• Informational discussion of global poverty or pressing environmental issues with an explanation of how people can help create a more just, beautiful, healthy and sustainable planet.

• Photographer(s) to take pictures of the youth and their work.

• Possible media coverage. The young participants may be interviewed, photographed, or filmed for print, broadcast and other media.

• Forms for parents or guardians to sign giving permission to show pictures of their children and their work on-line on the Hearts & Minds website - www.change.net - and in other media. Please have these forms signed and ready for Hearts & Minds by the start of the event.

• If possible, please supply a PC computer, computer projector and screen or white wall. This enables us to include a better presentation.

Your organization would spread the word to recruit a good number of participants. We can design a poster for you if you provide the name, email and phone number of the best contact person in your organization, so participants can sign up with you. Please also include the address and room number where the event will be held.

Usually we then email you the final poster as a pdf file and ask you to print it out, cut the tickets at the bottom, and post it in all appropriate locations at your location.

We ask you to publicize the event two weeks in advance, if practical. This gives time for the participants to get signed parental permission/release forms in advance.

We also ask you to provide the following:

• Recruitment of participants from your school or organization, 25 - 30* teens at each event  recruitment can very from assigning a class of students to posters and your staff spreading the word. Please let us know at least a day ahead how many participants you expect.
  *Events with as few as 10 or as many 100 are possible. Please ask if this applies to your organization. For groups of more than 30, a mic and loudspeaker is very helpful.

• Signed parental permission/release forms for us to collect at the event. Otherwise, we cannot put their artworks and photos online.

• A a sturdy chair for each participant, including extra chairs for the adults from your organization and Hearts & Minds.

• Screened adult supervision from your organization, at least one adult for every seven kids. Hearts & Minds usually provides 1 - 4 volunteers. You will be kept posted if additional media will be attending.

• A PC computer with an available USB port, loaded with the Microsoft PowerPoint program that's compatible with Microsoft Office 2003, a computer projector and a screen to show our presentation. If a screen is not available, a light colored (preferably white) wall is OK.

• Light, preferably healthy refreshments for all those attending.

If you are not able to provide any of the above items, let us know, and we may be able to provide them. Please let us know in advance if you cannot provide all of the specified materials.

Sample Event Schedule

The event usually take between two and three and a half hours. It can be scheduled as follows (days and start times are very flexible but are confirmed in advance):

• 3:00 PM -  Refreshments/settling in
• 3:15 - Introductions of Hearts & Minds, other adults and the participants
• 3:20 -  Lecture/discussion of poverty and/or the environment, art techniques and effective communication
• 3:40 -  Poster, essay and poetry creation time
• 4:20 -  Group review of the work, further discussion of the issue -or- talk about letter writing techniques, identification of each person's representative
• 4:40 -  Time for additional work or writing letters to our elected representatives
• 5:00 -  Group review and further discussion
• 5:30 -  Good-byes

An alternative event, in which each child creates one piece of art for inclusion in a "Change Our World" collage, can be completed in less than two hours.