Sp Senior Believes In ‘America’s Promise’
Getting involved in the community and encouraging others to do so is nothing new to Shadle Park senior Jarrod Lowe.
So the opportunity to go to Seattle to urge some of the state’s most influential people to make a difference wasn’t something he considered radical.
But just before Lowe delivered the closing remarks to an audience of a few hundred people, which included retired General Colin Powell, Gov. Gary Locke and top executives from Microsoft, Boeing and United Airlines, he suddenly thought about his place in the world.
Then Lowe quickly realized his place is right next to all of them.
“What I’m talking about, the message is the same for everyone, regardless of their social position,” Lowe said.
Lowe was one of 66 Spokane residents who flew to Seattle on Jan. 21 to participate in the national youth initiative called “America’s Promise.”
The Spokane contingency included 20 high school students from Spokane as well as business people, community service group representatives and health-care professionals.
Lowe was one of the 10 original Spokane delegates who attended the national youth summit last April in Philadelphia. The summit was launched by the five living presidents and is chaired by Powell.
Lowe is currently working for the Health Improvement Partnership on the “Bridging the GAP (Generations for America’s Promise)” initiative and involving area youth in the project.
The Seattle meeting was an opportunity for America’s Promise groups from all over the country to meet with Powell and to update him on their progress while brainstorming about new programs and ideas designed to reach out to young people.
HIP’s Spokane office is located at 801 W. Fifth. Community coordinator Candace Uliano said the group is focusing on five resources for youth:
A caring adult, mentor, tutor or coach.
Safe places and structured activities for children to learn and grow.
A healthy start and healthy future.
A marketable skill through effective education.
An opportunity to give back through their own service to the community.
The goal of the community-wide initiative is to positively impact 3,000 kids by the year 2000.
“That means achieving one of the five resources for 3,000 kids who currently do not have that resource,” Uliano said.
And at this point, Lowe is one of the best resources available to HIP.
“There’s not a lot of 18-year-old kids who go out of their way to do this,” Uliano said. “He’s been so helpful that he basically put himself in a position where we had to hire him.”
HIP has 11 full-time and part-time employees, and 6,400 businesses and individuals who are working to reach out to disadvantaged youth.
One of Lowe’s biggest challenges is to get his classmates involved in the challenge.
“Lots of my classmates say they’re busy and don’t have the time, but for a lot of them, I think once people find out what is going on, then they seem to get interested,” Lowe said.
A local summit will be held May 1 at Spokane Falls Community College. Lowe is trying to get as many high school students from Spokane County involved.
“I know I can’t get everybody, but I know that it’s a good thing for us to be involved in the community,” he said.
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