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On Saturday, September 27th, The Awesome Do Something Club raised nearly $400 at the annual Ben Avon Fall Festival. They brought in $300 for the Live Like Lou [Gherig] Foundation and $80 for the WPA Humane Society.
Behind the brains of this operation were the creative minds of the Do Something Club. They came up with an unheard of idea to have live “Pie Your Favorite (Or Least Favorite) Teacher Auctions,” and they opened up the “PieZone” to anyone who was willing to donate $3 to whip cream their friends, family, or the DS Club members. (Jake Jaillet, Assistant PR of the club, was pied 16 times, raising $48 for the cause.)
The Do Something Club, a non-school affiliated group, has been completing social change projects since February 2013. Led by President Ethan Woodfill and Lincoln Park attendee, Vice President, Sarah Bett, the focus of the Do Something Club are causes that members care about, in a way that is different than volunteering.
“We try to make community service different to what you would expect celebrity convicts to do under court-order,” said Woodfill.
At the national level, with nearly 3 million members, Do Something Inc. (.org), is the largest organization in the country for young people and social change. Based in New York City, the motive of CEO Nancy Lublin was to make it easy for teens to get involved without ever needing an adult, money, or a car. Lublin is also the founder of Dress for Success, an organization that helps the poor get clean and nice clothes for job interviews.
Do Something even provides incentives for members. For every two campaigns one completes, they’ll send two free t-shirts. They also offer a variety of scholarships with no requirements; you just have to complete the campaign, and a winner is picked at random. In fact, Sarah Bett won $4,000 for a financial workshop she led.
“Our goal is to make the community a better place for everyone. Not just the homeless, not just the animals, not just the environment, but every aspect of the community, and ultimately, the world,” Woodfill stated.
Their passion for tackling a wide range of causes shows most through the variety of projects they’ve already completed. The Do Something Club has done nearly 30 projects over the past two years, ranging from Teens for Jeans, which is an annual clothing drive for homeless teens, community-wide cleanup projects, and many other undertakings.
Mrs.Walbush, who participated in the pie auction, said, “I did it because you kids are nice and I would agree to do anything for you, and it was for a good cause.” When asked how she felt when she personally earned more than 70 dollars to be pied, she said, “I am glad they spent more than 70 dollars because it went to a good cause. I am not glad that I smelt sour milk for the rest of the day, though.”
Miss Applegate, another pie victim, remarked that, “To be honest, I just believe in you guys. I really believe in your club and what you do, and I wanted to support that. So, it was definitely fun.”
Over the summer, Ethan helped to create a nationwide challenge as part of Do Something’s Hunt Campaign. He worked for months with Do Something to create the Trash Scavenger Hunt, an extraordinary cleanup project. This was the first time Do Something opened up the campaign-creation process to their members. “I think this was a great way to show my skills for social entrepreneurship and my passion for social change,” Ethan said. “I’ve been working with Do Something for years and I’m so glad I was able to work so closely with them.”
For the future of the Do Something Club, it does not stop there. The team looks forward to Teens for Jeans 2015, a free tutoring program for students at the elementary school, and a goal of reaching out to new members, causes, and organizations. They will be working along side the Avonworth High School Key Club to spread their passion to help charities and their community with fellow Avonworth students. The Key Club advisor, Mrs. Maisner, said, “I wish hopefully that they can co-exist and that they both can make better clubs and better people.”
The Awesome Do Something Club may have started as just a dysfunctional small group of friends, but their selfless actions have not gone unnoticed. It is about time the students took charge of their community. What about yours?
The group is 100% non-profit and are happy to accept any students that are in middle school and ready to take action.
For more information, or to join the Do Something Club, email awesomedsclub@gmail.com, visit www.awesomedosomething.weebly.com, or follow @Awesomedsclub on Twitter.
