| If we’re going to change the world, we’ve got to start in our own communities. Changing attitudes. Changing priorities. Changing the way we think about our world. |
| If we’re going to change the world, we’ve got to start in our own communities. Changing attitudes. Changing priorities. Changing the way we think about our world. |
O Ambassadors is a joint project of Oprah's Angel Network and Free The Children that inspires young people to become active, compassionate and knowledgeable global citizens to create lasting change in the world.
By working toward the Millennium Development Goals, O Ambassadors encourages young leaders to dream big and accelerate global change through a step-by-step exploration of active learning about important issues in Africa, Asia and Latin America; sharing their message with their friends and families; and working together to take action.
O Ambassadors gives young people the tools they need to build bridges of understanding and make all the difference in the world.
As O Ambassadors learn and grow, they will work to support development initiatives in one of the five featured world regions:
Working hand in hand with educators, parents and the public, Oprah's Angel Network and Free The Children believe that young people can make all the difference in the world.
Since the program began in 2006, almost 2,000 O Ambassadors Clubs have joined the program from schools across the United States and Canada. Of these, about two-thirds are resource-poor schools.
Visit www.oambassadors.org to learn more about the program.
Principal Pedro Santana describes Angelo Patri School as the kind of school in the Bronx “you would see in the movies.” The school faces a multitude of challenges ranging from crime, low-attendance, delinquent behaviour and constant graffiti. School budgets are constantly being cut and resources are scarce. But when Pedro learned of the O Ambassadors program, this school’s fortunes turned around in an enormous way.
Pedro saw the program as a way to inspire and motivate a group of middle-schoolers who were always in the halls, could not focus in class, and had low grades. He thought: what better way to reach these students than to place them all together in one class and encourage them to work together? This approach was unique in that not only did Pedro intend for this class to act as the school’s O Ambassadors Club, but this group of students also studied together for their regular classes. Through O Ambassadors, a new “family” was born at Angelo Patri.
The results were immediate. Students in the O Ambassadors class started attending school regularly and were taken with the idea of helping those that have even less than they do. In June 2008, the club threw a carnival fundraiser where they managed to raise $4,000 from a community that had so little to give. The event marked the first time ever that the school was able to hold a school-wide function without an incident of student misbehaviour. In fact, it went off without a hitch and everyone had a wonderful time!
The O Ambassadors class returned from summer break with a visit from the Roots of Action Tour speakers. Michel and Katie spoke in front of the eighth graders and felt as if they had entered a “home,” not a school. They could not believe the stories they heard about the transformation: student suspensions went down from a yearly average of 250 to six, attendance and GPA levels rose, and the school has rallied around the cause of looking beyond themselves.
Since then, the club has been taking many local actions in an effort to improve the lives of the less fortunate in the community. Pedro has noticed that his students have become “phenomenal community members” and are truly changing the lives of others, as well as their own.
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