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Teens have some good, clean fun

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: May 2, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Sharp-eyed drivers may have noticed groups of teens in matching T-shirts at various downtown locations last Saturday morning, sweeping, washing windows, picking up garbage, raking, painting and planting flowers.

Was it a work detail? Juvenile delinquents paying off their debts to society?

Quite the opposite: These young people were there by choice.

"We are youth trying to clean up the city," 13-year-old Corey Smith said. "That's all it is."

In a sense that was true. The cleanup, however, was also tied to similar efforts going on that weekend in more than 700 communities around the world. Global Youth Service Day is an annual event organized by People to People International.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded People to People International to advance understanding, tolerance and world peace. Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., PTPI has a presence in more than 135 countries and more than 80,000 participants.

The People to People Student Ambassador program allows young people to travel abroad for up to three weeks of direct cultural exchange. PTPI chapters are year-round clubs through which students explore cultures throughout the world, engage in humanitarian activities and develop leadership skills.

Corey took part in the Ambassador program two years ago, traveling and meeting fellow PTPI members in England and Scotland. This year, he decided to muster up a New Port Richey contingent for Global Youth Service Day.

"On this weekend, youth all over the world are cleaning up their cities," Corey said. Along with the aesthetic benefits, the project is aimed at educating the public about the potential of young people as community leaders and to inspire youth into taking on those roles.

Corey took that leadership role in organizing the event, getting the city's permission and even a contribution in the form of flowers to plant at the County Health Department office on Main Street. He also had to register the project, which he called "city sweep," with People to People, and take photos and fill out a report after the fact.

He also had to recruit a crew. He had a head start there, in his fellow Parks and Recreation Youth Advisory Board members, with whom he has work on a number of civic projects over the past year. Between them and other volunteers, he assembled a workforce of about 30.

The last task was to secure beneficiaries for the cleanup effort. In New Port Richey, the quickest way to do that was through Greater New Port Richey Main Street.

"I thought it was a great idea," said Jim Julian, owner of Unique Awards an Engraving and a member of the downtown merchants' organization. "My planting area definitely needed work so that was the first thing that popped into my mind. And I thought it would be a great thing for the kids to do."

Julian said he worked on his family farm growing up. There is so much a kid gets out of doing that kind of work it's hard to describe all the benefits.

"Kids don't have that anymore," Julian said. "It's partly our fault. We didn't want kids to have to 'go through what we went through.' Now they're missing the bad times but they're missing the good times, too."

Although this might be true for some young people, Corey and his fellow volunteers know what Julian is talking about. There are no prizes or school graduation credits from People to People for taking part in Global Youth Service Day. They volunteered because they understand the doing is the reward.

"It's just being part of a world project, and it makes us feel good, too," Corey's friend and fellow volunteer Charlie Timony said.

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