Teens United for McLean County

The Teens United for McLean County Program was established in 2006 as a way to engage high school juniors and seniors in their community and provide exposure to the work of United Way of McLean County. The students are chosen by their principals to represent their schools and attend monthly meetings over the lunch hour. The first two years of the Teen Program focused on making funding recommendations for direct service programs that addressed specific community needs.

In 2008, this student volunteer program was redesigned to align with United Way’s Education Pillar and focus on the importance of early childhood education to ensure children enter kindergarten ready to learn. The students identified an opportunity to leverage the United Way Worldwide’s Born Learning public engagement campaign, which promotes everyday moments as learning opportunities, by installing a Born Learning Trail at a local park and holding a launch event for the community.

The 2008-2009 Teens United program partnered with the Town of Normal to install a Born Learning Trail at Anderson Park. The Born Learning Trail is made up of a welcome sign and nine learning activity signs, including four activities, such as hopscotch, which are painted on the path. The Trail provides fun, easy activities for parents and children to enjoy together – making an outing in the park a learning opportunity. In addition to coordinating the installation of the Trail, Teens United held a launch event to introduce the Trail to the community.

In 2010, the Teens United program partnered with the City of Bloomington to install a Born Learning Trail at Tipton Park. That year, Teens United held its first Born Learning Trail 5K running race, in addition to the launch event, to help introduce the new Trail to the community. The group continued this structure the following year and in 2011, Teens United partnered with the Lexington Park Board to launch a Born Learning Trail in Lexington’s Keller Park. The lauch event and 5K running race raised community awareness of the new Born Learning Trail and highlighted the importance of early childhood education.

In 2012, Teens United, partnering with the City of Bloomington, will install and launch a new Born Learning Trail in Bloomington’s White Oak Park. The members of Teens United have been working with the City of Bloomington since September, 2011 to plan the Trail’s details. The official launch event and the White Oak Park 5K running race will take place April 28, 2012.

The 2011-2012 Teens United members are divided into a Race Committee and an Event Committee. The Event Committee and the Race Committee, each made up of nine students, have been meeting one Saturday per month since September to ensure the successful launch of the Trail with a 5K race and community event.

The Event Committee is responsible for coordinating and executing a launch event to introduce the new Born Learning Trail to the community. Some of their specific responsibilities include: identifying and securing activities and entertainment, promoting the event to the community, and recruiting volunteers to work at the event. The members of the 2011-2012 Event Committee are:

James Gladney (Sr.), Normal Community West High School
Jacob Iron (Sr.), Olympia High School
Molly Marcum (Sr.), LeRoy High School
Macy Andre (Sr.), University High School
Erin Kate Brady (Sr.), Catholic Central High School
Camira Ferguson (Jr.), Bloomington High School
Jaden Horrer (Jr.), Olympia High School
E.J. Newble (Jr.), University High School
Emma Wilson (Jr.), Normal Community High School

The Race Committee is responsible for developing and executing a 5K running race for community participation. Some of their specific responsibilities include: identifying the race layout, securing race sponsors (financial and in-kind gifts), designing and purchasing the race t-shirts, developing and distribution race registration forms, and recruiting volunteers to work at the race. The members of the 2011-2012 Race Committee are: