UNITED AGAINST HUNGER

LET’S GIVE HOPE: United Against Hunger®

Why this Poverty Relief Campaign?

Poverty in our world today has reached epic proportions and the number of hungry people has passed the 1-billion mark. This means that one in six people – including the sick, the aged and children – go to bed desperately hungry every night. The current economic situation, combined with an increase in global food prices, severe drought and floods has had a devastating effect on the number of people who suffer from chronic and acute malnutrition.

What is Let’s Give Hope?

We think of hope as a good feeling and a desire to make a difference. As an organization hope is part of our values, dream for change and a dream for a better future. As part of our efforts to assist with global hunger alleviation, we have created our own campaign to raise money and make a real difference in the lives of ordinary South Africans by providing much needed poverty relief. Our LET’S GIVE HOPE campaign will run throughout the year but during the month of October which has been dedicated as poverty month, we will run a special drive to raise funds and feed the hungry focusing on areas in dire need food.

Our Vision

We envision a South Africa in which every child has access to the nourishment needed for an active and healthy lifestyle. We want to help the underprivileged, uplift disadvantaged communities and create a better future.

Our Purpose

We want to make a real difference in the lives of ordinary South Africans by providing the poverty relief they so desperately need. The Lets Give Hope Campaign is not a once off quick fix, but rather a long-term commitment that we as a organization have undertaken. We are dedicated to raising funds at every possible opportunity and making a sustainable difference in the lives of the underprivileged.

Lead for the campaign

First and foremost, there must be an honest need for hunger relief. While we accept that there are many worthy causes, we want to make a difference in an area that resonates within Msunduzi Municipality. As a community-based organisation we possess the expert understanding of the needs of local people; that's why we are dedicated to raising funds for our chosen cause and assist the local people with food requirement needs. We will interact with other civil society to engage with the communities by identifying an area that we can support urge local companies to partner with us.

People We May Support:

Underprivileged
Disabled
Abandoned
Abused
Orphaned
Homeless
Unemployed

Engagement for the campaign

Our culture is to drive broad scale social change for making a profound difference in our communities. The partner companies through their employees will also be expected to spend time feeding the poor. A staff volunteerism programme will linked to this campaign. We want to demonstrating that our partner companies have a huge heart and truly making a difference by not only giving money to good courses but also engage with those that are less fortunate.

YOUNG WOMEN OF CHOICE SEMINAR

Great turn out at the Young Women of Choice Seminar this past national women's day. About 45 girls from the dis-advantage communities took part in this powerful seminar and shared their daily hardships as young women growing up in todays society. A dynamic guest speaker delivered a very inspiring talk and encourage the girls to see themselves a valuable members of society. The young girls also took part group discussion focusing on topics affecting them as young women. Some girls in attendance were brave enough share their personal stories of abuse and challenges been thrown at them just because they are young women. The seminar was filled with fun and positive energy.

Later the girls were treated with some poetry and had time to miggle with other girls from the USA. The Youth of Choice Organization (YOC) gave each girl a tee shirt, folder with useful information and provided lunch for the girls. A big thank you to the YMCA which hosted the seminar and cor-ordinated the event.

The seminer ended on a very high note for the young girls now knowing their value and how much is it worth for being a young women of choice.

DO YOU WANT 2B VALUED 4 WHO YOU ARE AS A YOUNG WOMEN?

The Youth of Choice Organization in partnership with the YMCA is proud present a "Young Women of Choice Seminar" on the national women day, the 9th of August at the YMCA starting at 10am.

The theme for the seminar is "PROUD 2B ME". The aim is to encourage young women to recognize their worth, value themselves as young women and inspire them to be good positive role models in their schools and communities. The "Young Women of Choice Seminar" will be aimed at 50 grade 10 and 11 female learners chosen from a selection of schools in the Msunduzi Municipality. The reason for the focus being on females is that female suppression is still an issue in our country and it is vital that young women recognize their worth as valuable members of society.

The 50 girls will receive hig impact motivation talks from local dynamic women who have been invited as guest speakers, take part in group discussion focusing on issues affecting young women, get involve in educational activities, tee shirts carrying project theme and later take part in the talent show. The “PROUD 2B ME” project hopes to make a significant leadership impact in paving a brighter future for this young girls and also provide them with both hope and a safe environment to interact.

For those who wish to attend need to register before hand and for informatin get in touch with Nsiki or Siphokazi at the YMCA on 033 4322469

VOLUNTEER FOR YOC NOW

YOC calls for skilled and responsible volunteers to assist with the following projects as part of our Vulindlela Voluntary Programme:

• Young Woman of Choice Seminar – Proud 2B Me Project - August
• My Carrier of Choice – Carrier Guidance Expo – September
• Know Your Status Soccer Tournament. HIV/AIDS Counseling and Testing – September
• Feed the Poor – Poverty Alleviation – October
• Shoe Drive Campaign – YOC Cares – December
• Get Buck of Aids – World Aids Day Commemorative project - December

Please note that we have been receiving a number of voluntary requests and we can only take those who “fit” into our values. Visit our website for guidelines, http://www.youthofchoice.org/volunteer.html

As an emerging youth movement of choice for driving social change and a pioneer in innovation for positive social change with sustainable and high impact programmes, Youth of Choice - YOC wish to engage young people in regular volunteering and in other voluntary involvement activities such as general administration.

We are looking for Change Agents, committed volunteers for our activities for the rest of 2010. Preference will be given to volunteers willing to give their time for free and without expecting compensation.

Location: Kwazulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg
Focus areas: Education, Health, Sport and Arts & Culture
Deadline: Friday 31 July 2010

Apply now: Email admin@youthofchoice.org or call (079) 5396131 if you have any questions.

Many thanks

The YOC Team

Please forward this page to other young people that could benefit from this great opportunity.

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Disclaimer:
Successful candidates will be moderated by Youth of Choice Organization. You may also be asked to submit additional information. Youth of Choice Organization cannot guarantee that your application will be successful; final selection of volunteers is made by our board.

Youth of Choice Organization is a registered Non-profit & Public Benefit Organization: 062-075 NPO PBO 93002957. Section 18A Tax Exemption status. © Youth of Choice Organization 2010

MAKE EVERY DAY A MANDELA DAY

The Power to Change the World

67 minutes is all it takes to make a difference and change for the better, so why don't you "Make Everyday A Mandela Day". Share with us on of what you did or what you can from now on.

Yesterday the International Mandela Day called for people all over the world to devote 67 minute of their time to make the world a better place for all. The number (67) reflects the years of service Nelson Mandela devoted to his country and the world.

We are now suggesting that 67 minutes is not enough and YOC supports the slogan that says, “Make Every Day a Mandela Day”. The Youth of Choice Organization now encourages you to realize that you have the power to change the world one small step at a time. Through our “Friends Without Borders” campaign which aims to draw on the support of people to make a once donation of R67, 00 or more to the charity of their choice, the Youth of Choice Organization. Out of the goodness of your heart, your much needed contribution will help us to continue driving positive social change in our vulnerable communities.

Here is a safe and the most secured way to make such donation through our PAYPAL ACCOUNT:

Merchant Name: Jabulani Myeza
Secure Merchant Account ID: S3VS4BN896AGW

Should you require additional information, please sent us an email at info@youthofchoice.org. You are welcome to visit our website to see what we do, www.youthofchoice.org or on our blog, www.youthofchoice.blogspot.com.

It’s in your hands.

Many thanks from YOC.

Who I A'm? THE SOCIAL INNOVATOR

Back in 2004, I was just an individual determined to make a difference in my surrounding community of Pietermaritzburg and confident that I was doing the right thing. I didn’t have much experience in running projects, I didn’t have a business plan for YOC, and what seemed most important to me at the time, was to contribute towards social change. I didn’t have much money other than my savings from government. The initial funds to start the organization came from my own pocket and I had a dream of establishing my own organization some day.

After I left my professional carrier in government in 2004, I was living from hand-to-mouth, and had this vision of starting a non-profit organization to serve the developmental needs of young people. In 2005 I started doing some research on non-profit organizations and I remember at some point thinking that this might not work, even though I knew there was a need for a new progressive youth movement of choice for social change. In 2008, YOC was founded and registered as a non-profit organization. Luckily, the Msunduzi Municipality had enough faith in YOC and funded our first Aids awareness programme, same grant has extended to other two projects.


YOC has since gained a beat of momentum and now the biggest challenge is to get institutional funding to effectively run the organization. Without the confidence and support of the board members and volunteers, YOC would not be where it is today.


Now, I need to make a leap from an idealistic visionary individual to run a sustainable organization operating from an office with staff and programmes to deliver. I need your support to roll out YOC programmes, broaden the scope of their impact, and use the shared learning’s to assist more young people in the region.


I'm a transformational leader and a social innovator who speaks passionately about social change, leadership and success. I'm trained in property law and had a very successful career in government for ten years heading several transformation and change management structures. I'm currently the volunteer in chief of the organization responsible for the day to day management.

I'm looking forward to hear from you and your great ideas to assist YOC to drive social change. Sent me an email at, youthofchoice@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter, http://twitter.com/YOUTHOFCHOICE or join our Facebook Fan page, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Youth-of-Choice/318841988890?ref=ts

NELSON MANDELA DAY!

We are all free because of him.

Join our initiative to do something for change in just 67 minutes. This is a call for action for all young people to make positive social change in their community, one step at a time, just as Nelson Mandela did.

Nelson Mandela spent more than 67 years serving his community, his country, and the world at large. On Mandela Day people are called to devote just 67 minutes of their time to changing the world for the better, in a small gesture of solidarity with humanity, and in a small step towards a continuous, global movement for good.

On July 18, what will you be doing to drive positive social change? Tell us your great ideas for this day and will give you a FREE YOC Tee shirt to wear while you are out there making a difference.

Get in touch with us on 079 5396131 or email, info@youthofchoice.org