Youthlinc's Tips for Traveling Healthy

Tips for Traveling Healthy

Youthlinc's #1 priority is to keep our teams safe and healthy as they travel internationally.  In over 13 years of service trips, we have had very few accidents or health issues.  Make sure to follow these easy tips so you too can stay safe and sound while overseas.

While your medical mentor will be available to you as a resource and in case of any emergency, it is important that each of you bring your own supply of certain medications and other items to aid in keeping you healthy while traveling.  Bring the following:

• Any prescriptions or vitamins that you take on a regular basis (in their original containers).  If you have asthma be sure to bring your inhaler.   If you have allergies, bring an epi-pen, etc. Bring an extra prescription for drugs you MUST take. 
• Bring extra pairs of glasses. Contacts are not always feasible.
• Anti-malaria medication 
• Sunscreen and aloe vera 
• Electrolyte packets 
• Insect repellent
• Z-pack or Cipro, Pepto Bismo
• Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Benadryl
• Probiotics
• Melatonin or other sleep aid
• Hand sanitizer gel

Basic hygiene:

• Wash your hands every chance you get with anti-bacterial soap, and especially before eating. Keep your hands clean and out of your mouth!

5 Essentials before Youthlinc's March Medical Clinics

March is the month that our teams head up to the University of Utah International Travel Clinic. As you'll hear from your Team Leader:  Keeping our teams safe is Youthlinc's number 1 priority.  

Read this blog to learn more about staying safe while traveling abroad. 

Here are some essentials you should know before your upcoming medical clinics:

1. The University has partnered with Youthlinc for over a decade to provide a travel health clinic for teams, where they receive travel health-related counseling, advice and information, immunizations and prophylactic medications and advice and prescriptions for emergency medications.
2. Click here to read more about what is recommended for your site, and here for cost information.  You should contact your insurance company to find out what they will cover before coming to the medical clinic.
3. To make life easier for everyone (including yourself) on the day of your clinic, fax (801.585.2293) or e-mail your registration forms to the University of Utah asap!  If you don't have these forms, get in touch with your Team or Alum Leader.
4. On the day of your clinic at the University of Utah Hospital, you'll check in at Clinic 1.  Afterward, a doctor will give you a presentation on how to stay safe while traveling.  Then, you will get your shots/prescriptions as needed. 
• Kenya:  March 2nd-- check in starts at 8am
• Thailand:  March 9th-- check in starts at 8am
• Vietnam:  March 9th-- check in starts at noon
• Cambodia:  March 9th-- check in starts at 3pm
• Peru:  March 23rd-- check in starts at 8am
• Guatemala:  March 23rd-- check in starts at noon
• Friends and Family Vietnam:  March 23rd-- check in starts at 3pm
5. Minors:  you must have a parent/legal guardian with you, or they must call 801.581.2898 ahead of time in order to give the University of Utah permission to treat you.

After you return from your trip, you will be asked to fill out a survey administered by the University of Utah health clinic.  The objective of the survey is to explore the following self-reported travel health topics:

• Practices regarding travel-related immunization, barriers to travel-related immunization and perceived side effects 
• Preventive care practices, including use, compliance, and adverse effects of malaria prevention medications
• Exposure to potential travel-related health risk factors
• Occurrence of travel-related injuries or illness and the impact on daily activities during and up to 30 days after travel

For more health-related information, call the University International Clinic at 801.581.2898.

Our Youthlinc Teams, and the projects keeping them busy

What are our Youthlinc Teams are up to?

There is never a dull moment in Youthlinc Land!  Currently, our 2013 Teams are incredibly busy preparing for their lessons, planning cultural activities, collecting donations, and gearing up for their team fundraisers.  Below are some of the projects they'll be working on this summer:

GUATEMALA TEAM:
This year, the team will continue to help Ak’tenamit expand the campus to accommodate for the 100 new students arriving to the school. The team will be building bunk beds, painting dorms and helping expand the library. Additionally, the team will teach about environmental degradation and the importance of waste management. Before the team arrives, Guatemalans will collect trash, which will be stuffed into old plastic bottles (known as ecological bricks), which will then be used to create the infrastructure for several benches that will be used around the Ak'tenamit campus.

Due to the poor soil in the area, the folks at Ak'tenamit do not grow their own food and must import all their produce. In order to improve the self-sufficiency of Ak'tenamit, our 2013 team will help build agricultural micro-tunnels to allow for the production of food. Our Guatemala team will also be teaching microenterprise lessons and offering chickens to help a nearby village become more self-sufficient. Additionally, the team will teach 12th graders basic business lessons, and the skill of making candles.

PERU TEAM:
Our Peru Team will be returning to the small village of Yanamono II. They will complete the medical clinic that the 2011 and 2012 teams have worked on-- specifically, cement work, painting, install solar electricity and construct a bathroom. Also, during the rainy season, many folks lose access to schools, medical facilities or docks due to flooding. The team hopes to construct 2 bridges and cement sidewalks which will improve accessibility in the area, thus impacting the economy and community health. Additionally, access to clean water is a huge health issue in the region. The 2013 team hopes to orient the community to a new water filtration system purchased through a Rotary grants financed through Utah Rotary Clubs.

The 2013 team will follow up on microenterprise, animal exchange and soap co-op participants, as well as raising funds for additional small loans. There are currently 12 women or families that are diligently preparing for this project. This year's vocational training will consist of teaching sewing, and possibly making reusable menstrual pads and cloth diapers. Finally, the medical committee will offer more lessons on different diseases, nutrition, blood pressure, parasites, worms, menopause, cycle beads, STDs, prenatal care, and how to properly use cloth diapers.

THAILAND TEAM:
Our 2013 team looks forward to our new site, a small Moken community, and partnership with the Mercy Center Home and Koh Lao Moken village in Thailand. As sea nomads, the Moken people were particularly devastated after the 2004 tsunami when they lost their boats—and thus, their way of life. Moken villagers do not own land, have citizenship, or rights to travel or work. They have lived for generations without fresh water, electricity, toilets, or schools for their children.

Our team will be working to expand the Mercy Center, which is currently a home on the mainland that accommodates 26 Moken children that transport from the Koh Lao Island in order to go to Thai schools. The expansion will allow for more Moken children to have access to education. Also, the Mokens do not have prior knowledge of gardening or surviving on land. This year, our team will create a garden at the Mercy Center, and teach the children about how to grow food.

The Moken community could greatly benefit from a microenterprise livestock exchange program to improve the local economy. We hope to build a quail house for the community on the island. Also, one of the most important projects our team will work on is learning more about and preserving the history of this unique community. Finally, our 2013 team will also plan a number of cultural exchange activities, as well as develop lessons to teach the Moken community about sanitation, health care, waste management, and business.

CAMBODIA TEAM:
Our 2013 team will be partnering with Sustainable Cambodia at the Chomony Primary School, which is a new site for Youthlinc. Compared to many neighboring schools, this facility was in very poor condition. Our 2013 team will be installing water filtration systems, building a structure where students can study outdoors, creating a garden for the school to use for supplementary food, building a library, a volleyball court, and a fence surrounding the school, as well as repairing latrines.

Additionally, our team will help teach business lessons to students at Sustainable Cambodia, teach how to make candles, and raise funds for 2 families to receive cows. The team will put on health fairs, cultural activities, and conduct oral histories.

KENYA TEAM:
Our team will return to Kajuki, Kenya in 2013. Our 2013 will finish the renovation of Ntumbara nursery school, and the kitchen and dining hall. Also, the team will build a new vocational training center, which now is a three sided shack. We hope to donate sewing machines and offer sewing classes. We also hope to provide access to clean water by installing water and rain catchment systems.

The team is also raising funds for chickens for the livestock exchange, and for small business loans to members of the Catholic Women’s Association who were prepped in 2012, and will continue their preparation for receiving loans until the team arrives in 2013. The team will also do home visits and oral histories of those living in the area.
 

VIETNAM SERVICE AND FRIENDS AND FAMILY TEAMS:
We are thrilled to announce Youthlinc’s newest site, Song Cau. Song Cau is a small town nestled between Central Vietnam's highlands and the South China Sea. The villagers are still recovering from a devastating past. This area was highly affected by the war with America decades ago. Youthlinc will partner with Solidarities Jeunesses (SJ Vietnam) a French based NGO and UNESCO partner which has organized international youth service in Vietnam for a decade.

Due to long lasting economic instability, drought and poor soil conditions, and the destruction of the Vietnam war, people in this village struggle to meet their most basic needs. Youthlinc has the opportunity to enhance the quality of life in Song Cau for people who don't have the means to do it for themselves. Our team will be building simple brick and mortar homes for Song Cau's most poor, renovating two classrooms, which are in major disrepair.

Also, the people of Song Cau could greatly benefit from a microenterprise livestock exchange program to improve the local economy. We will be raising funds for cows that will be delivered to families. Finally, our team hopes to improve the health of the Song Cau community by teaching lessons about health, and outfitting a health clinic with a freezer to store vaccines, as well as providing b

2012 Accomplishments

2012 Youthlinc Service Year Team Accomplishments

153 secondary and college students have successfully completed their Service Year, mentored by 59 adult professionals to:

• Contribute a cumulative 13,376 of local service all over Utah
• Raise a cumulative $78,967 in small contributions toward in-country projects (not counting donations for construction projects from the ever generous Michel Family Foundation or Rotary International Grants provided through several Utah clubs) 
• Collect nearly $200,000 in donated school, medical, hygiene supplies and clothing.

Education Committees: 

• Oversaw the creation process, scheduling and teaching of thousands of interactive, hands-on lesson plans taught by teams in all sites. Lessons taught on general health, business development, vocational skills, cultural information and basic English.
• Raised hundreds of dollars, and supplies for thousands of educational kits which included books, pencils, pens, rulers, glue, paper, erasers, pencil sharpeners and shoes.
• Teachers worked with teachers at our sites to share good teaching practices. 

Medical Committees:

• Prepared and taught countless lessons on topics such as the skeletel and digestive systems, washing hands, transmission of diseases, wound care, respect and family life, water purification, waterborne illness, how to use water filters, CPR, deworming, HIV/Aids prevention, first aid, dental hygiene, maturation and feminine hygiene lessons.
• Conducted health fairs for the communities, offering Q&A sessions. 
• Collected and distributed hundreds of feminine hygiene kits, cycle beads, reusable pads, hundreds of basic and comprehensive first aid and hygiene kits, eye glasses, mosquito nets, and medications to help with malaria, worms, basic pain, and antibiotics. 
• Raised money to renovate medical centers, build a gravel driveway to clinic allowing it to stay open during the rainy season, and secure space for a dispensary for villagers to distribute medication. 
• Visited hospitals, and schools for mentally challenged, brainstormed ways to best help disabled populations. Fixed wheelchairs. 
• Provided oral fluoride treatments. 
• Conducted interviews within the homes of the villagers in many sites, collecting valuable information and allowing for strong connections between the team members and community.

Cultural Committees:  

• Presented history and cultural lessons to their teams before arriving to their international sites.
• Planned ceremonies performing songs and dances, poetry, get-to-know-you games, talent shows, and skits that all helped build bridges between the cultures. 
• Organized cultural exchanges such as soccer tournaments, discussion groups, and fun fairs. 
• Gathered donations for games and activities for kids in the village: jump ropes, balls of all sorts, frisbees, parachutes, and more. 
• Worked on the Mondo Art Project, exchanging art with students from each site and painting murals in every community. 
• Conducted shoe drives where thousands of shoes were donated and distributed. 
• Raised money for and provided 3 guitars for a community center, and $2,500 for bikes to give to students who were excelling academically.

Construction Committees:

• Installed 113 water filters in the homes of villagers, and followed up on families who received filters in 2011. Invested in rain water harvesting, and dug out trenches for water pipes
• Renovated 1 community center, 1 baby school, 2 primary schools, 1 secondary school, 2 medical clinics and 1 computer lab. Completed construction of 1 preschool.
• Poured cement for walking paths, sidewalks and a concrete floor for a new community dining hall
• Built, repaired, sanded and varnished furniture for schools and libraries
• Constructed two bridges and a causeway, a fish pond and chicken coop 
• Built fences, dining tables, benches, and a cement compost and fire-burning pit to help keep waste under control.
• Installed 4 solar panels and lights in school buildings.

Vocational Committees: 

• Taught business lessons on the 4 P’s of business (Product, Price, Promotion, and Placement).
• Successfully taught groups of women and students how to make soap. 
• Taught computer classes, and set up a computer network with 10 computers. 
• Worked with students to experiment with "hanging" bag gardens. Also, taught gardening classes and distributed seed starter packets. 
• Organized home visits in which members of the team would visit, interview and assess the families’ health and nutritional status.

Microenterprise Committees: 

• Fundraised for and provided hundreds of chicken, water buffalos and cows to over 65 predetermined families that will then pass along the animal’s offspring to other poor families.
• Taught traditional microfinance lessons to 8 previously selected individuals; each participant received a $233 loan to be paid back. 
• Met with the Catholic Women’s Association-- a group of 300 women preparing to start their own businesses-- to discuss how to move forward with giving loans in the future. 
• Conducted personal interviews of 12 of the poorest women in the community and interviewed last year's borrowers to hear the progress of loans given in past years.

Our Service Year teams are off to a great start! Here’s an interim report from our Team and Alum Leaders

Our Service Year teams are off to a great start! Here’s an interim report from our Team and Alum Leaders.

Local service report: Here are the cumulative hours reported by each team so far:

Cambodia: 327 hrs.

Guatemala: 852 hrs
Kenya: 632 hr
Peru: 727 hrs
Thailand: 214 hrs (meeting this weekend, so hours will be up!)
Vietnam: 241 hrs (meeting this weekend, so hours will be up!)

Top fundraisers for their trips! Good job! Hannah Bruns, Stephen Buma, Nathan Child, Alyssa Clark, Dylan Drescher, Maicy Gardner, Alexandra Glass , Brooke Burningham, Lauren Jackson, Hailey Liljenquist,  Whitney Madsen, Taylor Porges, Jenna Rule, Madison Taylor, Siri Vlasic.

Here are some comments from team and alum leaders about local service, international service planning, funny and heartwarming moments, and concerns expressed by team members about international travel.

Cambodia team:

·        Lots of funny things happen when we play a game in our team meetings.

·        Most heartwarming experience has been to see how eager the whole team is to help. All of them are excited to go above and beyond to make a difference.

·        We've had many go out of their way to make things work, but there are two that stand out: Ashlyn Perrero organized a wonderful service project for us downtown feeding the homeless, and when we found out we couldn't get downtown because of the storm, we went to our back up plan: organizing file folder games for the kids in Cambodia. Many brought supplies and helped with this but Cami Crump really went the extra mile and made tons of copies and had a big chunk of it organized.

·        All seem excited about all the international projects, but I think the playground is probably a favorite.

·        I think the only concern right now is that they get the right shots.

·        We love this team. They are truly an amazing group!

Guatemala:

• The funniest thing that has happened thus far would be at the retreat when Ruth handed out glow sticks to all of us, and as we were playing with them and making them into bracelets, one of them broke and sprayed all over Brynna's hair and onto the wall behind her. It was a surprise and everyone laughed and joked around.
• It has been great to see how already the members of this team have become good friends! Everyone seems to get along really well and make an effort to get to know everybody. This group will work extremely well together in Guatemala. 
• One person to spotlight who has gone out of his way to help out and make our team even better would be Jake Cushing from Skyline High School. He has made the effort to become friends with all of the other team members! He is always willing to help and will often volunteer to help, and he is in the top three for having completed the most service hours thus far. 
• The project that the team knows the most about would be the ecological friendly benches. That will be neat to build but the team is up for anything!
• During General Orientation in November a spider descended from the projector on the ceiling and just about landed on Clayton's head. Just about everyone in the room cried out with surprise or disgust and I warned everyone that we would be encountering spiders and insects much larger than that in Guatemala!

·       The most concerning aspects of international travel for team members would be the bugs (particularly spiders!) and the kind of food we will be eating. I'm sure that in March we'll hear a lot concerning shots and pills and such, but so far my team doesn't appear to be overly concerned.

• The Guatemala 2013 Team is awesome! We are all such good friends already and everything is going well! The students are brainstorming some great ideas and we've completed some great service projects! The team is dedicated and put their hearts into what we are doing in preparation for Guatemala!

Kenya

• Angie Nickerson shared a fun story about one of her service experiences. She was helping at an event and was dressed up in a big mascot costume, so all of the kids wanted to hug her and say hi. The head of the mascot was big though and she couldn't see our very easily so she said she kept knocking kids over when she would bend down to hug them. She said it was kind of a mess but lots of fun and all the kids still loved her! 
• The getting to know you game at the retreat was pretty funny. We played the game where you had to take 1-6 squares of toilet paper then tell that many things about yourself. There we're lots of funny things we found out about each other and everyone enjoyed Laci's explanation of her name. 
• It was really cool was when Heather Shipp shared an experience from her main service site from last week. She was supposed to prepare a 3-5 minute presentation about Backyard Broadcast to give at UVU before the main speakers took the rest of the given hour. There were miscommunications and Heather and another girl who had prepared 5 minutes we given the whole time to present. She said she was nervous at first and worried they wouldn't be able to take the whole time, and that it would be weird having two high schoolers present to college students. She said it turned out going really well, lots of kids had questions, and they were able to explain a lot and take up the needed time. It is awesome to see when people are put in situations unexpected, where they are unsure how it will be, but then to just go for it and succeed. Plus Heather is a bit of a quieter person anyway, which makes it even cooler that she is doing all this stuff! 
• Alane Gaspari went out of her way to volunteer her home for our team retreat! We almost had the whole team there. Throughout the whole night she was paying attention to everything making sure everyone had what they needed, and trying to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves. 
• Everyone seems excited about everything we are planning to do in Kenya. After the slideshow Scott showed at the retreat everyone seems especially excited to work in the schools and do stuff with the kids.
• During the Cultural Committee's meeting during the retreat,  they planned out their projects and things they wanted to be doing. It was really impressive how they were trying to consider all they people in Kenya that we would be working with. They wanted to plan cool and fun projects for the schools and people, but didn't want any group of the people there to feel left out. So they spent a lot of time coming up with meaningful projects and ways to do something for all the different groups we will be with. 
• People are slightly nervous about traveling healthy in Kenya, and also about the cold showers. Nobody really knows what to anticipate or how it will really be so everyone’s keeping an open mind! 

Peru

• At our first meeting we wrote letters to children who have life threatening illnesses through an organization called Hugs & Hope. It brought tears to eyes as we saw what these children were going through. It sure made us glad for our health and blessings. We were happy to share a little bit of happiness with them.   One of the children wrote back to Alyssa Sheehan.  She was so excited to see that one of the kids took the time to write back to her.  

·        Several members of team Peru volunteer at Real Life in Salt Lake. We saw Lisa Schneider and Lynette Duenas on Friday evening Ice Skating with the participants outside in the freezing cold weather.

·       We have been really fortunate to be hosting the daughter of our in-country coordinator, Carlos Acosta! Karla is having a great time, but since Iquitos, Peru is always warm, Karla says are winters are too frio.

• The Price-Huish family let us use of their cabin for our retreat. Cecilee (the mom) transported us all up to the cabin in freezing cold temperatures. She went above and beyond to make sure our stay was a memorable one. Rin Price-Huish has also helped so much the past couple of months with the retreat, her committee, and her service hours.  
• Everyone seems to be really excited about the Mondo Art Project and building bridges in the rainforest.  
• Some folks are worried about shots and not having communication while we are in-country but we always reassure them and let their parents know that they will be okay.

·        Of course all of our team members are most excited about their own committee. However we are happy to complete the Medical Clinic in Yanamono 2.  We are also excited to continue with the livestock exchange program.

·        Someone asked us how we were going to get the chickens to Peru.

·        Brooke Burningham and Michelle Moynihan who made their Development intern goal this year. Brooke was able to add 2,000 to Peru project funds and Michelle kindly donated her earned project funds to help boost Guatemala funds.

·        Alex Holt has contacted a few eye clinics about donating old or unwanted glasses. He has also contacted the CEOs of Ogden Regional Center and McDee Hospital about medical donations. He has also stepped up to take on mentor responsibilities and encourage his teammates.

Thailand:

• Maybe the funniest thing that has happened thus far was just the team building activity we had at our second meeting. Everyone had a great time participating in the activity. Matilda planned the activity, and brought a beach ball covered in different, creative, and interesting questions. We tossed the ball around and whoever caught it had to answer the question that was beneath their right thumb. We had a lot of fun with it, and everyone participated, even some parents who only dropped by to ask a question!
• Everyone in the group realizes how cool it is to be working with the Moken people – sea gypsies whose entire lifestyle was wiped out by the 2004 Tsunami. Similar to the Native American population in the U.S., Mokens have been relegated to ‘reservation’ like communities, where they experience extreme poverty: lack of clean water, sanitation, health care.
• The cultural committee is particularly excited. Although it took them some time to figure out that the Moken people are totally different from the Thai, I think they are extremely excited to learn about a completely different culture. 
• Our educational committee is super excited to teach the Moken children on the island, and love the challenge of developing lessons for children who have such little formal education.
• Our team, like most others, is most concerned with bugs, food, and staying healthy, but we have a pretty laid back group of participants this year. 
• It was great to have Miriam Kramer, the Youthlinc International Service Director, talk to our team about her recent site visit to Ranong and hear her information about all the projects we will be involved with in Thailand. She showed some photos, which were hard to look at, because Moken elders are in poor health. It was good though because it showed the medical committee what we will be working and dealing with once we are in Thailand this summer. 

Vietnam:

• Students have interesting local service sites and are all enthusiastic about service and willing to discuss their local service stories at meetings.
• In our getting to know you activities, we found out all kinds of unique and bizarre things about our team members. For example: one student did the highest bungee jump in the world, we have a national champion snowshoer, and many participants have had crazy broken bones!
• When everyone found out their committee assignment, the room was buzzing with the excitement. To build relationships and teach a lesson about working together, each committee was given a challenge: stack cups in three different configurations without touching them or speaking.  It seemed impossible.  The committees were given one tool to work with - a rubber band with a string for each committee member to hold.  They could only touch one string at a time, use only one hand and speak no words.  It took every committee member to figure out how to maneuver this tool in order to accomplish the task.  What were the take aways: we have to be creative problem solvers... we need to communicate in different ways... we will be working outside of our comfort zone but we need to stick with it... it will take each and every one of us giving our all to accomplish what we are setting out to do... the power of a small group centered on the same goal is infinite!
• Alyssa Clark is a real go getter.  Right after our December meeting she started assembling the school kits and the feminine hygiene kits.  She's already arranged with several different groups she works with to undertake these projects.  Her enthusiasm and energy are inspiring and contagious! She was also one of the first ones to go above and beyond and turn in her service site early and have many hours!
• Our vocational committee has already set up their first training and are learning to make soap in order to share that skill with the people of Song Cau.  
• The cultural committee is already talking about the games and activities to do at the in-country carnival.
• Bugs, food, shots, language and bathrooms always seem to be at the top of the ‘concern’ list.  By the end of trips we are sure everyone will want to install a squatter in their house in place of the boring, old, sit-down style toilet.  The Vietnam Service Team is full of energy and excitement for the journey they are undertaking.  They are eager to prepare in order to make it a successful trip.  Team meetings are flying by and before we know it we'll be on a plane to another piece of the world, trying to make a difference in the lives of others while they in fact will make the difference for us.  

2013 Young Humanitarian Award applications are available!

Announcing the 2013 Youthlinc Utah Young Humanitarian Scholarship!  

Youthlinc is excited to begin the search for the exceptional young person who will be called the 2013 Utah Young Humanitarian.  Youthlinc has organized this annual state-wide search since 2005.  The top applicants are chosen by a panel of community leaders in education, service, business, religion and politics.  Utah’s Young Humanitarian receives a $5,000 college scholarship, announced at our Annual Benefit, Saturday, May 11, 2013 at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. There are three $1,000 runner-up awards. 

We are grateful to the George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation for sponsoring this Award.

You can find the application and guidelines for the scholarship on the Youthlinc website www.youthlinc.org and click on Apply. Or you can follow this link - Apply now! (Participation in a Youthlinc program is NOT a requirement to apply.  Everyone is encouraged to apply!)

Will you be the 2013 Utah Young Humanitarian? Take a look at last year's winners to see how they served their communities. 

Lisa Moynihan - 2012 Utah Young Humanitarian Winner

Lisa, a University of Utah student working on a BA in History and an Honors Certificate, was awarded the $5,000 scholarship for being chosen as Utah's Young Humanitarian in 2012.  Lisa was the Intern for Youthlinc’s Real Life in Salt Lake City program which is a mentoring program for refugees teens.  She was also a member of the Youthlinc 2012 Peru Team traveling to Yanamono, Peru.  Lisa has been devoted to service from a young age, planning and helping with multiple school service projects in high school including organizing a school wide food drive for the Utah Food Bank in 2008. She has been a College Buddy for the Best Buddies Program which fosters friendships between students and young adults with intellectual disabilities. She also participated as a mentor in the International Rescue Committee's Youth program for two years. In 2010 she was a member of the Youthlinc Kenya team. In that year she logged over 100 local service hours before her trip to Kiamuri, Kenya.

McKenzie Weeks - finalist

 McKenzie organized a yearlong project called “Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed Mission” where the group found ordinary ways to make extraordinary differences in the lives of others.  She recognizes that often times some of the most meaningful service opportunities come as people are just going about their daily lives.  Serving is a big part of her life and has taught her how to sincerely care about the circumstances of others.  She has learned that she can always make a difference in the life of a friend, family member, leader, teacher, acquaintance, and even a stranger. 

James Baird - finalist

In 2005 James co-founded Youth Making A Difference (YMAD) and helped take 20 high school students to Northern India to work with four different orphanages. James served as a full time missionary for the LDS Church in Richmond Virginia from 2007-2009. In August 2009 he moved to Kulu India for four months and opened The Home for Peace, YMAD’s first orphanage. While there, he moved seven children into the facility, enrolled them in school, taught English, and helped build a sustainable curriculum for the orphanage. James is still very involved with YMAD and serves as an active member of the board of directors and as Country Director for summer college expeditions. 

Whitney Smith - finalist

Whitney has always enjoyed serving others and has found numerous ways to include it in her life. She raised funds to serve in El Salvador where she promoted healthy living, nutrition, and dance therapy lessons for troubled youth and orphans.  This led her to continue her service for the next few years in the Fijian Islands, Russia and Uganda. In her endeavor to fight poverty, she has found opportunities to serve locally. Last year she worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer promoting healthy living to low-income families and currently mentors African women refugees with the Salt Lake City Chapter of the International Refugee Committee. With her desire to continue living altruistically, she has since returned to school for a second bachelors degree to study nursing at the University of Utah. With a background in health, she plans to continue advocating for the less fortunate while finding opportunities to improve health education.