White House awards ‘Champions of Change’

WEEK 13: YOUTH GREENING SCHOOLS

“The strength of America’s clean energy future depends on the dedication of our future leaders. All across the country young people are taking initiative in their schools and communities to teach others about the importance of environmental stewardship, energy conservation and reducing waste. This week’s series showcases young leaders that have committed themselves to making their schools and communities more sustainable. From teens teaching school-children about environmental issues, to primary school kids starting school gardens, these Champions of Change are inspiring the adults around them by greening their schools and communities.” -White House

On Friday, July 8, 2011, the White House, Office of Public Engagement, hosted a video conference with IDEAS and 5 youth leaders across the U.S.  Kal Penn, the famous actor and now Associate Director of Public Engagement, was representing the White House and gave us the opportunity to tell our story and share the challenges and best practices in creating a youth environmental movement.

Representing IDEAS was Ryan George, Ryan Harrigan, Henry Harding, Stanton McCreary, Clayton Ferrara, Beverly Sanchez, Chris Castro, Alexandra Kennedy, Bandar Al Zamil and Zak Marimon.

Throughout the call, we answered questions about the youth movement, from our history and initial catalyst into this movement to the best practices learned based on the challenges we faced.

 IDEAS was showcased on the WhiteHouse.gov website through the Office of Public Engagement! We hope to continue expanding this movement with the help of the other youth leaders involved! Keep up the great work and let’s keep building the IDEAS of our future!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions/green-schools/university-of-central-florida

UCF.edu homepage, UCF Today and UCF News & Information cover the story!