Moose - The Family Fraternity

Can teenagers persuade younger children to make positive choices in life? “YES!” say the teens and adults who work together in the MOOSE YOUTH AWARENESS PROGRAM. For more than two decades, we have organized high school students into a highly effective “speakers’ bureau” with the goal of educating preschool and elementary school children on a variety of topics, such as drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, “stranger danger”, bullying and peer pressure and healthy habits and nutrition.

More than 1,300 energetic teens gathered last year at State and Provincial Moose Association Student Congresses throughout the United States and Canada. They listened to guest speakers, exchanged ideas and used their creativity to help themselves and other deal with adverse elements in their own communities. Many students revealed experiences in their own lives, which drove them to help in preventing future tragedies. Some of the students who attended these Congresses were already leaders in school or community youth programs; some became leaders as a result of the knowledge and experience they gained at the Congresses.

Youth Awareness Presentation At the Association Student Congresses, students focus on creating Moose KidsTalks, which are presentations to be given to 4-9 year-olds in their communities. While adults provided real world experiences and inspiration, the students developed their own ideas for their Moose KidsTalks. They found ways to empower children to make healthy choices and resist danger, and went home determined to put them to practice.

Youth Awareness Presention The best part of Moose KidsTalks presentations is the lengths to which the teens will extend their creativity. Some use costumes and actually take on alternate personas; some use props, pictures, puppets or coloring books; some use skits or other avenues to make their presentations interactive for the audience. As their experience as a presenter grows, so does their ability to hold the children’s attention.

They are the Future

Each year, we ask school officials across North America to recommend two high school students to attend Association Student Congresses, which are held in October and November each year.

Youth Awareness Students are selected based on academic ability and leadership qualities. They are challenged to become a “speakers’ bureau” utilizing Moose KidsTalks. Each participant selects a topic and develops a presentation around that topic. They are then responsible for finding opportunities to speak to groups of 4 to 9- year-old children in scouting units, elementary schools, Sunday School classes, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs and YMCA youth programs just to name a few. Each student is asked to do a minimum of three (3) Moose KidsTalks from the end of the Association Student Congress through the end of February each year. They are also asked to complete written reports on these presentations.

Each year, approximately 60 students, who attended Association Student Congresses and completed the minimum of three (3) Moose KidsTalks, are selected by their peers to attend the International Student Congress. During the International Congress, five students will be selected by their peers to receive scholarships. The awards are:

 1st Place - $12,000
 2nd Place - $8,000
 3rd Place - $5,000
 4th Place - $3,000
 5th Place - $2,000

The $12,000 recipient is invited annually to attend our Moose International Convention to address the members in attendance about their presentation and their experience with the program.

The Future is NOW

The Moose Youth Awareness Program has a bright future. Through Moose KidsTalks presentations to small groups of 4 to 9-year-olds, our participants can inspire the children in their local communities to make healthy decisions and to avoid adverse situations. In fact, the voices of those students who have attended Association and International Student Congresses during the last 15 years have reached an audience of more than 700,000.

Our Lodges, Chapters, Moose Legions and Moose Associations also support many other outstanding local and state programs that benefit children. Our fraternal leaders are dedicated to this most worthwhile program that affects youths all over North America. The Moose Youth Awareness Program reaffirms our commitment to providing today for a better tomorrow.

The future rests in the hands, hearts and minds of our children. Without a doubt, members of the Loyal Order of Moose and co-workers of the Women of the Moose will continue to provide assistance to make our communities better places for families to live and for children to grow.

For more information on the Moose Youth Awareness Program, please contact the Moose International Department of Fraternal Programs at (630) 966-2224.

North Dakotan Maria Pitner Claims $12K Scholarship
In 2009 Moose Youth Awareness Congress Balloting

Click Photos to Enlarge

MOOSEHEART, IL, May 8 - As she boarded the airplane in Minot, ND, Maria Pitner had a very unusual piece of carry-on luggage: a black cauldron.

So of course, the 17-year-old told her fellow passengers she was headed to a witch's convention. Pitner was telling those onboard a half-truth. She was heading for an important group get-together, but the cauldron was one of her props for the Moose Youth Awareness Congress, which took place April 30-May 4 in Hampton, VA.

Pitner and her cauldron arrived safely, and she went home with something extra to carry on--a college scholarship worth $12,000, thanks to her presentation at the Congress being voted best by her peers.

"I wasn't expecting to win at all," Pitner said. "It was one of those things where you bake a cake and you don't know how good of a baker you are. I didn't know how good my project was. I was really surprised then they called my name."

So now Pitner is going to take another airline flight. Thanks to her first-place finish, she and her parents will attend the Moose International Convention, which takes place May 22-27 in Chicago and where Maria will speak to an audience of as many as 4,000. Despite her relative youth, Pitner has been closely involved with the Moose for some time, even though she started at a time when her parents weren't members of Minot, ND Lodge 822.

"They needed servers for the kitchen for when they had the restaurant open on Saturdays," Pitner said. "I loved doing that and I told my parents that they had to come on down and become members. I told them that there were scholarship opportunities for me, and there were many different projects that the Lodge did. My dad had a few co-workers who are Moose members. So they came, had fun, and joined."

The Moose Youth Awareness Student Congress is a gathering of bright teenagers--many who are sons and daughters of Moose members, some simply sponsored by a Lodge/Chapter--who have given a series of "Moose KidsTalks" about some topic in order to help children aged 4-through-9 to make positive choices in their lives. Hosted by the Virginia Moose Association, this year's Congress consisted of 56 young men and women from across the U.S. and Canada in addition to two Mooseheart students: Marlene Gomez and Heather Hensley.

While attending the Congress, attendees have plenty of time to have fun, visit area Lodges and participate in some educational opportunities. This year, in addition to nightly visits to Virginia Lodges, Congress members spent a day at Busch Gardens amusement park and Colonial Williamsburg, a park set to recreate 18th century life in Virginia's first capital city.

"It was one of the busier schedules that I've been involved with," Moose International Director of Fraternal Programs Shawn Baile said. "There was constantly something to do, which was good. There is always a combination of things to do that are either educational or fun. We try to find things that the kids will enjoy."

On the final day, the students go into a room where there is not an adult presence, give their KidsTalks and vote on the best. The top five earn scholarship money. This year, there was a tie for fifth place, and Baile said the decision was made to give all six scholarship money.

Pitner's topic was on the health dangers of alcohol and tobacco use. She used a Power Point presentation, had props, which included that cauldron, into which she'd put the harmful ingredients, found in cigarettes. But she came armed with something else, a personal story that brought home the dangers to the youth to whom she gave her 10 KidsTalks as well as to the Congress members.

"I started to talk about my uncle," Pitner said. "He was 22 and the only son, along with two daughters, in my mom's family. One night, he went with a buddy and they had some drinks. They'd taken a motorcycle and after having some drinks, they decided to drive back. Neither of them wore their helmets, which they had and always wore, and there was an accident and both were killed.

"It happened in the '70s, before I was born. My parents and our family have always helped out at my grandparents' farm, and while we do it gladly, I have always felt that this didn't have to be our cross to bear. My uncle didn't think. He didn't realize that even though it's your decision to drink and drive, the consequences last for years and for generations."

Pitner gave her presentation 10 times in North Dakota for children in second, third and fourth grade. She also got plenty of insight in preparation from her family. Pitner is the seventh of 10 children in her family, and there are nieces and nephews to which she could deliver her presentation as well.

"I know you're not going to be able to change a lot of people's minds with one talk," Pitner said. "But you can change people's minds one day at a time. Talking to my nieces and nephews helped."

The experience of giving her KidsTalk at the Youth Awareness Congress was somewhat different.

"The most fun part was meeting all the other kids," Pitner said. "It was a little nerve-wracking talking to everyone. It was interesting to see how the others would sit and talk about their topics."

Baile mentioned that smoking and tobacco use have been popular topics of the Youth Awareness Congress for years.

"It's interesting because you're expecting someone to pull out some topic that no one's ever done," Baile said. "(Pitner's) topic and story have so much meaning for her that it shows that you don't have to take on something new to win this. It takes effort. Her topic is one that's been talked about by tons of kids over the years and it's still meaningful."

The second-place award, and an $8,000 scholarship, went to Stephen Perry from North Carolina. Perry's topic was Fire Safety, Gun Safety and Theater Safety. Alberta native Danielle Sather, the lone Canadian representative at the Congress, earned third place and the $5,000 scholarship. Sather's topic was The Environment. Fourth place and a $3,000 scholarship went to Illinois' Nimra Elahi, whose topic was Going Green. The tie for fifth place was between Rebecca Cross from Virginia and Pennsylvania representative Adam Zahren. Cross, whose topic was Going Green and Zahren, whose topic concerned Bullying, Stranger Danger and Drug Awareness, each received a $2,000 scholarship.

Moose International's endeavors include the major support of Mooseheart Child City & School, a 1,000-acre residential community and school near Chicago founded in 1913 for children and teens in need; and of Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922. In addition, the Moose organization conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually, of which the Moose Youth Awareness program is a major part.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org, www.Mooseheart.org, www.Moosehaven.org, and www.MooseCharities.org, or call 630-966-2229.

There is a Future, ..........They are the Future, .....................The Future is Now!

There is a Future,
..........They are the Future,
.....................The Future is Now!