Latest Post: Laura Rouse: March
Hey Journey Group!
I hope that all of you are doing well this month! This blog is all about PFO’s engagement with the community. One major difference that PFO makes in our community is teaching teens to see past a child’s disability to the child themselves. This impacts the thinking of the teens involved and the thinking of the people each PFO teen has in their lives. I know from my experience in PFO this year that I’ve shared with friends and family how a disability doesn’t define a person. Also, PFO promotes the inclusion and acceptance of others which breaks down the common stereotypes of teenagers. The teens in PFO really embrace acceptance which makes this group move away from the idea of the “typical teenager.”
PFO engages with the community by teaching teens to use their creative talents to benefit the greater good. By using this passion to make a difference, teens learn to associate that good feeling from using their talents with giving back, which has its own rewards. The combination these two things provides a feeling that cannot be replaced. Lastly, PFO impacts the community by showing teens the values of setting goals. At the start of the year, each teen sets a goal to help the organization raise enough money to purchase a needed item for our partner non-profit. A goal like this shows us teens the impact we can have on someone or on a group in our community. In all the ways that PFO engages with the community, it ultimately is about the impact we leave and that is something that I have learned over the course of this unforgettable year in Playing For Others!
I will talk to you all next month!