cope During Times of Crisis". Our team coordinator: Mr. Dana LaMon, who is the World Champion of Public Speaking was the keynote speaker for our event. We advertised our virtual event on social media, Google Classroom, and with the help of Girls Build and SOAR High School. Our attendees included SOAR High School students, Girls Build teams and coordinators, and other community members. We recorded this event, and shared it on social media, so everyone who was unable to attend could still be impacted by the powerful words of wisdom and hope. After our event, our team continued to share messages of hope and encouragement. We also supported our fellow Girls Build teams, such as LAPCMS Girls Build, by attending their "A Conversation with a Nuclear Engineer" virtual event. During this pandemic, our team continued to meet once a week on Mondays at 4pm, through Zoom. We continued to discuss our project, plans, and new ideas. We communicated through a group chat, as well.
We started the year with the goal to advocate for, and bring awareness to the issue of climate change. When COVID-19 began to affect our community, we knew we had to do our part to make a difference during this difficult time by providing words of wisdom, hope, and encouragement.
Images of our Project Process: |
Link to Original (Pre-COVID-19) Project Planner:
Link to Final (including COVID-19) Project Planner:
Civic Engagement Component:
Our project includes all three Civic Engagement components of Representation, Service, and Advocacy.
We encouraged everyone to vote as we posted on social media. We also attended and live-streamed the California State Senate Democratic Debate for District 21, to keep our community informed about the candidates running for office, and to support our mentor who was running.
We served our community by volunteering at Grace Resources after schools were closed due to COVID-19. We began to see more needs in our community with the arrival of this virus, including the need to feed the homeless and keep them healthy. So, we decided to volunteer at Grace Resources to help serve food to the homeless. Due to COVID-19, new safety procedures were put into place at Grace Resources, such as: plates of food were made before serving, people receiving food did not enter the building, but made a line in front of the door, and gloves were worn at all times. Through our virtual forum event: "How to Cope During Times of Crisis" we also served students from our school, our fellow Girls Build teams, and many others by supporting everyone during this difficult time and encouraging them with words of wisdom and hope. This hopefully gave participants the skills they needed to stay positive, determined, and to hold onto faith throughout the duration of this pandemic.
Lastly, our team advocated for the necessity of addressing the issue of climate change. We did this by posting information on social media. We had planned to give out information about the effect of climate change at school and at the L.A. County Air Show and the Home and Garden Show, but these events were cancelled. We were able to advocate for addressing and solving the issue of climate change mainly through social media.
We encouraged everyone to vote as we posted on social media. We also attended and live-streamed the California State Senate Democratic Debate for District 21, to keep our community informed about the candidates running for office, and to support our mentor who was running.
We served our community by volunteering at Grace Resources after schools were closed due to COVID-19. We began to see more needs in our community with the arrival of this virus, including the need to feed the homeless and keep them healthy. So, we decided to volunteer at Grace Resources to help serve food to the homeless. Due to COVID-19, new safety procedures were put into place at Grace Resources, such as: plates of food were made before serving, people receiving food did not enter the building, but made a line in front of the door, and gloves were worn at all times. Through our virtual forum event: "How to Cope During Times of Crisis" we also served students from our school, our fellow Girls Build teams, and many others by supporting everyone during this difficult time and encouraging them with words of wisdom and hope. This hopefully gave participants the skills they needed to stay positive, determined, and to hold onto faith throughout the duration of this pandemic.
Lastly, our team advocated for the necessity of addressing the issue of climate change. We did this by posting information on social media. We had planned to give out information about the effect of climate change at school and at the L.A. County Air Show and the Home and Garden Show, but these events were cancelled. We were able to advocate for addressing and solving the issue of climate change mainly through social media.
Final Project Outcomes:
Short Term: 1. People in our community will begin to think about climate change as a real problem that needs a solution, and keep that in mind when voting.
2. Students, teachers, parents, and all people feel comforted and encouraged after attending our "Coping During Times of Crisis" virtual forum. They are determined to hold onto hope during this difficult time and persevere through this pandemic, however long it lasts. 3. Participants in our virtual forum begin to encourage others and offer their support as this pandemic continues. |
Long Term: 1. To live in a community, state, country, and world that is aware of the effects of climate change and is working to find solutions to solve this pressing issue. Voters will vote mindfully and with the issue of climate change in mind.
2. After enduring a pandemic and attending our "Coping During Times of Crisis" virtual forum, we will all be more resilient and determined. We will encourage others and offer hope and peace to those going through difficult times. |
Original Anticipated Outcomes:
Short Term:To be able to walk around school and live in a community that is aware of the effect of Climate Change. To change minds and help the young people of the Antelope Valley so that they no longer dismiss this global issue, but are informed about it and what they can do to help. We will create this impact through our project by participating in our school's weekly newscasts, which are shown to all the students, and talking about the issue of climate change and its impact. We will also provide information to all those attend our events and the events of our community partners.
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Long Term:To see a decrease of carbon dioxide in our outdoor air and classrooms. As well as an increase in trees growing in our community and biodegradable products in use. Our project will create this impact through offering realistic and sustainable solutions to the effects of climate change at our events. These include planting trees and using biodegradable items.
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Evidence:
Impact of Our Virtual EventI want to thank you for all of your words of wisdom..I just want to thank you so much for all the inspiration that you are offering us today. I can totally feel your energy and positivity and want to spread this throughout a lot of my students..Thank you so much." -forum attendee to Mr. Dana LaMon, our speaker. |
AV Press Article:
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Total Students Engaged
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Total Community Members Served
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Total Civic Engagement & Community Partners
(two partners from before COVID-19 were also partners during COVID-19, so they were not counted twice.) |
Our amazing supporters and mentors! Thank you so much, we really appreciate you!
Reflection:
This was our team's first year in the Girls Build competition. While our team may be small, we are strong, and we look forward to growing our team. While we faced some challenges this year, such as how to change our project and make it virtual, we have learned a tremendous amount and are forever grateful.
At first, it was difficult to move our project online, as we had planned to be at two major community events: the L.A. County Air Show and the Home and Garden Show. However, once we started to look around our community and started paying attention to how we were feeling, it became easy. All we had to do was focus on the need in our community. Our goal and purpose was and is the same: to serve and create positive change. We just had to create change in a different way. Instead of having a booth at a large event, doing face painting, and advocating for climate change, we began to serve food to the homeless, who are some of the most vulnerable during this pandemic. We posted useful information about grocery store hours for seniors and interesting articles about the pandemic. We began to notice that it was stressful, overwhelming, doubtful, and saddening to experience a pandemic. Thus, we hosted a virtual forum with our team coordinator: Mr. Dana LaMon as our keynote speaker. The event was titled, "Coping during times of Crisis", and it was beneficial for our team, our fellow Girls Build teams, students, adults, and all who attended.
We really enjoyed being a part of the Girls Build program and we are so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you Girls Build, L.A. Promise Fund, Mr. LaMon, Erica, our team mom, and all of our community partners and supporters! We really appreciate you. It brings us joy and a sense of purpose to be able to serve our community and make a difference. We are grateful, honored, and excited for next year!
At first, it was difficult to move our project online, as we had planned to be at two major community events: the L.A. County Air Show and the Home and Garden Show. However, once we started to look around our community and started paying attention to how we were feeling, it became easy. All we had to do was focus on the need in our community. Our goal and purpose was and is the same: to serve and create positive change. We just had to create change in a different way. Instead of having a booth at a large event, doing face painting, and advocating for climate change, we began to serve food to the homeless, who are some of the most vulnerable during this pandemic. We posted useful information about grocery store hours for seniors and interesting articles about the pandemic. We began to notice that it was stressful, overwhelming, doubtful, and saddening to experience a pandemic. Thus, we hosted a virtual forum with our team coordinator: Mr. Dana LaMon as our keynote speaker. The event was titled, "Coping during times of Crisis", and it was beneficial for our team, our fellow Girls Build teams, students, adults, and all who attended.
We really enjoyed being a part of the Girls Build program and we are so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you Girls Build, L.A. Promise Fund, Mr. LaMon, Erica, our team mom, and all of our community partners and supporters! We really appreciate you. It brings us joy and a sense of purpose to be able to serve our community and make a difference. We are grateful, honored, and excited for next year!
Final Budget:
Note: The Girls Build Grant our team received will be rolling over to next-year's project, as we continue to make an impact.
Here is the link to our budget: docs.google.com/document/d/1IHC8xFaxNcQiMuD7CO-EeSyaF_xXjo62AxNXwFt6YQ0/edit?usp=sharing
