National Service-Learning Conference Empowers Florida Teens to Save Lives in Hurricanes Wake
nslc empowers fla. teens
When 2,500 people from around the world gathered last March for the 2004 National Service-Learning Conference in Orlando, they had no idea that their work would help Floridians in the wake of Hurricane Charley.
Conference attendees participated in service-learning projects organized by the ManaTEEN Club, a youth-led volunteer initiative of Volunteer Services of Manatee (Fla.) County. Participants created hurricane emergency kits, packaging hundreds of meals and flashlights to distribute to Florida residents in case of an emergency. They also identified a network of locations where residents could safely board their pets during such a crisis. Only months after the conference, Charley arrived.
“More than 900 kits were made, and they’ve all been distributed,” said Joe Follman of the Florida Alliance for Student Service, local host of the 2004 conference. “And youths are mobilizing again: Emergency volunteer operation centers run by the ManaTEEN Club are coordinating volunteer response efforts, and helping collect and distribute newly donated supplies coming in from all over the country.”
The ManaTEEN Club is the largest local youth service organization in America, with more than 13,000 members. During a period beginning 24 hours before the storm and ending 24 hours after it passed, it operated and managed the only pet evacuation facility in Manatee County. “These are pets that belong to local emergency rescue workers and senior citizens with special needs who were evacuated to human-services shelters,” said ManaTEEN President Robin Donnelly, 17.
Since the storm hit, ManaTEENs and AmeriCorps members have organized and run the Volunteer Reception Center in Arcadia, the county seat of DeSoto County, Fla., where more than 17,000 residents remain homeless. During the 10 days following the storm, the center registered, interviewed, and deployed more than 5,000 volunteers. Three-hundred-and-ten of the ManaTEENs have Community Emergency Response Team certification, having completed the 100 hours of training needed to manage such a project. “They run the effort when they’re not in school,” said Adriane LaRoza, Executive Director of Volunteer Services of Manattee County.
“Over 400 special requests from individuals, organizations, and national disaster relief agencies have been filled,” said ManaTEEN Vice President Nicki Mauriello, 17. “I joined other ManaTEENs to conduct needs assessments and deliver ice in the most rural areas of the county, where residents cannot get to the distribution centers.”
Every year, NYLC's National Service-Learning Conference has onsite projects that encourage youths to address genuine community needs. The ManaTEENs’ project is an example of youth leadership at its best. They’ve shown that all their hard work and training can be put into action at a moment’s notice — saving lives.
“The ManaTEENs are a tremendous service-learning success,” said Kathy Payne, Community Alliance Assistant Director for State Farm Insurance, a conference sponsor. “This is an excellent example of why State Farm supports service-learning. It empowers students to lead and solve community problems, now.”
