O Ambassadors: Oprah's Youth Movement
Oprah Winfrey, in partnership with Free the Children & Oprah's Angel Network, have announced the launch a new social change organization for youth called O Ambassadors.
This is a grass roots effort and educators and students alike are encouraged to sign-up and form their own O Ambassador chapters. The O Ambassador program hopes to have 1,000 new clubs for the 2008-2009 school year.
The program has several goals: connecting children around the world, encouraging them to be more aware about the world around them, and then empowering them to take active steps to "create lasting change by working toward the UN Millennium Development Goals."
The O Ambassador website also has a myriad of international education resources for teachers. These resources include videos, lesson plans and activities that teachers can use in their classroom. Another good site, not affiliated with the O Ambassador program, is the International Education website sponsored by the Asia Society.
It's exciting to see this new community taking shape and to see American kids looking beyond their own borders. This is similar to the goals I had for the Yahoo! For Teachers project, and it's exciting to see someone else picking up the torch and moving forward.
While there are a lot of really great organizations that are trying to connect kids and teachers, I've long held the belief that it will take money, a big brand and lots of patience to make it happen. And it looks as though Ms. Winfrey is stepping up to the challenge.
Donating money to an organization is always a leap of faith. You donate with the hope that the organization will really "do good" with your donation. I've personally worked with the Free the Children team and I can tell you with 100% certainty that they are worthy of your trust.
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