Jonelle Saunders, who served as a mentor with SWSG Pittsburgh when she was an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University, recently won the Jefferson Award Youth Service Challenge! The award recognized the “Supporting our Cause” service project she created for the SWSG curriculum. As an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, Saunders was recently interviewed about the project and her experience with Strong Women, Strong Girls.
The “Supporting our Cause” service project empowers girls on multiple levels. First, it educates them on an important health issue – in this case, toxicity in cosmetics. The girls engage creative and entrepreneurial skills as they create natural cosmetics and sell them. Finally, they learn the importance of service by donating the money earned to a homeless shelter.
Saunders says of the experience, “I am constantly evaluating whether or not I am spending enough time focusing on others and how I can impact the community around me. Further, after the success of my Schweitzer project, I now know that I have the ability to identify a problem and work to be the change that I want to see.”
Read Saunders’ full interview.
Check out the video chronicle of “Supporting Our Cause:”