Spark a Change
Teens can spark change in their communities and their world by getting involved. This could be through a volunteer project or just by making changes in their own daily lives. This section will help you help teens spark change in their lives and their world.
Small Changes Display
The CSLP Teen Manual (p. 101) recommends creating a Small Changes Display, which can give teens ideas about how they can make small changes to help the environment. They suggest involving teens in making handouts with tips on how to help the environment. You could also make handouts identifying ways to make changes at both the local and global level. As opposed to handouts, the manual also notes that you might make this information available online in order to reduce paper waste.
Another idea along this line would be to use this as a crowd-sourcing opportunity on your library's Facebook page. Once a week you could ask patrons to share ways that they have helped the environment this week (recycled, rode a bike, remembered reusable shopping bags, etc.). In addition, instead of making the display in your library one that you create, you could make it interactive. Get the ball rolling by writing a few ideas on your poster, but then have markers available for teens to add their own ideas for sparking environmental change to the poster.
Another idea along this line would be to use this as a crowd-sourcing opportunity on your library's Facebook page. Once a week you could ask patrons to share ways that they have helped the environment this week (recycled, rode a bike, remembered reusable shopping bags, etc.). In addition, instead of making the display in your library one that you create, you could make it interactive. Get the ball rolling by writing a few ideas on your poster, but then have markers available for teens to add their own ideas for sparking environmental change to the poster.
Pay It Forward
Based on the novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde and the movie, this idea from the CSLP Teen Manual (p. 103) recommends encouraging teens to offer small acts of kindness in their community. There are great ideas here like mowing a neighbor's lawn, paying for the drive-thru bill of the person behind you, helping and elderly neighbor, and returning shopping carts at the grocery store, among others. The manual includes Pay It Forward cards that teens can give out to their act-of-kindness recipient, and then creating a paper chain at the library to have a visual representation of all the pay it forward actions in the community. All great ideas!
*If you like this idea and want to expand it even further, you could also have teens "Kind Bomb" your library. This awesome idea from the Mama Scout blog involves writing nice notes and hiding them in books at the library. They may be found today, they may not be found for a year, but when they are, the notes sure to make someone's day!
*If you like this idea and want to expand it even further, you could also have teens "Kind Bomb" your library. This awesome idea from the Mama Scout blog involves writing nice notes and hiding them in books at the library. They may be found today, they may not be found for a year, but when they are, the notes sure to make someone's day!
Volunteer Fair
Hosting a Volunteer Fair is a awesome library event. As the manual notes on page 105, it is the "perfect way to bring your teens and the community together to match interests and needs." This is a role the library was born to play--we know how to gather information and how to share it with people.
In Council Bluffs, we hosted a fabulous Volunteer Fair a couple of years ago. For more information on that event, visit the now defunct YShush? Adventures in Youth Services Librarianship blog.
In Council Bluffs, we hosted a fabulous Volunteer Fair a couple of years ago. For more information on that event, visit the now defunct YShush? Adventures in Youth Services Librarianship blog.