PROJECT CHANGE is a youth/adult partnership organization dedicated to promoting opportunities for youth to be engaged in, contribute to, and be satisfied members of their community.

OUR VISION PC serves as a national model for youth-powered community improvement.

OUR VALUES Our partnership is based on the following Guiding Principles

We believe that positive youth development is the key to a safe and healthy community

We believe that effective partnerships are built on trust, consensus, and a collective belief in a common purpose

We believe that giving back is a civic responsibility

   
Organization
PROJECT CHANGE is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
Leadership of PROJECT CHANGE is shared by teens and adults
All PROJECT CHANGE activities are adult-supervised
Teens who join PROJECT CHANGE benefit in some or all of the following ways:
 
Gaining leadership experience
Learning new skills
Beginning a life-long commitment to community service
Making a difference in their community
Forming connections with community leaders (who may serve as
college and/or employment references)
Achieving a greater understanding of the work that goes into sustaining a community
Developing greater empathy for other people and their circumstances
Having fun in safe, teen-planned and adult-supervised activities
Earning Student Service Learning credits
 
HISTORY


1998 PC is founded by four Sherwood High School students to provide safe social activities for teens in the Olney, Maryland area.
1999 PC receives both the National Safety Council Green Cross Award and the Greater Olney Civic Association (GOCA) Community Service Award.
2000 PC receives the Olney Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award and is awarded a grant from the MGH Health Foundation.
2001 PC launches “youth designed” website.
2002 PC obtains 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation, and receives the Montgomery County “Drawing the on Under 21 Alcohol Use” Award. PC co-sponsors the “Challenge Day” workshop at Sherwood High School.
2003 PC Co-President, Ellen Lent, receives the “Greater Olney Civic Association Citizen of the Year Award.”
2005 PC receives a Youth Venture/Youth Service America Grant to launch You Have The Power! Bullying Prevention Peer Education Program (YHTP!) which later receives local, state, and national attention. The program is featured nationally on the PBS program In the Mix. PC is awarded a Carl M. Freeman Foundation Major Grant.
2006 PC is invited to join the Olney Town Center Advisory Board and PC teen mentors are awarded Maryland General Assembly Legislative Citations in recognition of their work with YHTP!
2007 PC Executive Director, Robyn Holstein-Glass, receives the “Greater Olney Civic Association Contribution to Community Award”
2007 PC receives the Montgomery County Board of Education 11th Annual Distinguished Service to Public Education Award for its signature program, YHTP!
2007 PC is awarded the Joshua M. Freeman Tribute Grant from the Carl M. Freeman Foundation
2008 PC opens an office in Olney, MD
  GUIDING PRINCIPLES


Giving back to the community is the basis for every PC program.

We can build a better community with and for our youthby engaging teens as full and equal partners in creating and carrying out activities and programs.

Enhancing the quality of life for teens is a vital component of building and sustaining a healthy community. Improved teen lives will result in a much stronger community for residents of all ages.

Community service and philanthropy are inextricably linked and vital to the long-term health, progress and sustainability of our community.

By participating in the relationships, events, and institutions that affect their lives, teens develop and apply their capacity to transform themselves and the world around them.

  OUR COMMUNITY


Olney, Maryland was ranked #17 by CNN/Money Magazine (2007) in its annual “Best Places to Live: Top 100"

Olney is among the communities that offer “the best combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a real sense of community.”

PROJECT CHANGE believes that enjoying the benefits of living in such a great community can inspire residents to show appreciation for those benefits by “paying it forward.” Teens especially have the energy and enthusiasm to give back to their community through community service and teen leadership.<
   
Our Team

Jimena Ryan, Chair
Director of Marketing, RAFFA, P.C

Karen Nakamura, Treasurer
CPA, L & M Produce

Stephanie Bryn, MPH
Capt., US Public Health Service; Child, Adolescent and Family Health
HRSA/Maternal and Child Health Bureau

Helene Rosenheim
Olney Community Liaison, Montgomery County Regional Services Center

Student Members
Kevin Takiar
Cassie Welch

Chris Toppe, PhD,
Senior Manager Nonprofit Strategy and Consulting
RAFFA, P.C.

Charles Rahmat Woods
Jazz Performer; Owner, Rahmat Shabazz Publishing

David Hickson
Head, Upper School, Sandy Spring Friends School

Mary Somers
Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School


CALL FOR BOARD NOMINATIONS- 3 Seats Open
Skills Needed: Legal, Fundraising, Nonprofit Volunteer Management

PROJECT CHANGE Executive Staff

Robyn Holstein-Glass, Executive Director

Dorothy Kane, Program Manager

PROJECT CHANGE Youth Leadership

Josh DeMoya, President

Claire Hernandez, Vice President

   
home  |  fyi  |  yhtp!  |  helping PC  | about us  | events |  contact us | message board  •  ©2010 ProjectChange