Cohort 4 selected the topic of teen volunteerism. The students noted that among teens there was a generally negative perception of volunteerism, largely due to the culture of compulsory volunteer hours and general lack of engaging volunteer opportunities for teens in the community. In response, the REV project sought to revitalize the image of volunteering among youth by helping them to connect to opportunities that align with their interests and passions. In short, REV’s purpose was to launch a teen volunteer REVolution!

The students launched a multi-faceted campaign to mobilize local youth as volunteers. The campaign includes several elements including:

• Created a project website with a link to resources including a national registry of volunteer options that is searchable by zipcode. The registry was promoted to youth as an easy way for youth to quickly identify volunteer options that matched their interests. The cohort also systematically contacted Tulsa-area nonprofits to encourage them to post relevant opportunities on the registry website.

• Visited 12 Tulsa-area high schools to promote positive volunteerism. The cohort created a booth that they set up at schools, where students could learn about and sign up for volunteer opportunities.

• Presented at the Oklahoma Student Council State Convention in 2011 to an audience of 2000 youth from across the state.

• Held a Teen Volunteer Summit in 2011 with the participation of over 40 local non-profit organizations.

• Organized two Volunteer Flash Mobs, which mobilized a total of 30 student volunteers to serve at a variety of local non-profits on full-day weekend events.

The mobilization campaign culminated in the MLK Day of Service in January 2012. The cohort partnered with the MLK Society, and engaged the Talmadge Powell Creative marketing company to advertise and recruit teen volunteers for the event. As a result of these efforts, more than 300 youth volunteers participated in the Day of Service at the Drillers Stadium by touring the REV booth and packaging food for the Tulsa Food Bank.

Cohort 4 member Christine Williams reflects on the experience: “[The MLK Day of Service] at the baseball stadium stands out as my favorite memory from YPI. It was so gratifying seeing our work become something tangible and actionable.”

In year three of the program, the students converted their materials and lessons learned from the awareness campaign into a REV manual that other communities could utilize and incorporate. The manual was made available on their project website for free public use.