How can you put the creativity and passion of young people to work for your cause? Learn what motivates them to take on volunteer service projects. Come hear from youths who saw a need in their community, rolled up their sleeves, and initiated innovative solutions. This workshop will inspire you to think of ways to engage youth and achieve win-win’s for them and your organization. You will hear from outstanding young volunteers and the adults who encouraged them as they discuss:
1. What kind of young person is more likely to see what should be rather than what is?
2. How do you attract them to your cause?
3. How do you motivate them to address your needs as well as their ideas?
4. What can adult volunteers and staff do to encourage and support these young volunteers?
Facilitator:
Denyse Leslie
Panelists:
Dylan Meyers – Youth
Julie Meyers – Advisor
Catie Vinch-Buck – Youth
Carrie Anne Vinch – Advisor
Winona Guo – Youth
Priya Vulchi – Youth
-
Denyse Leslie began her career in general management consulting at Towers Perrin where she focused on strategic planning with publishing and education clients. She kicked the tires and recommended changes that left clients well positioned for growth. She has led internal consulting efforts at a Fortune 10 bank and at Educational Testing Service, where she was charged to get more “D” from R&D. Denyse successfully developed the strategy that resulted in ETS’s profitable return to K12 testing.
More recently Denyse served as DiversityInc’s senior vice president for Consulting, and helped clients implement metrics-based strategies that achieved real diversity gains. She has pursued opportunities to get important stories documented and currently volunteers with Princeton’s Paul Robeson House and is working on the history of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church – celebrating its 175th year in 2015. She serves on the planning committee of Princeton Community Works.
Denyse is a member of the charter class of Yale University’s School of Organization and Management, where she received an MBA. She graduated from Middlebury College cum laude with Highest Honors for thesis work.
-
Dylan Meyers has a dream of bringing joy to as many people as possible. She and her sister Aliya began KIDS HELPING KIDS (KHK) when they realized some kids were not able to have birthday parties. Since 2013, they have been advocating that “every child deserves a birthday party.” They have shared their message at community fairs, gatherings, elementary schools, and even as guest ringmasters at the Big Apple Circus in recognition of their work. They are always seeking Party Partners to help promote their organization. They donate their KHK Birthday Baskets to the local nonprofit Every Child Valued, which gives them to families in need. The baskets contain all the materials necessary for a memorable party. More information and ways to get involved at KHK can be found at KIDSHELPINGKIDS.us or by asking Dylan directly.
In addition, in 2014 Dylan became the youngest-ever recipient of Kidsbridge Museum’s Youth Holocaust & Genocide Awareness Award for a book she wrote about her grandmother’s experiences during the Holocaust. Her book is now in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
-
Julie Meyers – There is a motto that hangs in the Meyers’s dining room: “If you want happiness—help someone.” All of the Meyers family (Julie, husband Jon, and daughters Aliya and Dylan) try to live this motto each day. Julie embodies this in her professional life as the executive director of our local Jewish Community Foundation, on the board of Women in Development, and in her most important role—as Dylan and Aliya’s mother.
While Julie has spent over a quarter century working in nonprofits, leading a Community Foundation is the perfect role for her because she is happiest helping others envision the changes they would like to see in the world—and then helping them enact those changes through philanthropy.
Julie is super proud that Dylan and Aliya are also profoundly charitable.
-
Catie Vinch-Buck is a ninth grader at The Pennington School located in Pennington. She has been an avid member of the Girl Scouts since the first grade and plans to continue throughout high school. She has earned the Cadette Service bar and has completed both her Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards. Catie plans complete her Gold award over the next three years. In addition to Girl Scouts, she rows crew for the PNRA/Mercer Girls Varsity team.
-
Carrie Anne Vinch is an environmental engineer employed by Ryder System, Inc., of Miami, Florida, as an environmental project manager for 22 years. Her focus is on petroleum tank system construction and compliance. She earned her B.S. from Boston University and her M.S. from the University of Arkansas.
She has been a Girl Scout leader for the last seven years and is currently co-leader of Girl Scout Troop 71071. She is also a member of the Lawrenceville Main Street Landscape committee. Previous volunteer associations include trustee for Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, vice president of The Pennington School Alumni Association and Villa Victoria Parents Association representative.
-
Winona Guo is the Princeton-born daughter of immigrant parents and a Princeton High School junior. In her experience as a young Asian-American female living in Singapore, China, and the United States, she became exposed to the global issues of racism, stereotyping, and bigotry. Working with underprivileged minorities in Princeton, she found the same issues exist here. She co-founded CHOOSE to provide an outlet for people from every walk of life to be able to share both positive and negative experiences regarding race. The aim is to unite and inspire the community to take action against racial division and injustice, beginning in Princeton.
In the past few years, Winona has also founded Literacy for Life, a global organization that intends to help reduce poverty through literacy, and Project Global, an international tutoring initiative to give foreign students an opportunity to learn English from native speakers. Winona has volunteered in education and construction in Amaru, Peru, currently works with Fair Trade, a global social movement, and reads to Hispanic youth at the Pannell Learning Center. Additionally, she is active on the school newspaper, yearbook, mock trial team, and district strategic planning committee, and her passions include art, piano, and erhu.
-
Priya Vulchi is a junior at Princeton High School. Her combined experiences living and traveling alone in India, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States gave her the confidence and initiative to co-found CHOOSE in the fall of 2014. By having exposure to racism in different parts of the world, Priya was able to identify it, unexpectedly, in a relatively privileged area such as Princeton. What energizes her is that people feel strongly enough about race to be willing to share their personal stories to help spread awareness. As her brother currently lives in India, Priya is inspired to think globally and hopes to extend the reach of CHOOSE beyond Princeton.
Priya’s creative endeavors range from EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) at Princeton University, multiple graphic design classes, copy editing the PHS newspaper, and writing for it and The Princeton Packet. Currently, she is also doing research on cervical cancer and founded ArtPride NJ’s Circle of Art to gain support for arts education. Her past volunteer service, including Meals on Wheels, teaching art to bilingual preschoolers at the YMCA, and teaching at a school in Guatemala City, gave her the necessary experience to launch CHOOSE.
