Want to change the world, but don’t know where to start? “What can just one person do?” you might ask yourself. The answer is: a lot. Read on to see how these Miss O Club members got involved and helped out. Just even helping out a neighbor makes a big difference to that one person! If you’ve made a difference in your community or volunteered, we want to know about it! Submit your story and you might get published in the Miss O Scoop.

True Story
By: Danyl, 11, NY (aka Poetm)
I go to PS 181 in the Bronx. In this school there is a team call SPIN (Supporting People In Need). It took me awhile to get into this group. I was not chosen to be in the two remaining spots of SPIN. My BFFs were. Later (after I got in) we (my school) donated $1000 to a company called Pennies for Patients. We had a new Round Table (a new group) and $1000 to donate to any good cause. We had a woman from an organization called Friends of Karen come in. Friends of Karen helps and funds children with cancer. They survive on 20% of what people donate. That means the children they fund get 80% of what we donate. We (SPIN) decided to give Friends of Karen $400. As I write this I hope it encourages you to help out…even if you do not get awarded for it.

Feeling Good
By: Jordyn, 11, GA (aka Blondiechic09)
About a year ago hurricane Katrina came. It destroyed everything in its path. Well two of my friends and I decided we weren’t going to sit around on the couch and do nothing about it. So we decided to raise money and send it to the American Red Cross center. Every Saturday we met in front of different stores and sat outside for about 5 hours to collect donations. In the end we felt really good about ourselves. It makes you feel much better inside, to be able to help others, and makes you a better person. We raised about $5,000. So in the end you get a reward for doing something good, and end up feeling good too!

Do the Famine
By: Allie, 12, CT (aka sweetstuff333)
Well it all started when I heard about the 30 Hour Famine. The 30 Hour Famine is an organization that sends food and other supplies to poor people all around the world. All you do is raise money to support it and you also have to give up eating for 30 hours. Well, I decided that it would be fun because you got to go bowling and have an all-nighter at church. Our youth pastor said that if we could raise $9,000, we could shave his head. Seriously. Well my friends and I were very excited about it and raised about $700 with my two sisters. Now this famine lasted during the school day. My friend and I made shirts that declared "DO THE FAMINE." Some of my good friends felt bad during lunchtime and decided to fast with us. That night at church, I wasn’t thinking about the children I was helping, I was thinking about bowling and watching movies. In the beginning, when I signed up, I just did it for games and a good time. After bowling, we were at the church and our youth pastor told us to sit down and watch a slide show that he made. At first he showed pictures of chocolate cake and delicious food, but then he showed us pictures of starving, hungry, malnourished children. At that moment I realized that I should be doing this for the needy and not for my entertainment. When he finished, I was stunned at how foolish I was being before. While people starved and died out there, all I could think about was having a good time. Now, I did have an awesome time but that was not what it was about. It was about them and what they need. Just before we went to sleep, our youth pastor told us that we had raised just over $10,000! It was a learning experience, and my pastor, well, let us just say he doesn’t look good bald!

If you want to help someone, don’t be shy, get some friends and do it!