Youth Board News and Events
Bolder Boulder 6/1/07
What do you get when you mix 75 teens, 6,000 shoelaces, and a 10K race?
The Blue Planet Run Youth Board at the Bolder Boulder, a Memorial Day road race held in Boulder, Colorado.
The Boulder chapter of the youth board teamed up with dozens of friends to pass out shoelaces and raise awareness at the 29th annual race.
"It was really cool running through Boulder and seeing at least one out of every two people wearing a BPR shoelace," said Anna Sergeeva, 16, a member of the youth board.
This year’s race drew over 50,000 people from across Colorado as well as around the world, meaning that the youth board was able to spread awareness among a wide array of ages, backgrounds, and interests.
The board used this race as a test to see if people who participate in marathons would be interested in BPR and inclined to donate. Hopefully, the teens’ efforts will be evident in the amount of donations produced in the Boulder area.
"I think this event was a great success," said Allison Wood, 17, a volunteer who helped pass out shoelaces. "By the end of the day, people would approach us and ask us about Blue Planet Run."
Fashion for a Cause 5/21/07
What better way to fundraise than to strut down the runway in summer’s
hottest looks?
Fairview High School’s Fashion for a Cause (FFC) decided that there is
not better way – the club decided to raise money and awareness for Blue
Planet Run through its annual fashion show event.
"The BPR Youth Board is always trying to take an innovative approach to fundraising," said Anna Sergeeva, 16, a member of the board and founder of FFC. "So, I thought that it would be a great idea to have the club raise money for BPR this year and be an example of the type of event other youth boards could host in their own communities."
On May 18, 2007, FFC hosted their 2nd annual fashion show at the Hotel Boulderado, located in Boulder, Colorado. The show drew over 350 people of all generations, ranging from young children to adults.
"It was great to see so many people attend the event this year," said Kristen Rothweiler, 17, a member of FFC. "Every chair in the ballroom was taken and dozens of people were even standing around the room because they didn’t have anywhere to sit!"
The event began with appetizers, jazz, and a silent auction with items donated from local vendors. When the majority of the guests had arrived, the show commenced with a magic trick performed by Fairview Senior Dylan Muzny. Shortly thereafter, Christopher Koch, the head of the BPR Youth Board, spoke about BPR, inspiring the audience to take action against the lack of safe drinking water.
"It was really interesting to hear about what BPR is doing," said Lindsay Mann, 17, a member of FFC. "It inspired me to put 110% effort in the show, because I knew that I was making a difference in the world."
The runway show featured 60 models of all sexes, shapes, and sizes. All of the outfits were borrowed from stores in the Boulder area. To finish out the night, breakdancers and singers performed for the audience.
| Teen Board
Makes Splash at PeaceJam For three days, starting on September 15th, members of the Blue Planet Run's Teen Board participated in the 10th Anniversary Conference of PeaceJam. PeaceJam is an organization providing motivated students an opportunity to discuss international issues with each other, complete service projects (this time they planted trees in a low income housing project in Denver), and become inspired by the words of Nobel Peace Laureates. "PeaceJam is incredible," said Daniel Weidlein, a junior at Fairview High School and member of the Teen Board. "It is the largest gathering of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in the world, other than the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. So it results in some of the most influential people in history leading the next generation of influential people." Our Teen Board had the honor to represent BPR at the first ever international PeaceJam conference, which resulted in the largest gathering of Nobel Peace Laureates on American soil in history. The Laureates were: President Oscar Arias, Archibishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Betty Williams, Jody Williams, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, José Ramos-Horta and Shirin Ebadi. Not only was this an inspiring and amazing opportunity for the Teen Board members, but an excellent chance to teach 3,000 empowered youth about the world's water problems and the Blue Planet Run. Over the course of the three days, more than 2,000 people, mostly teenagers, and also the laureates, received a BPR shoelace and offered their support. It was very fitting when, in the closing ceremony, the Laureates, most wearing their blue shoelace, directed a "global call to action" at the youth, asking them to address and solve the world's largest issues over the course of this next generation. The first problem which the call to action addressed was providing clean drinking water to the world. During a public talk given by the Laureates, Betty Williams said, "In the world we have so many problems, but if we have a vision we know where we're going." The PeaceJam conference lead the members of the Teen Board to realize the potential impact that an empowered group of youth can have upon the world, and encouraged us to find our true path to take our part in solving the world's water problem.
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Teen Board spreads the ribbon of peace - BPR Shoelaces are a hit everywhere
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BPR Teen Board makes a presentation for students around the world with Nobel Laureates Shirin Ebadi and her translator.
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