Aiken Students Stepping Up!

Getting the ball rolling for a Service Challenge Project is the first obstacle that many schools have to overcome; the next is sticking to the plan and adjusting it along the way. Aiken had major adjustments when issues arose due to factors out of the students control. Because of this the students knew what they had to do to make their “SPARK Sierra” project happen. “SPARK for Sierra” is aimed at raising funds to build a new school in Sierra Leone, Africa. With a goal to raise $4,400  Aiken came together, stepped up, took the initiative and follow through to be able to build this new school.

The students realized that one fundraising event wouldn’t be enough to help them reach their goal. They got creative and decided on three major opportunities to help raise enough money for the new school in Africa. Events included:

• “Change for Change”: where they coordinated, collected and counted the money throughout the month of November.
• “Adopt a Door”: where the staff had to pick a specific piece of building to pay for the new school.
• “Aiken 5K”: The last event that will be taking place is a 5K this Friday, March 27^th. The walk-a-thon is a representation of how many miles the students would have to walk if the school isn’t built. They are asking $10 donations to sponsor a student in the walk-a-thon, you can donate here at: http://anticipatechange.com/rw/aiken-largo/.

Thank you for inspiring our  communities to come together and make a difference Aiken! Be sure to check out our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! pages this Friday, March 27th as we visit Aiken and take part in their 5k. You can see all the projects that have taken place by looking up #AMFChallenge!

Shelbi Felblinger

Experience Intern

“Where Are They Now” Wednesday: Logan Frederick

Today we will be featuring Logan Frederick, a 2014 Scholarship Fund recipient. This is what we found out about Logan nearly a year after receiving her $20,000 scholarship:

About Logan

She was a 2014 Clinton-Massie High School graduate and is a current student at Wright State University studying nursing with a 3.3 GPA. When Logan is not studying hard, she enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, who is from England and who she met him a day after the Scholarship Dinner at the Christian summer camp they worked at together. She also enjoys reading the Divergent series, watching Grey’s Anatomy, running, listening to music, and hanging out with or talking to friends and loved ones.

Logan with her brother and Anthony during the ceremony where she received her scholarship.

Why You Should Apply

This is what Logan had to say about the impact of the scholarship on her life:

“I am so blessed to be an award-winning recipient of the Anthony Muñoz Foundation Scholarship. The $20,000 scholarship has impacted me immensely and has given me a chance to further my education. My goal of being a nurse is now more attainable than if I hadn’t received the scholarship. At the moment, college is going very well and I enjoy working hard to reach my goals. It feels good knowing that there is $20,000 towards my school that I don’t have to worry about. It gives me a chance to focus on just school instead of worrying about school and finances. My advice to potential recipients is to keep working hard no matter what adversity you have to overcome. You should apply for this scholarship because you most certainly can win if you work hard to earn it!”

You can also learn more about Logan’s story here.

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Take Logan’s advice and fill out the application here; there is nothing to lose! You can also share the opportunity with someone you know whose hard work deserves to be recognized!

Kaitlyn Fitzgerald

Events Intern

Moeller’s Service Challenge Project

“Working for a Smile”

The students at Moeller took on the Youth Leadership Seminar Service Challenge and have been working around the clock to accomplish their goal in uniting communities here in Cincinnati and in Peru! We were able to sit down with Junior Will Gilliland the student leader to discuss their plans for the Challenge. Check out the video below of Will explaining “Working for a Smile”:

Moeller High School had visited a family in Peru on a mission trip and assisted with running pipeline through their home to get clean water. While there the students realized how something that may seem like a small gesture really helped out the family. This gesture sparked the idea to continue to help families in Peru once again!

With the idea in mind, the Youth Leadership Seminar was the perfect platform to get the ball rolling. Although the Seminar helped to start the project the student’s passion for their cause is essential.

The student’s goal right now is to raise $6000 to go back to Peru. Will Gilliand the head of the student lead project has asked for donations outside of his local Kroger and the students created their own Go Fund Me to receive donations. On top of this they’re getting the entire school involved! At a Friday night basketball game they sold shaved ice and the profits went toward their project “Working for a Smile”.

Throughout the week Moeller High will be scraping up pennies in a Penny War to continue their efforts in reaching their overall goal!

“You have to experience it to understand what we’re doing, we now have 10 to 15 students planning to go on the trip and I hope everyone will continue the project once I graduate” -Will Gilliland

Check out Moeller’s Go Fund Me page at: http://www.gofundme.com/moellerservice

Continue posting about your school’s Service Challenge Project using #AMFChallenge on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Shelbi Felblinger

Experience Intern

“Where Are They Now” Wednesday: Mike Kruer

Today we will be featuring Mike Kruer, a 2011 Scholarship Fund recipient. We caught up with Mike to see what he was up to after graduation.

About Mike

A Highlands High School graduate and a fall 2014 graduate, Mike was also awarded $20,000 by the Foundation. Now that Mike has completed his college career, he volunteers for  the Alexandria Police Department as a Explorer Post Adviser. He also enjoys playing soccer, going skiing, and volunteering a local animal shelters. He likes to live an active life, so he constantly tries to find more things to do to keep himself busy.

College Life

During the first weekend home from school of Mike’s freshman year, his grandfather, who raised him, passed away. This motivated Mike to complete his degree for his grandpa. Despite this incredibly hard time, Mike still had a blast at college. He made lifelong friends and learned a lot. For him, college was a real time for learning and becoming responsible in many areas, like making sure to get to class on time, managing a budget and keeping his grades where they should be. In college, Mike studied criminal justice and learned from some incredible professors.  The experiences and the people he met and learned from have influenced who he is today and helped him become the person he is in the professional world.

Why You Should Apply

Mike’s story is moving, and we are happy to be a part of it. The impact the Foundation has had on him is also inspiring:

“The Scholarship provided to me by the Foundation has made college a much more manageable task.  In today’s times, many college students have to take out a loan or multiple loans, as well as juggle school with a job to make ends meet. I was blessed with the scholarship so I just had to focus on my studies. This was very important so that I could achieve my full potential academically. I made the Dean’s List, which is no small feat. Without the Foundation’s scholarship, college would have been a lot more stressful and I probably would not have finished in three and a half years.  This Foundation has made local student’s education dreams come true. I know it made mine come true. I am a college graduate with no debt and no financial stress. I appreciate everything this organization has done for me and all the staff and volunteers at the Foundation for making such a huge impact on the Tri-State area. The Foundation is changing lives and is an asset to the Tri-State area! For all those potential candidates out there that are reading this, please apply for all the scholarships and awards you can; money should never be an obstacle when you are chasing your dreams and your future.”

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We want to help high school seniors like you have the same great college experience Mike had! The application for the scholarship can be found here, or you can share the opportunity with someone who could benefit from it.

Kaitlyn Fitzgerald

Events Intern