Here are a few:
Mlive.com
Grand Valley Lanthorn
Hillsdale Collegian
Poverty News Blog
On spring break, I went to Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in South Dakota to hand out the first 250 shirts. "Pine Ridge is the eighth largest reservation in the United States, it is also the poorest. Unemployment on the reservation hovers around 80%, and 49% live below the Federal poverty level.[2] Adolescent suicide is four times the national average. Many of the families have no electricity, telephone, running water, or sewer. Many families use wood stoves to heat their homes. The population on Pine Ridge has among the shortest life expectancies of any group in the Western Hemisphere: approximately 47 years for males and in the low 50s for females. The infant mortality rate is five times the United States national average. (wikipedia)"In my opinion, the reservation seemed to be a third world country in the middle of the United States. I did not know what to expect, as this was our first shirt drop, I was a little nervous. When we drove onto the reservation, it was very isolated, and for the first few miles, there was nothing around. The scenery was amazing. With the mountains and open land, I couldn't help but think about how people used to live. But as we drove further, we began to see how we have forced these people to live.
With alcoholism being a huge problem on the reservation, signs where friends and family had passed away peppered the sides of the roads. There were dogs running wild and dogs dead on the side of the road. But the most disturbing experience that I had when I was there was when we first arrived on the reservation.
We had directions to the Red Cloud Indian School, but having never been there before, we had no real clue as to where it was on this huge reservation. Well, long story short, we got really turned around. I suggested that we turn down a side dirt road because in my mind, this was the right way. We turned down the road and I soon stopped the car because I realized it was the wrong way. But I didn't turn around right away. I saw something down the road. So I sat and waited. What I saw may not seem that insane, but to me, for some reason, I felt so sad. I saw a man with a drink in his hand just walking aimlessly. It was such a sad sight because he honestly looked as though he has nowhere to go and nothing to do but drown in his drink and in his loneliness.
We turned the car around and eventually found our way to the elementary school where we were met by the nicest people. It is amazing to know that these people have struggled more than we could ever know, and yet they were acting as though their lives had been filled with endless joy. What I would later learn is that the residents of the Pine Ridge simply take advantage of their joyful moments more than the rest of us do.
Anyway, back to the trip, I went to the different classrooms, kindergarten through the 4th grade and spoke to them about the shirts that they were receiving. I started out talking about the shirts, I told them that their shirt has an individual order number on the back of it, sort of like a team jersey, and this shirt has a matching one somewhere in the United States. They were intrigued and smiled when I told them that every time they wear that shirt to know that someone, somewhere around the world is thinking about them. I also spoke about
the message that is printed on the back of every shirt, "Change the World". I told them that one day soon, they will change the world. I said that by staying in school and writing goals they will not only change their own personal world, but they will change their family's world, and their community's world.I remember when I was younger, this realization was something bigger than I could comprehend at the time, but would stick with me throughout my life. After I spoke with them, I would always ask if they had any questions, and the questions were great. They would always ask who had their shirt, they asked if I was on the Disney channel, they asked if I could sign their shirts, and a ton more flattering questions.
A few hours had passed after I had delivered the shirts and I was finishing up speaking with everyone that I needed to, when I realized that I had left my book bag in one of the classrooms. I walked back over to the school by myself in search of the bag. I went to the classroom and the kids were excited to tell me how they had found it and ran it to the office for me to find. I thanked them and walked to the office. After I got my backpack, I walked out through the playground only to see every kid playing with their new Be A Number shirts on. A few waved and a few were too into the game to notice I was even there, but one of the best moments of the trip happened as I was walking off of the playground. A girl was being picked up by her mom and I saw that this girl had a Be A Number shirt on. She saw me and her eyes lit up. She smiled and tugged on her mom's coat and pulled her ear closer. I saw the girl whisper something with a smile and point at me. The mom looked, smiled, and lipped the words "thank you" to me. Do you know that times in life that you take visual snapshots of? The ones that change your life in the small amount of time it took to happen? That was one of those moments.
We left Pine Ridge and I realized that Be A Number was not just an idea anymore. It not only felt real to just me anymore, but also to 500 other people; the 250 that bought into Be A Number from the very beginning and took a chance on something new and the 250 children on the Pine Ridge.
We are currently working on improving the Be A Number website. The website will soon include pictures from the trip, a video from the trip, and ways to donate to the Red Cloud Indian School, as well as buy some of the one-of-a-kind, handmade items that local Native American artists on the reservation created. This can be done at the Heritage Center. This gives them the opportunity to be self sufficient; I see this as a great addition to Be A Number.
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