YLP with Azerbaijan finalist from Arizona Promotes Recycling for GYSD!

Earth Club members organize events during lunch
for Earth Day and GYSD

Paige Zuraw, YLP with Azerbaijan finalist from Westwood High School in Arizona volunteered with her school’s environmental club for Global Youth Service Day.  Westwood High School students celebrated Earth Week on the 19th, 20th, and 23rd by hosting several activities during lunch.  Together with 20 other student and teacher volunteers at her school, Paige encouraged the general student body to support a healthier planet by holding environmentally friendly games and fundraising events.  Some of the games played included “Trashketball” in which competitors had to throw bottles into a recycling bin, dance-offs where the participants danced to music, and Bottle Bowling where bottles are knocked down with a ball.  The winners received the prize of a reusable water bottle or an Earth Club t-shirt.  The games were enjoyed by competitors and spectators alike.

Trashketball anyone?  

To raise money, the Earth Club sold henna tattoos.  People in the club used henna to make custom designs on the purchaser, and the henna paste will eventually rub off and leave a mark.  Henna is very “green”, because it is a natural dye made of plant material, and it stains the skin for only a few weeks.  Many people at Westwood High School bought the henna tattoos, and the profits from the event will be used to pay for current projects, as well as support future service activities planned by the club.  A portion of the money will be used to buy supplies for families in need during the club’s Adopt-A-Family annual project where the Earth Club donates supplies to a newly immigrated family.   It will also be used to construct a new garden to beautify the Westwood High School campus.  

When asked about the event Paige said, “I enjoyed volunteering during Earth Week by setting up games, encouraging others to recycle and designing henna.  These things helped the Westwood Earth Club, and in turn will help the planet.  I also liked being able to see how our efforts made other students happy and more apt to recycle.  Being born on Earth Day, I am very environmentally conscious, so I would like to do all I can to keep our planet green and help others.”

A thank you to Paige Zuraw for her blog submission and happy belated birthday!