PERSONAL PROJECTS
By: Katrine, 14, Denmark (AKA denmagiskefe)

To make a difference in other peoples lives is a thing to which some might say "that isn’t as easy as it sounds" or "yeah...kinda cool, but how?"

When I am lying in my bed at the end of a day - I’m thinking: "tomorrow, I’ll do something good or something helpful" But the next day I’ve forgotten all about it. Or at least I think there’s more important stuff to do just then. But helping others doesn’t have to be a big deal. You can hold the door, say hi to someone you don’t usually says hello to and before you know it you’ve made someone’s day better.

Now I’m talking like I know everything about pleasing people. I don’t - but I’m trying hard to make a difference. And I like it. It’s okay for me to be special (or an outsider) if that will help another person. I am collecting money for an organization which helps immigrants, I work on a bazaar for poor children in Africa and finally I have a project in school about human rights. I am not saying that I am making a difference but at least I am trying - and that’s all it takes. Or at least to begin with.

Remember: You’re NOT making a difference by thinking in the night!

Here are some other Miss O Club members that are getting involved and making a difference…

SECOND HARVEST
By: Miranda, 11, TN (AKA ceareal1054)

Every year at my school we always do a charity project. So two weeks ago my teacher told us about the upcoming project. It was to collect canned food and send it to Second Harvest for the people in need. All of the students were very interested in donating and tried really hard to donate cans. Once the two weeks were over my fifth grade class got to count how many pounds of cans there were. It was fun. We had 24,000 pounds! We were all so happy. The next day we got to go to Second Harvest for a field trip to see what an amazing thing we did. Every poor sad person alive was joyful. I knew that if we all worked together a miracle could happen.

SAD, BUT TRUE
By: rebecca, 11, NY (AKA beccabooberry)

Thanksgiving is now behind us until next year. Most people love sitting down to a feast of turkey, cranberries, and mashed potatoes. But not everyone gets to enjoy this wonderful meal every year.

Hi. I am Rebecca and I am a junior Girl Scout from upstate New York. My troop participated in a fundraiser to help collect canned food for our local food pantry. It was so sad to here how many people in my city couldn’t afford their own groceries. I visited the pantry and heard that the volunteers were making baskets of food for Thanksgiving. I also found out that hundreds of families throughout my small city needed to get baskets and free food. It just made me so sad. It made me want to help so badly. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the hours they were open.

So I just want everyone to know, next time you sit down to dinner, be thankful for your food. Make sure you also think of the kids who are less fortunate. I hope this has convinced you what Thanksgiving really means.

FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN
By: Maddie, 11, MN (AKA 321blastoff)

My favorite way to make a difference is Feed My Starving Children. Feed My Starving Children is a local organization that packages food to send it to countries where many people die of starvation every day, like Haiti and Guatemala. My youth group goes there a lot, and we package chicken and rice meals to send to the kids. We have a lot of fun hanging out with each other while making a difference in some countries. Last time we went, we packaged over 93,000 meals! At the end of the session, we sample some of the food we’re making, and write messages to send with the packages. I feel great every time we go, and I love knowing that I just made someone’s life a little bit better.