by Yvonne Dufault
Markham District High School, Ontario, Canada

Introduction by Diane D. Painter:

During the 1999 International Teacher-Research Conference in Canada I heard Yvonne Dufault speak about leaving her high school teaching position at William Berczy Public School in Markham, Ontario, in 1989 feeling "bullied" and believing her students to be mainly self-centered individuals. Searching for a way to turn her students into caring individuals, she began an action research project to investigate what happens when adolescents engage in service-related projects designed to have them focus on others rather than themselves. Dufault shared with us her students' experiences that transformed them into caring individuals as they engaged in projects which emphasize helping others build a better society.

The "Kids Who Care" Youth Leadership Development Project is a student-led community service with over 60 local members in Ontario as well as chapters in other provinces and countries. Members share the following objectives:

• To learn about the rights and responsibilities of citizens
• To actively participate in goodwill initiatives as caring, responsible members of society
• To build bridges of understanding through meaningful partnerships
• To become positive leaders through collective, collaborative efforts
• To contribute to local communities through community service
• To promote community service as being desirable and valuable
• To be an inspiration to others, as living role models of citizenship

The "Kids Who Care" Youth Leadership Development Project has had positive life-changing impacts on all my student participants. Its intent is to expand the sphere of influence well beyond our borders towards our southern neighbors and around the world. Young people everywhere need hope and meaning in their lives. Providing youths with a sense of purpose, this leadership development project which focuses on community outreach, can be replicated throughout the world, geared to the specific needs of any given community. To spread peace throughout the world, help others and gain members on every continent is the inherent three-fold purpose of the international "Kids Who Care/Jeunes Altruistes" student-led organization. This project builds both self-esteem and teamwork. Meaningful activity helps positive global citizenship take root. Students experience first-hand the satisfaction of leaving the world a little bit better. They witness their positive impacts on others’ lives. Such rewards lead not only to the growth of the organization, but to the evolution of those involved. When youths work together for the common good with a shared vision such as"Unity in solidarity, serving those in need," an intensity of purpose plus a mission clearly articulated, understood and embraced by all participants, race relations becomes a non-issue and cultural barriers melt away.

The local group whom I help guide has won numerous awards for its service projects. Some of these projects have included the "adoption" of two Spanish-speaking children living in poverty of hurricane-torn Guatemala, pledging to support these children though their secondary school studies; raising money and goods for the Markham Pregnancy Crisis Centre; and organizing raffles and silent auctions to raise funds for numerous local and international charity causes. The accomplishments of these students are highlighted on the "Kids Who Care" website at http://www.interlog.com/~kidscare.

When I started the Kids Who Care project, I found it was best to keep matters simple. With support from an adult advisor, students determined the focus and impact of the projects. My initial pioneer group consisted of a small number of keenly interested students but more students joined as news about the projects spread by word of mouth. I found that there was tremendous interest on the part of student teachers as well as support from administration and guidance counselors. Parents and colleagues often shared interest as well as enthusiasm as the projects developed. I found it helped when adults shared rotating responsibilities for supervision. Bagged lunch meetings every two weeks appeared to be optimal for productivity. We kept our administrators informed of proposed activities through an open door policy with respect to meetings, agendas and bookkeeping, especially the monthly bank account. Other significant stakeholders were community business partners, both those who supported the activities and those who profited from them. We tapped into the specific expertise areas of consultants in boards of education, parents of students, small business entrepreneurs and local service organizations in the local community. Once sensitized to needs in their community, students were provided with the necessary tools to take action. Target areas included public speaking skills, salesmanship, multimedia presentation skills, telephone etiquette, advertising and public relations. Skills, attitudes and abilities developed in many different areas resulting in more effective raffle ticket production and sales, increased donations of prizes and services and heightened community awareness.

During the first few years of operation, our use of technology was very limited. We began with a personal approach. One parent/ teacher-supervised group walked throughout the community, making face to face contact with local business people. Students systematically gathered business cards while making a good first impression through the use of proper etiquette. At the same time, they established the legitimacy of our work as we presented letters of introduction on school letterhead, which was very important for establishing our initial base of support, until our organization became well known and accepted in the community. To this day, students still enjoy the "face to face" and "community outreach" activities best of all.

Students worked hard to maintain established business relationships as well as to pursue new contacts. They collectively composed business letters on the computers and appointed student secretaries to type agendas and minutes of meetings. Students created homemade and computer-generated posters and flyers to advertise the events. They used the phone in the school office and in the English as a Second Language or guidance room to make outgoing local calls to potential supporters and existing business partners. ESL students often had a student peer "tutor" with them to coach them successfully through the use of the telephone script which had been practiced in class. ESL students proved particularly effective in approaching businesses that operate in their first language. In Richmond Hill and Markham, Ontario, students using their competencies in Cantonese and Mandarin, for instance, successfully bridged gaps between communities gaining support where "anglophones" had failed.

Basic photography was taught as part of the media literacy program. We took "engaged" pictures of students in action for inclusion in published articles, local newspaper blurbs and the yearbook. Later we added the aspect of videotaping significant events. Now all that accumulated information has been catalogued and we have acquired FOI-POP (Freedom of Information — Protection of Privacy) release forms, enabling our Web Site development team to add photos and videoclips to our website which the students have learned to create.

Given that many businesses are now on the Internet, e-mail addresses were increasingly used, dramatically saving time and paper, to send e-mail messages asking for donations and thanking businesses for supporting the projects. In 1997, when we first set up our webpage, students were just learning basic html code. There were lots of mistakes. Less than fifty people visited the website that year. Now that the students are becoming more proficient in designing the webpage over 1200 visitors have found our website. Also, Internet users who are most likely to surf the net and find our website are generally those who are in a position to help with community outreach.

This project has appeared to teach students concepts, skills and attitudes that should help carry them successfully through life. With the help of adult facilitators, they have learned to develop effective interpersonal communication skills such as proper telephone etiquette and business letter writing. Elected leaders have learned that leadership is activity, not a title. Collaboratively, they set targets, establishing the overall objectives and direction for the group, ensuring that members clearly understood their tasks. They keep personal logs of time invested and tasks undertaken, much as a salesperson or entrepreneur would do. They set standards for behavior and performance. All members learn to "formatively" assess their strengths and weaknesses, participating in an official diagnostic survey at the beginning of the year and a "summative" one at the end. Elected leaders set the pace for the group, supervising work in progress and setting an active example of physical involvement and productivity. Student leaders monitor members’ progress, ensuring that tasks were effectively carried out in a timely friendly manner and guide members to identify local potential sponsors, dividing areas geographically. They organize committees, run meetings and set agendas. Student leaders give members regular constructive feedback, continuously making any necessary adjustments in delegation of tasks. Adult advisors give essential ongoing constructive feedback every step of the way to build self-confidence and "l’esprit du corps."

In summary, my observations are that students develop a better understanding of themselves and others while enhancing their communication skills and global awareness of the world. They learn to explore situations from multiple perspectives and discover their own special talents and strengths. My students are now more articulate, informed, respectful, responsible, resourceful learners who also possess a sense of purpose. They are self-directed, problem-based problem-solvers. Although initially hesitant, my students learned to embrace challenges as opportunity for growth and to adapt to change. Through meaningful interaction with local service groups like the Lion’s Club, The Optimist Club, the Royal Canadian Legion and the Entrepreneurial Adventure, program, they have discovered the power of the voice and of the pen way beyond the classroom.

All my students who have participated in this program have continued on in some leadership capacity elsewhere. Students who are validated and acknowledged for their positive student leadership continue to grow as positive leaders in many different fields. I have many testimonials from those who have moved through the program as well as from their parents, attesting to this fact.

Based on feedback from surveys, which I administered and reviewed, every student felt that involvement in the Kids Who Care leadership program had been worthwhile. The number and depth of skills and concepts taught depended upon the time and effort invested. This year we had approximately sixty students involved whose contributions earned them awards from different organizations for outstanding performance. Paradoxically, an additional incentive for involvement, gifted to us from the Ontario Ministry from Education, is the new mandated 40 hours of community service required by the end of secondary school studies for graduation. This Kids Who Care project directly supports the Ministry’s mandate. Projects like this are needed around the world for healthier, more caring societies. We would like to encourage schools from around the world to join us in developing positive student leaders. We hope they will write to us and tell us about what service projects they are doing in order to inspire others! Every step counts. We will link schools to our website and together we will work to make the world a better place. To visit the "Kids Who Care"/ "Jeunes Altruistes" Website, go to: http://www.interlog.com/~kidscare

To contact Yvonne Dufaut, E-mail: kidscare@interlog.com or ydufault@interlog.com or fax (905) 475-8887.

About the Author: Yvonne Dufault (B.A.) (B.Ed.) (M.Ed. in progress) has over twenty years of teaching experience in Quebec and Ontario, at both the elementary and secondary school levels. She has facilitated professional development workshops for hundreds of elementary and secondary teachers over the past six years. She is now entering her fourth year of involvement in classroom based action research. In September, 1999 she began teaching in the Moderns Department at Markham District High School in Markham, Ontario, Canada.