Who can participate?
projectOUTREACH school participants are middle school through college aged youth who want to make a difference. Each group of 4 to 10 members works with the assistance of an Advisor. The Outreach process benefits students of all backgrounds and abilities.
How does the program work?
ProjectOUTREACH provides a choice of several “Challenges” that vary from year to year. Each Challenge speaks to a different community issue and provides a framework within which teams work, guaranteeing a quality project. Teams select one of these Challenges and then design and implement an original community project addressing their chosen Challenge. These Challenges may be educational, social, political, environmental, or cultural in nature and include such topics as illiteracy, recycling, voter education, and inter-generational understanding. Each Challenge is accompanied by a list of requirements and expectations including such things as research, documentation, art work, and community interaction.
The program works with a wide variety of young people. They address community problems of their own choosing, plan and implement a successful project of their own and design a project. The participants will be recognized and rewarded for their accomplishments
When is the projectOUTREACH season?
New Challenges will be available each fall. During the school year teams work to solve their chosen Challenge and develop their projects. The degree of difficulty is built in by the team members themselves and, therefore, the required time to complete a project is very flexible. We encourage new teams working within a short time-frame to begin by developing a small project, while teams with more time or experience are able to develop a more extensive one. Some projects require from 10 to 12 weeks meeting infrequently, while some teams have had their members qualify for well over 50 service hours.
Throughout the process assistance is available either through local support Boards, where available, or by contacting askDI@dihq.org.
In the spring, Tournament-bound teams come together to participate in a Celebration Day Tournament. For each project, Appraisers evaluate the solution process and progress, creativity and quality. Teams are encouraged to illustrate the Challenge process-and solution—in informative, entertaining and creative ways. Teams share ideas, interact with each other and receive recognition for their community projects.
Satellite teams are encouraged to hold a similar “Culminating Event,” to display their projects, be evaluated, share ideas, participate in additional activities and be recognized for their service projects. Suggestions for such an event are included in each Outreach Community Impact Kit.
What are my options in forming a team?
projectOUTREACH teams may participate either as “Tournament-Bound” or “Satellite” teams, depending on their location and time frame. More information on these options can be found in the Team Options section of this web site.
