Humanity House has teamed up with Iola High School to launch “Mission Possible,” the first iteration of a service project designed to teach students about local nonprofits — and harness their power to help.
It’s the true definition of a win-win project, noted Humanity House’s Barb Button, who for several months has been coordinating with Career and Technical Education Coordinator Dana Daugharthy.
After learning about local nonprofits, groups of freshmen and sophomore students designed fundraising messages. Now, the public is invited to choose which one does the best job of explaining the nonprofit’s mission and why it’s worth supporting. (Voting is available here.)
Students will track votes and donations for each campaign; the winning campaign is the one that receives the most support. Voting is open until April 27. 
WHILE explaining the idea to students, Button was clear with students that this wasn’t just another assignment.
“These are real people, real nonprofits with real impact,” Button told them.
The potential to utilize win-win thinking, she said, is a skill that will help students learn to “speak success and get further involved in your own life.”
Button credits “The R Rules for Middle and High School Students,” a book written by Elizabeth W. Souther, for spurring the idea into action. The text, said Button, is all about working toward win-win solutions whenever possible in life.
“We’re seeing a growing need not just in meeting immediate challenges, like food insecurity and utility hardship, but in building long-term solutions within our community,” Button said.
“One of the biggest gaps is helping people develop the skills and mindset needed to navigate real-life situations, work through differences, and become part of the solution rather than feeling stuck or disconnected. This project will help our youth develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for their community.”
Daugharthy has also been pleased with the project’s impact on students.
“Students have learned a lot of things not typically taught in a traditional classroom,” said Daugharthy. “They reached out to local nonprofits and spoke with adults — a valuable thing because it forced them to think about professional communication. They also practiced soft skills, like working in a team, listening, and using each member’s strengths.”
Students selected the nonprofits Hope Unlimited, ACARF, Wings of Warriors and others. They presented their concept to this reporter and Button last month, explaining what they learned and what the nonprofit’s community impact is.
SOPHOMORES Jackson Cox, Reed Clift and Jeffrey Ashworth took the project’s challenge to another level, opting to create their own charity effort rather than support a local organization. Their project, called Flowers for the Future, will attempt to raise funds to beautify Iola High School’s campus.
They’ve already decided where they want to start. “We’d like to plant flowers in front of the high school and make it look much nicer,” said Clift. “We think it would make people feel better about their school.”
“Basically, we want to help the town look better,” added Cox. “We spend a lot of time here. Students deserve to be in a school that looks nice and that they’re proud of.”
