The CAS Project
The CAS Project is a requirement of CAS component and for the IB diploma. It should be proposed no later than your second interview in December of your junior year. The attached rubric below will be used by your CAS advisor to determine the quality and approval of your extended project. Failure to meet any of the criteria on this rubric will result in the delay of your CAS Project approval.
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CAS Project Ideas
Below are almost 50 examples of actual CAS projects conducted by current and former students at UAIS that have been particularly successful and rewarding and may be utilized by the incoming Diploma Programme candidates. See the following students/teachers for more information on:
Volunteering at The Detroit Zoo: The Detroit Zoological Society is looking for energetic youth ages 14-17 to be part of our Zoo Corps. This is an opportunity to earn community service hours while working with a team from the Education Department at the Detroit Zoo. Benefits include leadership experience, customer service training, learning and practicing communication skills, and a professional work setting. Opportunities to volunteer stretch throughout the year, including weekdays, evenings and weekends.
Junior Leadership Macomb: Are you interested in being a more socially aware and active member of your county? Are you open to collaborating with student leaders in other school throughout Macomb County? Do you want to serve as a representative to your school on behalf of leaders of Macomb County? If so, apply to the Junior Leadership Macomb program by June 30th at http://www.leadershipmacomb.org. See the flyer above for more information.
"Prepare for College" Presentation to Heritage Freshmen and 8th graders: Particularly suited for juniors and seniors is the opportunity to visit Heritage classrooms and provide advice to 9th graders about how to prepare oneself to apply to college. This would include providing minimum requirements at state institutions, a discussion of class choices, leadership and volunteer advice, and anything else you wish to share. See Mr. Spear for more details.
Heritage School Supply Project: Each card marking, UAIS and Heritage students throw away countless amounts of gently used or unused materials and supplies that could be donated to future students at Heritage, in the school district, or in other communities whose students are in great need. This project would require 2-3 students who are willing to work with UAIS and Heritage teachers to provide collection bins for supplies that are re-usable at every locker cleanout for both schools. After storing and cataloguing these materials at the end of the year, these students should spend their summer earmarking a certain number of supplies to remain at Heritage for incoming students in need and donating the rest to another school in the district or local community in desperate need. If you are interested in staring this project, please see Mr. Spear.
American Red Cross Blood Drives @ UAIS/Heritage: Want to save lives? Work individually with Mr. Zacharias (Heritage staff) to recruit blood donors for a minimum of two Blood Drives to be hosted in the UAIS/Heritage Media Center. See Mr. Spear for more details.
UAIS Lip Sync Battle: A (hopeful!) ongoing tradition/fundraiser at UAIS; the lip sync battle is a night of fun, singing, and dancing for students and teachers! How great would it feel to be the ones planning this night of fun? Planning the lip sync battle is just as fun as being in it, but anyone who wants to plan the lip sync battle must be good communicators(with both students and staff!), diligent with deadlines and planning, and reliable. Running the show requires student and teacher interest in performing, audition dates, rehearsals, mass advertising to students and families, concessions, an emcee, and a reward for the winner. These requirements are demanding and sometimes challenging, which is why we recommend 2-3 people to take on this project. All the proceeds earned through this show are donated to the UAIS Debate and Forensics teams. Contact Mr. Kuhlman if you're interested!
Ike Football Manager: Do you love the game of football? Looking for a way to contribute on and off the field? Student managers are an integral part of any football team. You can earn service and action hours for this extended project. Download the document attached in the section above and see Mr. Layson for further details.
The Polaris Project: This organization works on all forms of human trafficking and serves victims and slaves of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a growing international epidemic involving girls and young women and is a silent epidemic because much of the predatory behavior occurs online, away from schools and public locations. The Polaris Project seeks to educate, protect, inform, and prevent human trafficking all across the nation. In the past few years at UAIS, many students have contributed to fighting violence against girls and women. Particularly, the 2014 Softball Tournament versus IAM has raised funds for this project. Find out more information at http://www.polaris.com or see Mr. Spear. Additionally, Executive Director Katy Maitland of the Michigan Abolitionist Project of Southeast Michigan (http://www.michiganabolitionistproject.org/) can serve as a resource or potential speaker to a group of students. If you are interested in contacting her, please see Mr. Spear or visit her site for more information.
Water Works Academy/Water Works Theatre: Are you interested in beginning or sharpening your acting skills over the summer between your junior and senior year? The Water Works Theatre Company, based in Royal Oak, is looking for students just like you! Visit their website at: www.waterworkstheatre.com for more information on how to join and potentially earn action hours in addition to the creativity hours for an extended project.
Operation Prom: Everyone knows how expensive prom is, but luckily, most girls have the money to attend the event. Imagine what it would be like to be asked to prom by a boy and decline--not because you don't like him--but because your father has been laid off or because of family medical expenses. What do you say to him? What do you tell your friends? Too often, this is a choice between lying and embarrassment for girls in our community--and to no fault of their own. What if there was a way to provide these girls with a dress for free? Operation Prom seeks to solve that issue. We are looking for a motivated group of students willing to collect gently used prom dresses of every style, color, and size and for a list of girls that counselors, teachers, and administrators in our other buildings can provide. As an addition to the project, students can raise money to provide the cost of tickets for those girls especially in need. If you are interested, please contact Mr. Spear or email Mrs. Versele at Henry Ford High School for more information.
UCS Elementary School Supply Fundraiser: With a partner, find a UCS elementary school in need of school supplies for students for the beginning of the year. Coordinate with the principal and teachers in that building to arrive a target grade and list of supplies for students. Propose--quickly!--a house competition fundraiser for spring Olympics and design point-awards for supplies. After collected, compile goody-bags for those classrooms at the elementary school and donate the supplies before the beginning of the school year. Please see Mr. Spear for more information!
Earthworks Urban Farm/Capuchin Soup Kitchen: Earthworks Urban Farm and Soup Kitchen is a combination urban farm and provider of food to the local community of Detroit. Volunteers help grow fresh, healthy, and organic food options to the attached food kitchen for those in need. The organization is unique in that it provides opportunities for creativity (building a garden), action (working the garden) and service (helping those in need). Student opportunities involve providing service on-site in the food kitchen, working the organic garden, and contributing fundraising to help sustain this urban project. For more information, please visit their website: http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/# for ways you can help in an extremely unique setting.
UAIS Charity Fashion Show: The UAIS Charity Fashion Show strives to combine theatre, artistic vision, and innovation, all while using fashion and apparel design as a medium, to fundraise. Profits from the show are then provided to the UAIS arts department to alleviate the cost of essential student materials. An opportunity to fuse two prior separate realms: theatre and fashion. No longer do models simply walk down a runway; a visual and performance-art based showcase takes place. Contributing to our idea that a fashion show is an opportunity to prsent an alternate reality to an audience, designers will create individual collections inspired by their take on one common theme and then compete on our larger-than-life stage during a night filled with food, music, and entertainment. New to this year's show, the audience will vote, alongside our panel of judges, deciding who will win a prize and the opportunity to host and direct the following year's UAIS Charity Fashion Show. Members are split into committees to create and execute tasks in the different areas of the event, and many of these opportunities can serve as CAS hours and even as a student's extended project. Committees Needed:
Promotion
Fundraising
Inventory/Set
Up
Planning
Designers
Food/Drinks
Make-up/Hair
Camera/Photography
Please see Mrs. Khan for more information!
Who's in the House?: Increase the appeal and team spirit for your house for the next Olympics. Seek approval from Student Senate and then call a house meeting to design a full mascot and flag for the next House Olympics as a creativity and service project. Raise money through a fundraiser of your choosing, donate a portion to a cause important to you, and focus the rest of your fundraising on supplies have a leg-up on the spirit competition between all of the other houses! For a sample of what a flag might look like, come see Mr. Spear.
Organizing UAIS Cooking Club: Recruit, join, and participate in the UAIS cooking club held after school each week to earn creativity hours, or consider running the club as part of a larger CAS project. You would be responsible for recruiting new members, designing cooking experiences, and any other responsibilities that the club's outgoing officers run. Please see Brielle Komosinski or Mr. Spear for more details.
Princess Party: Invite younger siblings of UAIS students, daughters of staff members, and any other girls from ages 2-6 for a special princess party. Have the girls all dress up in their favorite princess dress, and have a few UAIS girls dress up like Belle, Snow White, or another princess. Have a contest for the best look-alike or invite girls in a talent contest to show their singing abilities to their favorite princess songs. Decorate cookies or have a cake made especially for the event through the fundraising you do. Or even put together a video collage of the favorite princesses or create a quiz bowl with questions for the older girls. This has been a successful event at other schools.
"Senior" Prom: Stage a prom for senior citizens at one of our local retirement communities for which you already volunteer or wish to volunteer at. With a group of students, design a prom with dinner or snacks for the senior citizens and "classic" music they would enjoy dancing to, perhaps even the music selections that they request from the memories of their own prom.
The Pulsera Project: This non-profit organization promotes Nicaraguan students, artists, and communities through the sale of colorful handwoven bracelets, called "pulsera" in Spanish. These bracelets are colorful, artistic, and unique. Visit pulseraproject.com for more details or see Senora Burak.
Halloween and Trunk or Treat Party: Organize a Halloween party in which you allow students to decorate Halloween cookies, give prizes for the best costumes, and any other activity you'd like. Then, provide a "Trunk or Treat" in which young children trick or treat in the UAIS parking lot in a safe environment that allows them get candy from the trunks of cars without having to walk the long distances from house to house.
Kiss a Senior Goodbye: To show your appreciation for the outgoing senior class, design a decorated bag that you can fill with Hershey Kisses. Have any student--underclassman or senior--purchase the bags that will be delivered with a thank-you/goodbye note that will reach a senior. Donate all proceeds to the current or your future senior class fund through the UAIS boosters.
The Birthday Project: Set up a table at parent-teacher conferences and allow parents to purchase an in-school birthday delivery bag for later on in the year that will be delivered to that student on his/her birthday. Fill the bag with a parent card that they can fill out at the table, and choose from a pre-selected variety of treats and cute cut-outs that you design. Arrange the bags by date, and deliver them during lunches. Donate all proceeds to your favorite cause!
HOSA: HOSA is a student medical organization and growing club at UAIS that allows students to explore the medical field through community and national projects as well as providing opportunity for volunteer work in the community associated with health care service organization, which is critical experience to students considering a career in the health care field. Visit: http://www.hosa.org/node/11 for more information or talk to Ms. Kasperek for more information about joining or being involved in a potential service and creativity project.
Food Donations and Packaging for Sterling Heights Seniors: Each year, our local Kiwanians deliver boxes for UAIS students to collect canned food and other non-perishables for the holiday season to donate to our local senior citizens. We are looking for 2 students to drive this fundraiser to collect as much food as possible, which Kiwanis will pick up, and then work with Mr. Spear to get 5-10 additional volunteers to package and deliver them on a designated Saturday morning to the senior citizens in their apartment buildings in Sterling Heights, as our older Kiwanians cannot lift heavier boxes with ease. If you are interested, pleaes see Mr. Spear during the spring so you can propose this project at your September initial meeting.
Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo (NEW!)A great action/service project to put your training to good use: The Detroit Zoological Society will host the annual Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo on Sunday, September 14, 2014. Participants can compete in the 5K and 10K races or take part in the Fun Walk and help support the Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex and veterinary care for the Zoo's animals. All proceeds benefit the Detroit Zoological Society. 5K and 10K runners race through the scenic streets of Huntington Woods surrounding the Zoo. Don't like to run? Fun Walk participants follow an enjoyable course throughout the Zoo past many of our award-winning habitats and receive special giveaways. Afterwards, join us for some fun at the Post-Race Party sponsored by Kroger! Bring the whole family* for a day of excitement and enjoy running or walking, live entertainment, food, beverages, children's activities and the Zoo's award-winning habitats. Registration is required for people ages 2 and up. Visit: http://detroitzoo.org/events/run-wild for more information.
Japanese "J" Club: Sullivan-Sensei needs a group of 3-4 motivated students to form a board of president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer to continue to build and run Japenese club at UAIS. Meetings would occur every other week for one hour for the general membership and one board meeting with Sullivan Sensei. The total time commitment would be roughly 3-4 hours after school per month, and the focus of the club would be to provide cultural experiences to the members: crafts, games, food, and others. Great for creativity and service opportunity!
KIVA: Kiva is an international organization that promotes business abroad by asking donors to loan money to businesses in poor countries who cannot afford the outrageously high interest rates. The great news: not only do you get to pick your business from hundreds of online choices, but the money is paid back since it is a loan and can be reinvested time and time again. Visit kiva.org or talk to Mr. Spear for more information.
Young Diplomats Program: In our community, we have a number of families who sponsor international foreign-exchange students and are in need of having other students in our community provide them with great cultural experiences to enhance their experience here in the United States. A small group of students would arrange each school year to contact these families and their exchange-students, meet one or more of them, and arrange weekend social trips to various museums and places in our area. Some options include Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, the DIA, Cranbrook, the Detroit Zoo, and a Tigers game. Pictures and reflections or a srapbook would serve as documentation and would look fantastic on a college recommendation. You might make a great oversees friend, too! An awesome tie to IB's Internationalism component. For more information, see Mr. Spear or contact Ken Lampar at k_lampar@yahoo.com.
GoComedy! Improv Company/Talent Show (NEW!): Located at 9 Mile and Woodward in Ferndale, GoComedy! is where students can learn take classes to work on comedy skits and routines, as well as improvisations. Great for kids in theatre, debate, forensics, or any kids who want to rid themselves of stage fright and build confidence in speaking and performance. Pair this with building a comedy routine with friends at the annual UAIS talent show, and you'll got yourself a hilarious CAS extended project! Website: http://www.gocomedy.net/classes.html. Talk to Ms. Webb for more details.
Restoring Heritage as a National Landmark: In the front parking lot of Heritage stands a sign marking our building as a historical landmark for the first groups of people on the North American continent some 11,000 years ago. The sign, built decades ago, is in need of replacement because no funds are available locally. This project would pair you with community leaders, businesses, and organizations locally at the Sterling Heights central offices to build a new modern sign that replaces the old one. Contact Mr. Spear for more details.
Senior Class Gift: Sponsor a fundraiser for your class to purchase an outgoing senior class gift for UAIS. See Mr. Spear for more details.
Teacher Appreciation Breakfast and/or Video: Fundraiser to sponsor a thank-you breakfast for the staff at UAIS. Recruit volunteers from Key Club or NHS to help you make and deliver the breakfasts and invite the staff to watch a video that you have created from interviews with current students to show your appreciation for the work that they do. Contact Mr. Spear for further details.
Crevolution or Thunderchickens: Interested in science, robotics, and engineering? Crevolution and Thunderchickens are UCS-sponsored teams dedicated to the construction of robot design that competes at local, state, and national championships. This is an excellent opportunity for students to earn creativity hours or create a CAS project if they become President or Vice President of their club, helping Mr. Battaglia (Crevolution) to organize meetings and events. If you have questions, please visit the website: crevolutionrobotics.org or see Mr. Battaglia for more information. For information, please see Mr. Battaglia.
Powderpuff Tournament vs. IA Macomb (Fall): Each September, we go to battle with our IB counterparts at the IA Macomb in a friendly game of girls football. We need iorganizers to arrange the following: coaches, players (girls only!), cheerleaders (guys only!), contact the Athletic Director at Ford to use Dunkel Field, and organize rules and regulations that each school agrees upon. Finally, you would be expected to recruit our fan base from UAIS through posters, announcements, and your classes. Practices in the summer and fall should be conducted to retain the coveted Powderpuff Trophy! Please see Mr. Spear for more information.
Softball Tournament vs. IA Macomb (Spring): Beginning in 2014, UAIS students from every grade will compete in a softball game versus International Academy of Macomb to earn the Powderpuff/Softball trophy to retain/earn back at UAIS. Beginning in late March or early April, you would hold practices at Heritage for up to 30 members whom you have recruited from all grades and work with student captains from IAM to agree upon a date and location. Finally, you would be expected to recruit our fan base from UAIS through posters, announcements, and your classes. Please see Mr. Spear or Jessie Digiovanni for more information.
Card-Making or Gift Baskets for US Troops: Are you the creative type, good with design, colors, art and paper? Work with a small group of students who are interested in designing and creating cards for a particular group (military servicemen and women, a senior home on Valentine's Day, or another occasion) to provide some joy and thanks in their lives. Using her room and supplies--and possibly fundraising to get some of your own, this activity--or project if taken for a significant period of time and dedication--can be completed on your schedule and pace over a long duration and be a service to others under the right circumstances. Another option is to Please see Mr. Spear for details.
Soles 4 Souls: Soles for Souls is a charitable organization providing gently used or new shoes to impoverished children all over the world. Two of our graduates successfully collected hundreds of pairs of shoes from various elementary and junior high schools all over the school district and were published on the Utica Learning Interchange. A very successful project! Visit: soles4souls.org for details, or contact Mr. Spear for more information.
Adopt a US Soldier: Serving in the military is among the most challenging and sacrificial jobs to which anyone can commit themselves. Adopt a Solider allows you to connect with one soldier in particular for whom you will send letters, cards, and care packages while this individual serves our country far from home, family, and friends. Go to http://adoptaussoldier.org to see more information on how these care packages work. These volunteers can put you in contact with a US solider to care for. See Mr. Spear for details.
Habitat for Humanity: A non-profit housing organization whose purpose is to build affordable housing for people in need. Habitat for Humanity has many local offices that can register you to help either in the Metro Detroit area or elsewhere, should you wish to travel as part of a group. This can easily provide both service and action hours for students. Visit habitat.org for more information.
Relay for Life Captain or Community Chairperson: This fundraiser is one of the most popular and successful at UAIS. Relay for Life is a 24-hour cancer walk each May that provides more money for cancer research, treatment, and services for the ill than any other entity outside the federal government. Being a captain requires attendance at a number of spring meetings at Eisenhower, holding your own individual team fundraisers, and motiving your team to fundraise. Additionally, the Shelby Township planning committee is interested in motivated, responsible UAIS students who are willing to become community chairperson helpers at the event. This has been a very popular extended project involving multiple UAIS students each year. For more information, please see Mr. Spear.
Key Club Relay for Life Spirit Project (Key Club Members Only): The UAIS Key Club is looking for one to two students to take over Relay-day responsibilities and team spirit responsibilities. These would include t-shirt design, snow-cone truck fundraising, silent-auction items, a booth or table and selling items at Relay. See Mr. Spear for details.
Key Club District Board or Committee Chairperson: For Key Clubbers, one of the best leadership opportunities exists at DCON, where you would run for the Michigan district positions of Governor, Secretary, Bulletin Editor, Treasurer, or Lieutenant Governor of Division 16. Other committee-appointed positions that you can apply for include Membership Development Chair, Projects Chair, New Club Building Chair, and Convention Chair. This year-long commitment will allow you to serve all Key Clubs of Michigan, working with Kiwanis district volunteers and some of the most talented and hardworking Key Clubbers in the state of Michigan. If you are interested, please see Mr. Spear for more details.
Kids Against Hunger: This project is highly ambitious but what a payoff for your college application if you can make it work! This organization allows students to provide high-calorie, easy-to-package meals to the hungry in countries of your choosing. Set a fundraising goal, spend a year raising your funds. Use UAIS as a venue. The company buys the food and supplies for you and brings in all necessary equipment. You provide the student help. For three to four hours, a large group packages tens of thousands of meals in assembly line form and ships them off to those in need. This year's event will take place at freshman orientation and use the incoming freshmen as participants to invite them into the UAIS sense of internationalism. For more information, go to kidsagainsthunger.org or contact Mr. Spear.
Student Senate, Student Advisory Board, and Student Voice Committee Members (note: can be a project or an activity depending on your role): SAB, Senate and SVC provide unique opportunities for UAIS students to provide service and creativity to the student body by working with staff and the student population. In Student Advisory Board, you will learn more about Student Development Days and Student Olympics. Student Senate will teach you about facilitating or participating in social activities such as the talent show, spring formal, and Lifetime Fitness Lock-In. Student Voice allows you to construct some AMES activities, student transition panels, and work on other projects to improve the communication and culture at UAIS.
Academic Assistance Program Volunteer: The Academic Assistance Program is an after-school tutoring club designed to provide one-on-one help to UAIS and Heritage students in need of academic assistance on a weekly basis. Other students have more specialized one-on-one sessions with students at the elementary level who have requested help from other students. Participating as a member would only constitute service, but individualized tutoring with one particular student could constitute an extended project if lesson plans were created as to meet the 2/3 of the criteria on a consistent basis. Applications will be available to students soon by the new coordinators. Please see Mr. Spear for more information.
SOAR Tutoring Program: If you are interested in helping tutor a student in academics on a weekly basis, this is a great opportunity because the sessions and students are arranged for you. All it takes is attending a 90-minute training session prior to tutoring and deciding upon a schedule that works best for you. Recommended highly by a current UAIS parent who participated as a mentor to children. For an extended project, your "product" could be a testimonial or letter of recommendation by both the student and the parent, both of which could be included in your college application or portfolio. For more information, please see Mr. Spear or visit the following website for more information: http://www.eaglesportsclub.com/soar/soar.html
Recycling Program at UAIS/Heritage: One student would be responsible for running a recycling program throughout Heritage, providing recycling bins to all classrooms and emptying them every Friday. This can and should be paired with Heritage's "Green Schools Initiative" to quality as both service and creativity. Contact Mr. Multhaupt for more details.
Sterling Heights Police Volunteering: If you are interested in law enforcement as a potential career, this may interest you. Meeting on Mondays, you would train and learn about the various aspects of serving as a police officer and spend much of your time helping in the community as you volunteer at public events. A video or portfolio of documentation could serve as a "product" of your experience. For more information, contact Mr. Spear.
Key Club Annual Achievement Focus Project: Join or remain in Key Club and meet with Mr. Spear to focus on one Key Club service partner or project that Key Club is responsible for. These involve Project Hope (Helping Other People Eat), Project Eliminate (Curing Neo-Natal Tetanus), or other UNICEF sponsored projects. For a list of activities and ideas, please see Mr. Spear, who can provide you with other globally-related projects.
Global Village Simulation Weekend: This is a weekend simulation you will never forget! Global Village places you in a simulated third-world country for 24 hours at a remote location in Howell, Michigan, where teams of "countries" barter for what little supplies, food, and other resources you need to survive overnight. With a teacher as your local "elder," you will build a fire to cook your food, be forced to communicating in a foreign language to members outside your group, and immerse yourself experientially in a teamwork and education-rich weekend that will forever change your feelings and attitude. For more information, please contact Mr. Spear.
Dodge Park Beautification: Because of funding cuts to Macomb County parks, Dodge Park is in need of beautification and clean up each spring, fall and just prior to Sterlingfest each July. Students are responsible for meeting with Sterling Heights officials, visiting a nursery, estimating costs of plants, planning a design for beautification, recruiting a Key Club or other group of students to donate flowers, and enacting the plan. Each fall, the annuals would then be removed and the park grounds raked and winterized. For information or interest in simply participating, contact Mr. Spear.
Flip-Flops for UNICEF: Collect supplies to make makeshift flip-flops, which are easy to decorate and fun to sell. Donate the proceeds to UNICEF or another fund or cause of your kind. See Mr. Spear for details.
Class Graduation Video: Graduation is sooner than you think. Capturing all of the best moments means capturing them now, not later. This opportunity should be discussed and approved by student advisory board but could provide enrichment of the graduation experience and be a wonderful opportunity. See Mr. Spear if you are interesting in discussing this idea further.
Child Fund International--Water Sanitation: "Don't Drink the Water," many people will warn you when visiting Mexico on vacation. This group set out to raise money through fundraising to provide clothes and one water filter to each family for healthy drinking water to avoid infection, sickness, and death in poor areas. Each filter, costing one hundred American dollars, can provide a lifetime of clean water for a family or even a neighborhood. If interested in more information, contact Mr. Spear.
Build an Autonomous Vehicle: Sponsored by Square One and IAV, work with a group to earn creativity and service hours in building an autonomous Barbie Jeep. This is an especially fun group project for those interested in technology and science but requires quite a bit of coordnation and teamwork. A grant of $2000 can be provided by the company to get your project going. Contact Mrs. Pfannes for more details.
Dresses for Africa: This project involving creativity and service. Students take pillows, cut and sew into dresses, and donate them to a woman in Brownstown, Michigan, who runs a non-profit organization donating these dresses (and sometimes shorts for boys) to impoverished children in Africa. Meetings during the weekends. Visit littledressesforafrica.org.
Macomb County Parks and Recreation Beautification: Macomb County funds have been closed to beautify the entrance signs at all trails and parks throughout the county. Mr. Spear has been working to establish a relationship with the county in the hopes that a group of students would spend a spring and summer beautifying some, most, or all of these areas for park patrons. Another request is to raise a few hundred dollars through some means to donate a park bench per year with our school and/or students' names on the bench, which would permanently remain a tribute to students' commitment to our community. If interested in these projects, neither of which have been taken up yet, please see Mr. Spear, who will place you in contact with the supervisor in Sterling Heights.
UAIS French Club: Madame Blain is looking for one or two students to continue her French club at UAIS. This club would constitute both creativity and service. Students would be responsible for planning the club's agenda and activities and seeking the advice of Madame Blain's own experiences with her former club at Eisenhower. Contact Madame Blain for more details if interested.
UAIS French Club at Oakbrook: Madame Blain's outgoing seniors have established a wonderful connection with students at Oakbrook Elementary, teaching them lessons in French and providing them many wonderful creative activities and other projects over the course of the last year or two. She is looking for a small group of students to continue that tradition next year. If you are interested, please see her or Mr. Spear.
UAIS Spanish Club at Schwarzkoff: Current seniors Sanziana Bona and Paige Ferland have worked with principal Lou Misovski to design a Spanish club at Schwarzkoff with the current elementary school students over the last year, teaching them lessons in Spanish similar to the French club at Oakbrook. If you are interested, please talk to either Senora Burak, Senor Scalici or call Schwarzkoff to discuss this continuing possibility with Lou Misovski.
UAIS National Spanish Honors Society/UAIS Spanish Club: The UAIS National Spanish Honors Society needs board members who are dedicated to running the club, recruiting and evaluating members, sponsoring and holding activities and events, and developing leadership skills. By joining as a member, you have the opportunity to apply for or being recommended to a position on the club, such as president or vice president, that can serve as your CAS Extended Project. Please contact Senor Scalici or Senora Burak for more details.
Michigan Humane Society: Past students have constructed makeshift kitten homes or forts to donate to the Humane Society through a Key Club sponsored event. This project would involve the gathering of cardboard, art design materials, and other resources, and then recruiting a large number of students, perhaps through Key Club, to put the forts together before shipping to the Humane Society. More information can be found by discussing this and other project opportunities by contacting the the Michigan Humane Society or visiting their website.
Visual Arts/Theatre Fundraiser: See Mr. Kuhlman or Mrs. Khan for information on how you can give back to both departments with a list of important supplies that all students at UAIS can benefit from. Feel free to pair this with some of the projects listed above, or come up with your own fundraisers that can help support
Other Clubs That You Could Start:
1. DECA
2. Model UN
3. Origami Club
4. Ping Pong Club
5. Red Cross Club
6. SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving)
7. Yoga Club
Other Ideas for CAS Projects That YOU Can Start…
1. Soup Kitchen: Organize a small group of students to volunteer at a nearby soup kitchen for a number of times over the course of a year.
2. Forgotten Harvest: Go to forgottonharvest.com to see how you can volunteer either your time or resources to contribute. Become a team leader of a small group over the course of year or run a food drive on off-holiday times preferably, and you have an extended project.
3. Dresses for Africa: Visit www.littledressesforafrica.org for more information on how this project can help provide clothing to African children, who have none!
4. Hugs for Soldiers: Our soldiers commit much of their lives away from their families to provide security to the rest of the American people. Support them at any time of the year, but especially around holidays, by generating a project from the ideas at www.hugsforsoldiers.org. These fun, hands-on projects will help you give back to those who put their lives on the line every day.
5. Blanket-Making: Select a hospital, homeless shelter, retirement home or other location in need to making blankets that you cut and tie from materials that you purchase as a result of fundraising. Jo-Ann Fabrics has all of the supplies you need and simple instructions online will have you making original blankets for a special group in need. No sewing necessary!
6. Fleece Mittens: Many individuals go the entire winter without adequate gloves or mittens to cover their hands. Using a simple pattern at the following link, you and a small group can donate dozens of mittens to a homeless shelter for the holiday season: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/01/fleece-mittens.html.
7. Stocking Stuffers: Set up a fundraiser at UAIS to raise the funds necessary to stuff stockings for a local homeless shelter. Provide necessary items, such as toothbrushes, socks, snacks, and other necessities that you brainstorm. Pair this with a soup kitchen visit for a great extended project!
8. Teacher or Student Survival Kits: Show your appreciation either to the UAIS staff or another staff in UCS or--if possible--the incoming freshmen by fundraising to create either a Student Survival Kit or Teacher Survival Kit at the beginning of the year. Brainstorm important supplies that teachers or students seem to run out of that are needed in every class, and provide this thoughtful gift as a way to give back to the UAIS community in some way.
9. Sponsor a School Team/Club: Is there a team or club that is desperately low on funds that needs to be successful? Become their boosters for one year. Provide fundraising help. Get teachers or students in the club motivated and creative to provide low-cost and low-overhead ideas to raise money to send a team or group on a trip or provide funding for a critical need.
10. Holiday Caroling: In the fall, start a caroling group at the school. Set practice times each week, and set a visitation schedule for the holiday season. Provide creativity and service hours to other students in the process!
11. Candy-Grams: Sell candy or flowers at lunches and deliver to students at a later date. Use the proceeds to support a club or organization, or donate to a cause that is important to you.
12. Make Bird Feeders: Sponsor a program at a local elementary school where you teach young students how to make and give the gift of bird feeders to family members and friends. Fundraise for supplies, if necessary, or use the proceeds to help that elementary school with its projects. Visit http://www.ehow.com/how_6533247_make-bottle-bird-feeders.html for more information.
13. Dog/Car Wash: Car washes are typically a lot of work to raise $200-300. However, if done the right way, they can provide a lot more money than the convention ones. Create posters, recruit 20-25 individuals and find a busy location on a nice weekend. Get each of your participating members to be sponsored or pledged PRIOR to the event, so that you can get the fundraising you need even before the car wash occurs. Usually this doubles or triples the amount the car wash raises and everyone gets a bigger piece of the fundraising total.
14. Adopt a Family: Plan to provide Christmas gifts to a family in need at the holidays. Go to: http://www.voami.org/Services/Children-Youth-Families/Adopt-A-Family for more information on how to fundraiser and sponsor a family in need. Wrap presents and deliver to provide the best holiday ever to some children in need.
15. Holiday Veterans' Dinner: Thank your local veterans by raising money and hosting a special dinner for their service to our country. Have each family involved cater dishes to save on overhead and rent--or seek for free--the rental of a local establishment to provide a great home-cooked meal to honor these veterans.
16. Nursing Home Secret Santa: Organize a nursing home Secret Santa gift exchange at your local nursing home by having senior residents fill out a card describing what they like, pairing your group of students with a senior resident or two, and arranging a day of gift-giving.
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Volunteering at The Detroit Zoo: The Detroit Zoological Society is looking for energetic youth ages 14-17 to be part of our Zoo Corps. This is an opportunity to earn community service hours while working with a team from the Education Department at the Detroit Zoo. Benefits include leadership experience, customer service training, learning and practicing communication skills, and a professional work setting. Opportunities to volunteer stretch throughout the year, including weekdays, evenings and weekends.
Junior Leadership Macomb: Are you interested in being a more socially aware and active member of your county? Are you open to collaborating with student leaders in other school throughout Macomb County? Do you want to serve as a representative to your school on behalf of leaders of Macomb County? If so, apply to the Junior Leadership Macomb program by June 30th at http://www.leadershipmacomb.org. See the flyer above for more information.
"Prepare for College" Presentation to Heritage Freshmen and 8th graders: Particularly suited for juniors and seniors is the opportunity to visit Heritage classrooms and provide advice to 9th graders about how to prepare oneself to apply to college. This would include providing minimum requirements at state institutions, a discussion of class choices, leadership and volunteer advice, and anything else you wish to share. See Mr. Spear for more details.
Heritage School Supply Project: Each card marking, UAIS and Heritage students throw away countless amounts of gently used or unused materials and supplies that could be donated to future students at Heritage, in the school district, or in other communities whose students are in great need. This project would require 2-3 students who are willing to work with UAIS and Heritage teachers to provide collection bins for supplies that are re-usable at every locker cleanout for both schools. After storing and cataloguing these materials at the end of the year, these students should spend their summer earmarking a certain number of supplies to remain at Heritage for incoming students in need and donating the rest to another school in the district or local community in desperate need. If you are interested in staring this project, please see Mr. Spear.
American Red Cross Blood Drives @ UAIS/Heritage: Want to save lives? Work individually with Mr. Zacharias (Heritage staff) to recruit blood donors for a minimum of two Blood Drives to be hosted in the UAIS/Heritage Media Center. See Mr. Spear for more details.
UAIS Lip Sync Battle: A (hopeful!) ongoing tradition/fundraiser at UAIS; the lip sync battle is a night of fun, singing, and dancing for students and teachers! How great would it feel to be the ones planning this night of fun? Planning the lip sync battle is just as fun as being in it, but anyone who wants to plan the lip sync battle must be good communicators(with both students and staff!), diligent with deadlines and planning, and reliable. Running the show requires student and teacher interest in performing, audition dates, rehearsals, mass advertising to students and families, concessions, an emcee, and a reward for the winner. These requirements are demanding and sometimes challenging, which is why we recommend 2-3 people to take on this project. All the proceeds earned through this show are donated to the UAIS Debate and Forensics teams. Contact Mr. Kuhlman if you're interested!
Ike Football Manager: Do you love the game of football? Looking for a way to contribute on and off the field? Student managers are an integral part of any football team. You can earn service and action hours for this extended project. Download the document attached in the section above and see Mr. Layson for further details.
The Polaris Project: This organization works on all forms of human trafficking and serves victims and slaves of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a growing international epidemic involving girls and young women and is a silent epidemic because much of the predatory behavior occurs online, away from schools and public locations. The Polaris Project seeks to educate, protect, inform, and prevent human trafficking all across the nation. In the past few years at UAIS, many students have contributed to fighting violence against girls and women. Particularly, the 2014 Softball Tournament versus IAM has raised funds for this project. Find out more information at http://www.polaris.com or see Mr. Spear. Additionally, Executive Director Katy Maitland of the Michigan Abolitionist Project of Southeast Michigan (http://www.michiganabolitionistproject.org/) can serve as a resource or potential speaker to a group of students. If you are interested in contacting her, please see Mr. Spear or visit her site for more information.
Water Works Academy/Water Works Theatre: Are you interested in beginning or sharpening your acting skills over the summer between your junior and senior year? The Water Works Theatre Company, based in Royal Oak, is looking for students just like you! Visit their website at: www.waterworkstheatre.com for more information on how to join and potentially earn action hours in addition to the creativity hours for an extended project.
Operation Prom: Everyone knows how expensive prom is, but luckily, most girls have the money to attend the event. Imagine what it would be like to be asked to prom by a boy and decline--not because you don't like him--but because your father has been laid off or because of family medical expenses. What do you say to him? What do you tell your friends? Too often, this is a choice between lying and embarrassment for girls in our community--and to no fault of their own. What if there was a way to provide these girls with a dress for free? Operation Prom seeks to solve that issue. We are looking for a motivated group of students willing to collect gently used prom dresses of every style, color, and size and for a list of girls that counselors, teachers, and administrators in our other buildings can provide. As an addition to the project, students can raise money to provide the cost of tickets for those girls especially in need. If you are interested, please contact Mr. Spear or email Mrs. Versele at Henry Ford High School for more information.
UCS Elementary School Supply Fundraiser: With a partner, find a UCS elementary school in need of school supplies for students for the beginning of the year. Coordinate with the principal and teachers in that building to arrive a target grade and list of supplies for students. Propose--quickly!--a house competition fundraiser for spring Olympics and design point-awards for supplies. After collected, compile goody-bags for those classrooms at the elementary school and donate the supplies before the beginning of the school year. Please see Mr. Spear for more information!
Earthworks Urban Farm/Capuchin Soup Kitchen: Earthworks Urban Farm and Soup Kitchen is a combination urban farm and provider of food to the local community of Detroit. Volunteers help grow fresh, healthy, and organic food options to the attached food kitchen for those in need. The organization is unique in that it provides opportunities for creativity (building a garden), action (working the garden) and service (helping those in need). Student opportunities involve providing service on-site in the food kitchen, working the organic garden, and contributing fundraising to help sustain this urban project. For more information, please visit their website: http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/# for ways you can help in an extremely unique setting.
UAIS Charity Fashion Show: The UAIS Charity Fashion Show strives to combine theatre, artistic vision, and innovation, all while using fashion and apparel design as a medium, to fundraise. Profits from the show are then provided to the UAIS arts department to alleviate the cost of essential student materials. An opportunity to fuse two prior separate realms: theatre and fashion. No longer do models simply walk down a runway; a visual and performance-art based showcase takes place. Contributing to our idea that a fashion show is an opportunity to prsent an alternate reality to an audience, designers will create individual collections inspired by their take on one common theme and then compete on our larger-than-life stage during a night filled with food, music, and entertainment. New to this year's show, the audience will vote, alongside our panel of judges, deciding who will win a prize and the opportunity to host and direct the following year's UAIS Charity Fashion Show. Members are split into committees to create and execute tasks in the different areas of the event, and many of these opportunities can serve as CAS hours and even as a student's extended project. Committees Needed:
Promotion
Fundraising
Inventory/Set
Up
Planning
Designers
Food/Drinks
Make-up/Hair
Camera/Photography
Please see Mrs. Khan for more information!
Who's in the House?: Increase the appeal and team spirit for your house for the next Olympics. Seek approval from Student Senate and then call a house meeting to design a full mascot and flag for the next House Olympics as a creativity and service project. Raise money through a fundraiser of your choosing, donate a portion to a cause important to you, and focus the rest of your fundraising on supplies have a leg-up on the spirit competition between all of the other houses! For a sample of what a flag might look like, come see Mr. Spear.
Organizing UAIS Cooking Club: Recruit, join, and participate in the UAIS cooking club held after school each week to earn creativity hours, or consider running the club as part of a larger CAS project. You would be responsible for recruiting new members, designing cooking experiences, and any other responsibilities that the club's outgoing officers run. Please see Brielle Komosinski or Mr. Spear for more details.
Princess Party: Invite younger siblings of UAIS students, daughters of staff members, and any other girls from ages 2-6 for a special princess party. Have the girls all dress up in their favorite princess dress, and have a few UAIS girls dress up like Belle, Snow White, or another princess. Have a contest for the best look-alike or invite girls in a talent contest to show their singing abilities to their favorite princess songs. Decorate cookies or have a cake made especially for the event through the fundraising you do. Or even put together a video collage of the favorite princesses or create a quiz bowl with questions for the older girls. This has been a successful event at other schools.
"Senior" Prom: Stage a prom for senior citizens at one of our local retirement communities for which you already volunteer or wish to volunteer at. With a group of students, design a prom with dinner or snacks for the senior citizens and "classic" music they would enjoy dancing to, perhaps even the music selections that they request from the memories of their own prom.
The Pulsera Project: This non-profit organization promotes Nicaraguan students, artists, and communities through the sale of colorful handwoven bracelets, called "pulsera" in Spanish. These bracelets are colorful, artistic, and unique. Visit pulseraproject.com for more details or see Senora Burak.
Halloween and Trunk or Treat Party: Organize a Halloween party in which you allow students to decorate Halloween cookies, give prizes for the best costumes, and any other activity you'd like. Then, provide a "Trunk or Treat" in which young children trick or treat in the UAIS parking lot in a safe environment that allows them get candy from the trunks of cars without having to walk the long distances from house to house.
Kiss a Senior Goodbye: To show your appreciation for the outgoing senior class, design a decorated bag that you can fill with Hershey Kisses. Have any student--underclassman or senior--purchase the bags that will be delivered with a thank-you/goodbye note that will reach a senior. Donate all proceeds to the current or your future senior class fund through the UAIS boosters.
The Birthday Project: Set up a table at parent-teacher conferences and allow parents to purchase an in-school birthday delivery bag for later on in the year that will be delivered to that student on his/her birthday. Fill the bag with a parent card that they can fill out at the table, and choose from a pre-selected variety of treats and cute cut-outs that you design. Arrange the bags by date, and deliver them during lunches. Donate all proceeds to your favorite cause!
HOSA: HOSA is a student medical organization and growing club at UAIS that allows students to explore the medical field through community and national projects as well as providing opportunity for volunteer work in the community associated with health care service organization, which is critical experience to students considering a career in the health care field. Visit: http://www.hosa.org/node/11 for more information or talk to Ms. Kasperek for more information about joining or being involved in a potential service and creativity project.
Food Donations and Packaging for Sterling Heights Seniors: Each year, our local Kiwanians deliver boxes for UAIS students to collect canned food and other non-perishables for the holiday season to donate to our local senior citizens. We are looking for 2 students to drive this fundraiser to collect as much food as possible, which Kiwanis will pick up, and then work with Mr. Spear to get 5-10 additional volunteers to package and deliver them on a designated Saturday morning to the senior citizens in their apartment buildings in Sterling Heights, as our older Kiwanians cannot lift heavier boxes with ease. If you are interested, pleaes see Mr. Spear during the spring so you can propose this project at your September initial meeting.
Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo (NEW!)A great action/service project to put your training to good use: The Detroit Zoological Society will host the annual Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo on Sunday, September 14, 2014. Participants can compete in the 5K and 10K races or take part in the Fun Walk and help support the Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex and veterinary care for the Zoo's animals. All proceeds benefit the Detroit Zoological Society. 5K and 10K runners race through the scenic streets of Huntington Woods surrounding the Zoo. Don't like to run? Fun Walk participants follow an enjoyable course throughout the Zoo past many of our award-winning habitats and receive special giveaways. Afterwards, join us for some fun at the Post-Race Party sponsored by Kroger! Bring the whole family* for a day of excitement and enjoy running or walking, live entertainment, food, beverages, children's activities and the Zoo's award-winning habitats. Registration is required for people ages 2 and up. Visit: http://detroitzoo.org/events/run-wild for more information.
Japanese "J" Club: Sullivan-Sensei needs a group of 3-4 motivated students to form a board of president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer to continue to build and run Japenese club at UAIS. Meetings would occur every other week for one hour for the general membership and one board meeting with Sullivan Sensei. The total time commitment would be roughly 3-4 hours after school per month, and the focus of the club would be to provide cultural experiences to the members: crafts, games, food, and others. Great for creativity and service opportunity!
KIVA: Kiva is an international organization that promotes business abroad by asking donors to loan money to businesses in poor countries who cannot afford the outrageously high interest rates. The great news: not only do you get to pick your business from hundreds of online choices, but the money is paid back since it is a loan and can be reinvested time and time again. Visit kiva.org or talk to Mr. Spear for more information.
Young Diplomats Program: In our community, we have a number of families who sponsor international foreign-exchange students and are in need of having other students in our community provide them with great cultural experiences to enhance their experience here in the United States. A small group of students would arrange each school year to contact these families and their exchange-students, meet one or more of them, and arrange weekend social trips to various museums and places in our area. Some options include Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, the DIA, Cranbrook, the Detroit Zoo, and a Tigers game. Pictures and reflections or a srapbook would serve as documentation and would look fantastic on a college recommendation. You might make a great oversees friend, too! An awesome tie to IB's Internationalism component. For more information, see Mr. Spear or contact Ken Lampar at k_lampar@yahoo.com.
GoComedy! Improv Company/Talent Show (NEW!): Located at 9 Mile and Woodward in Ferndale, GoComedy! is where students can learn take classes to work on comedy skits and routines, as well as improvisations. Great for kids in theatre, debate, forensics, or any kids who want to rid themselves of stage fright and build confidence in speaking and performance. Pair this with building a comedy routine with friends at the annual UAIS talent show, and you'll got yourself a hilarious CAS extended project! Website: http://www.gocomedy.net/classes.html. Talk to Ms. Webb for more details.
Restoring Heritage as a National Landmark: In the front parking lot of Heritage stands a sign marking our building as a historical landmark for the first groups of people on the North American continent some 11,000 years ago. The sign, built decades ago, is in need of replacement because no funds are available locally. This project would pair you with community leaders, businesses, and organizations locally at the Sterling Heights central offices to build a new modern sign that replaces the old one. Contact Mr. Spear for more details.
Senior Class Gift: Sponsor a fundraiser for your class to purchase an outgoing senior class gift for UAIS. See Mr. Spear for more details.
Teacher Appreciation Breakfast and/or Video: Fundraiser to sponsor a thank-you breakfast for the staff at UAIS. Recruit volunteers from Key Club or NHS to help you make and deliver the breakfasts and invite the staff to watch a video that you have created from interviews with current students to show your appreciation for the work that they do. Contact Mr. Spear for further details.
Crevolution or Thunderchickens: Interested in science, robotics, and engineering? Crevolution and Thunderchickens are UCS-sponsored teams dedicated to the construction of robot design that competes at local, state, and national championships. This is an excellent opportunity for students to earn creativity hours or create a CAS project if they become President or Vice President of their club, helping Mr. Battaglia (Crevolution) to organize meetings and events. If you have questions, please visit the website: crevolutionrobotics.org or see Mr. Battaglia for more information. For information, please see Mr. Battaglia.
Powderpuff Tournament vs. IA Macomb (Fall): Each September, we go to battle with our IB counterparts at the IA Macomb in a friendly game of girls football. We need iorganizers to arrange the following: coaches, players (girls only!), cheerleaders (guys only!), contact the Athletic Director at Ford to use Dunkel Field, and organize rules and regulations that each school agrees upon. Finally, you would be expected to recruit our fan base from UAIS through posters, announcements, and your classes. Practices in the summer and fall should be conducted to retain the coveted Powderpuff Trophy! Please see Mr. Spear for more information.
Softball Tournament vs. IA Macomb (Spring): Beginning in 2014, UAIS students from every grade will compete in a softball game versus International Academy of Macomb to earn the Powderpuff/Softball trophy to retain/earn back at UAIS. Beginning in late March or early April, you would hold practices at Heritage for up to 30 members whom you have recruited from all grades and work with student captains from IAM to agree upon a date and location. Finally, you would be expected to recruit our fan base from UAIS through posters, announcements, and your classes. Please see Mr. Spear or Jessie Digiovanni for more information.
Card-Making or Gift Baskets for US Troops: Are you the creative type, good with design, colors, art and paper? Work with a small group of students who are interested in designing and creating cards for a particular group (military servicemen and women, a senior home on Valentine's Day, or another occasion) to provide some joy and thanks in their lives. Using her room and supplies--and possibly fundraising to get some of your own, this activity--or project if taken for a significant period of time and dedication--can be completed on your schedule and pace over a long duration and be a service to others under the right circumstances. Another option is to Please see Mr. Spear for details.
Soles 4 Souls: Soles for Souls is a charitable organization providing gently used or new shoes to impoverished children all over the world. Two of our graduates successfully collected hundreds of pairs of shoes from various elementary and junior high schools all over the school district and were published on the Utica Learning Interchange. A very successful project! Visit: soles4souls.org for details, or contact Mr. Spear for more information.
Adopt a US Soldier: Serving in the military is among the most challenging and sacrificial jobs to which anyone can commit themselves. Adopt a Solider allows you to connect with one soldier in particular for whom you will send letters, cards, and care packages while this individual serves our country far from home, family, and friends. Go to http://adoptaussoldier.org to see more information on how these care packages work. These volunteers can put you in contact with a US solider to care for. See Mr. Spear for details.
Habitat for Humanity: A non-profit housing organization whose purpose is to build affordable housing for people in need. Habitat for Humanity has many local offices that can register you to help either in the Metro Detroit area or elsewhere, should you wish to travel as part of a group. This can easily provide both service and action hours for students. Visit habitat.org for more information.
Relay for Life Captain or Community Chairperson: This fundraiser is one of the most popular and successful at UAIS. Relay for Life is a 24-hour cancer walk each May that provides more money for cancer research, treatment, and services for the ill than any other entity outside the federal government. Being a captain requires attendance at a number of spring meetings at Eisenhower, holding your own individual team fundraisers, and motiving your team to fundraise. Additionally, the Shelby Township planning committee is interested in motivated, responsible UAIS students who are willing to become community chairperson helpers at the event. This has been a very popular extended project involving multiple UAIS students each year. For more information, please see Mr. Spear.
Key Club Relay for Life Spirit Project (Key Club Members Only): The UAIS Key Club is looking for one to two students to take over Relay-day responsibilities and team spirit responsibilities. These would include t-shirt design, snow-cone truck fundraising, silent-auction items, a booth or table and selling items at Relay. See Mr. Spear for details.
Key Club District Board or Committee Chairperson: For Key Clubbers, one of the best leadership opportunities exists at DCON, where you would run for the Michigan district positions of Governor, Secretary, Bulletin Editor, Treasurer, or Lieutenant Governor of Division 16. Other committee-appointed positions that you can apply for include Membership Development Chair, Projects Chair, New Club Building Chair, and Convention Chair. This year-long commitment will allow you to serve all Key Clubs of Michigan, working with Kiwanis district volunteers and some of the most talented and hardworking Key Clubbers in the state of Michigan. If you are interested, please see Mr. Spear for more details.
Kids Against Hunger: This project is highly ambitious but what a payoff for your college application if you can make it work! This organization allows students to provide high-calorie, easy-to-package meals to the hungry in countries of your choosing. Set a fundraising goal, spend a year raising your funds. Use UAIS as a venue. The company buys the food and supplies for you and brings in all necessary equipment. You provide the student help. For three to four hours, a large group packages tens of thousands of meals in assembly line form and ships them off to those in need. This year's event will take place at freshman orientation and use the incoming freshmen as participants to invite them into the UAIS sense of internationalism. For more information, go to kidsagainsthunger.org or contact Mr. Spear.
Student Senate, Student Advisory Board, and Student Voice Committee Members (note: can be a project or an activity depending on your role): SAB, Senate and SVC provide unique opportunities for UAIS students to provide service and creativity to the student body by working with staff and the student population. In Student Advisory Board, you will learn more about Student Development Days and Student Olympics. Student Senate will teach you about facilitating or participating in social activities such as the talent show, spring formal, and Lifetime Fitness Lock-In. Student Voice allows you to construct some AMES activities, student transition panels, and work on other projects to improve the communication and culture at UAIS.
Academic Assistance Program Volunteer: The Academic Assistance Program is an after-school tutoring club designed to provide one-on-one help to UAIS and Heritage students in need of academic assistance on a weekly basis. Other students have more specialized one-on-one sessions with students at the elementary level who have requested help from other students. Participating as a member would only constitute service, but individualized tutoring with one particular student could constitute an extended project if lesson plans were created as to meet the 2/3 of the criteria on a consistent basis. Applications will be available to students soon by the new coordinators. Please see Mr. Spear for more information.
SOAR Tutoring Program: If you are interested in helping tutor a student in academics on a weekly basis, this is a great opportunity because the sessions and students are arranged for you. All it takes is attending a 90-minute training session prior to tutoring and deciding upon a schedule that works best for you. Recommended highly by a current UAIS parent who participated as a mentor to children. For an extended project, your "product" could be a testimonial or letter of recommendation by both the student and the parent, both of which could be included in your college application or portfolio. For more information, please see Mr. Spear or visit the following website for more information: http://www.eaglesportsclub.com/soar/soar.html
Recycling Program at UAIS/Heritage: One student would be responsible for running a recycling program throughout Heritage, providing recycling bins to all classrooms and emptying them every Friday. This can and should be paired with Heritage's "Green Schools Initiative" to quality as both service and creativity. Contact Mr. Multhaupt for more details.
Sterling Heights Police Volunteering: If you are interested in law enforcement as a potential career, this may interest you. Meeting on Mondays, you would train and learn about the various aspects of serving as a police officer and spend much of your time helping in the community as you volunteer at public events. A video or portfolio of documentation could serve as a "product" of your experience. For more information, contact Mr. Spear.
Key Club Annual Achievement Focus Project: Join or remain in Key Club and meet with Mr. Spear to focus on one Key Club service partner or project that Key Club is responsible for. These involve Project Hope (Helping Other People Eat), Project Eliminate (Curing Neo-Natal Tetanus), or other UNICEF sponsored projects. For a list of activities and ideas, please see Mr. Spear, who can provide you with other globally-related projects.
Global Village Simulation Weekend: This is a weekend simulation you will never forget! Global Village places you in a simulated third-world country for 24 hours at a remote location in Howell, Michigan, where teams of "countries" barter for what little supplies, food, and other resources you need to survive overnight. With a teacher as your local "elder," you will build a fire to cook your food, be forced to communicating in a foreign language to members outside your group, and immerse yourself experientially in a teamwork and education-rich weekend that will forever change your feelings and attitude. For more information, please contact Mr. Spear.
Dodge Park Beautification: Because of funding cuts to Macomb County parks, Dodge Park is in need of beautification and clean up each spring, fall and just prior to Sterlingfest each July. Students are responsible for meeting with Sterling Heights officials, visiting a nursery, estimating costs of plants, planning a design for beautification, recruiting a Key Club or other group of students to donate flowers, and enacting the plan. Each fall, the annuals would then be removed and the park grounds raked and winterized. For information or interest in simply participating, contact Mr. Spear.
Flip-Flops for UNICEF: Collect supplies to make makeshift flip-flops, which are easy to decorate and fun to sell. Donate the proceeds to UNICEF or another fund or cause of your kind. See Mr. Spear for details.
Class Graduation Video: Graduation is sooner than you think. Capturing all of the best moments means capturing them now, not later. This opportunity should be discussed and approved by student advisory board but could provide enrichment of the graduation experience and be a wonderful opportunity. See Mr. Spear if you are interesting in discussing this idea further.
Child Fund International--Water Sanitation: "Don't Drink the Water," many people will warn you when visiting Mexico on vacation. This group set out to raise money through fundraising to provide clothes and one water filter to each family for healthy drinking water to avoid infection, sickness, and death in poor areas. Each filter, costing one hundred American dollars, can provide a lifetime of clean water for a family or even a neighborhood. If interested in more information, contact Mr. Spear.
Build an Autonomous Vehicle: Sponsored by Square One and IAV, work with a group to earn creativity and service hours in building an autonomous Barbie Jeep. This is an especially fun group project for those interested in technology and science but requires quite a bit of coordnation and teamwork. A grant of $2000 can be provided by the company to get your project going. Contact Mrs. Pfannes for more details.
Dresses for Africa: This project involving creativity and service. Students take pillows, cut and sew into dresses, and donate them to a woman in Brownstown, Michigan, who runs a non-profit organization donating these dresses (and sometimes shorts for boys) to impoverished children in Africa. Meetings during the weekends. Visit littledressesforafrica.org.
Macomb County Parks and Recreation Beautification: Macomb County funds have been closed to beautify the entrance signs at all trails and parks throughout the county. Mr. Spear has been working to establish a relationship with the county in the hopes that a group of students would spend a spring and summer beautifying some, most, or all of these areas for park patrons. Another request is to raise a few hundred dollars through some means to donate a park bench per year with our school and/or students' names on the bench, which would permanently remain a tribute to students' commitment to our community. If interested in these projects, neither of which have been taken up yet, please see Mr. Spear, who will place you in contact with the supervisor in Sterling Heights.
UAIS French Club: Madame Blain is looking for one or two students to continue her French club at UAIS. This club would constitute both creativity and service. Students would be responsible for planning the club's agenda and activities and seeking the advice of Madame Blain's own experiences with her former club at Eisenhower. Contact Madame Blain for more details if interested.
UAIS French Club at Oakbrook: Madame Blain's outgoing seniors have established a wonderful connection with students at Oakbrook Elementary, teaching them lessons in French and providing them many wonderful creative activities and other projects over the course of the last year or two. She is looking for a small group of students to continue that tradition next year. If you are interested, please see her or Mr. Spear.
UAIS Spanish Club at Schwarzkoff: Current seniors Sanziana Bona and Paige Ferland have worked with principal Lou Misovski to design a Spanish club at Schwarzkoff with the current elementary school students over the last year, teaching them lessons in Spanish similar to the French club at Oakbrook. If you are interested, please talk to either Senora Burak, Senor Scalici or call Schwarzkoff to discuss this continuing possibility with Lou Misovski.
UAIS National Spanish Honors Society/UAIS Spanish Club: The UAIS National Spanish Honors Society needs board members who are dedicated to running the club, recruiting and evaluating members, sponsoring and holding activities and events, and developing leadership skills. By joining as a member, you have the opportunity to apply for or being recommended to a position on the club, such as president or vice president, that can serve as your CAS Extended Project. Please contact Senor Scalici or Senora Burak for more details.
Michigan Humane Society: Past students have constructed makeshift kitten homes or forts to donate to the Humane Society through a Key Club sponsored event. This project would involve the gathering of cardboard, art design materials, and other resources, and then recruiting a large number of students, perhaps through Key Club, to put the forts together before shipping to the Humane Society. More information can be found by discussing this and other project opportunities by contacting the the Michigan Humane Society or visiting their website.
Visual Arts/Theatre Fundraiser: See Mr. Kuhlman or Mrs. Khan for information on how you can give back to both departments with a list of important supplies that all students at UAIS can benefit from. Feel free to pair this with some of the projects listed above, or come up with your own fundraisers that can help support
Other Clubs That You Could Start:
1. DECA
2. Model UN
3. Origami Club
4. Ping Pong Club
5. Red Cross Club
6. SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving)
7. Yoga Club
Other Ideas for CAS Projects That YOU Can Start…
1. Soup Kitchen: Organize a small group of students to volunteer at a nearby soup kitchen for a number of times over the course of a year.
2. Forgotten Harvest: Go to forgottonharvest.com to see how you can volunteer either your time or resources to contribute. Become a team leader of a small group over the course of year or run a food drive on off-holiday times preferably, and you have an extended project.
3. Dresses for Africa: Visit www.littledressesforafrica.org for more information on how this project can help provide clothing to African children, who have none!
4. Hugs for Soldiers: Our soldiers commit much of their lives away from their families to provide security to the rest of the American people. Support them at any time of the year, but especially around holidays, by generating a project from the ideas at www.hugsforsoldiers.org. These fun, hands-on projects will help you give back to those who put their lives on the line every day.
5. Blanket-Making: Select a hospital, homeless shelter, retirement home or other location in need to making blankets that you cut and tie from materials that you purchase as a result of fundraising. Jo-Ann Fabrics has all of the supplies you need and simple instructions online will have you making original blankets for a special group in need. No sewing necessary!
6. Fleece Mittens: Many individuals go the entire winter without adequate gloves or mittens to cover their hands. Using a simple pattern at the following link, you and a small group can donate dozens of mittens to a homeless shelter for the holiday season: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/01/fleece-mittens.html.
7. Stocking Stuffers: Set up a fundraiser at UAIS to raise the funds necessary to stuff stockings for a local homeless shelter. Provide necessary items, such as toothbrushes, socks, snacks, and other necessities that you brainstorm. Pair this with a soup kitchen visit for a great extended project!
8. Teacher or Student Survival Kits: Show your appreciation either to the UAIS staff or another staff in UCS or--if possible--the incoming freshmen by fundraising to create either a Student Survival Kit or Teacher Survival Kit at the beginning of the year. Brainstorm important supplies that teachers or students seem to run out of that are needed in every class, and provide this thoughtful gift as a way to give back to the UAIS community in some way.
9. Sponsor a School Team/Club: Is there a team or club that is desperately low on funds that needs to be successful? Become their boosters for one year. Provide fundraising help. Get teachers or students in the club motivated and creative to provide low-cost and low-overhead ideas to raise money to send a team or group on a trip or provide funding for a critical need.
10. Holiday Caroling: In the fall, start a caroling group at the school. Set practice times each week, and set a visitation schedule for the holiday season. Provide creativity and service hours to other students in the process!
11. Candy-Grams: Sell candy or flowers at lunches and deliver to students at a later date. Use the proceeds to support a club or organization, or donate to a cause that is important to you.
12. Make Bird Feeders: Sponsor a program at a local elementary school where you teach young students how to make and give the gift of bird feeders to family members and friends. Fundraise for supplies, if necessary, or use the proceeds to help that elementary school with its projects. Visit http://www.ehow.com/how_6533247_make-bottle-bird-feeders.html for more information.
13. Dog/Car Wash: Car washes are typically a lot of work to raise $200-300. However, if done the right way, they can provide a lot more money than the convention ones. Create posters, recruit 20-25 individuals and find a busy location on a nice weekend. Get each of your participating members to be sponsored or pledged PRIOR to the event, so that you can get the fundraising you need even before the car wash occurs. Usually this doubles or triples the amount the car wash raises and everyone gets a bigger piece of the fundraising total.
14. Adopt a Family: Plan to provide Christmas gifts to a family in need at the holidays. Go to: http://www.voami.org/Services/Children-Youth-Families/Adopt-A-Family for more information on how to fundraiser and sponsor a family in need. Wrap presents and deliver to provide the best holiday ever to some children in need.
15. Holiday Veterans' Dinner: Thank your local veterans by raising money and hosting a special dinner for their service to our country. Have each family involved cater dishes to save on overhead and rent--or seek for free--the rental of a local establishment to provide a great home-cooked meal to honor these veterans.
16. Nursing Home Secret Santa: Organize a nursing home Secret Santa gift exchange at your local nursing home by having senior residents fill out a card describing what they like, pairing your group of students with a senior resident or two, and arranging a day of gift-giving.
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