By KAYLA J. MARSH
Staff Writer
LITTLE SILVER — As a senior at Red Bank Regional High School, Emma Craven was discouraged by the rap on her generation of not being motivated.
So she became engaged to make a change.
Through the use of different campaigns found on a website called dosomething.org, Emma is engaging her peers and community to get involved and do something to make a difference, no matter how big or small.
“I really like making people happy, and through the community service and the campaigns that we do, I get to experience that and experience how my actions can improve other people’s lives, and in turn, that makes me feel better as well,” she said in a recent interview. “Some kids have a sport that gives them a drive or music or art or whatever it is, and I guess helping people would be mine.”
Since last summer, Emma and her friends have collected more than 600 pieces of clothing for the poor and 100 pounds of candy to send to troops overseas. They threw a retro-board game party and donated the games to a family shelter, and collected more than 650 cigarette butts to spare landfills the non-biodegradable filters — among other activities.
Emma said all these ideas were found on the dosomething.org website, which she became acquainted with when a speaker came to her school and suggested the site as a positive outlet for those wanting to make a difference.
The site highlights campaigns as simple as choosing reusable water bottles instead of plastic bottles or even teaching a grandparent how to use a computer.
“I like branching out and assisting with different concerns that the world has today like poverty or environmental issues,” Emma said. “They are different things, but I think it is a lot more fun to do a variety of activities.”
For another campaign, Emma was joined by friends Morgan Grant and Samantha LaRocca for a “Thumb Wars” contest, which aimed to dissuade distracting driving.
The students were sent socks for their thumbs to wear while they recreated a famous driving scene from the Harry Potter films.
“It is really great how Emma got us all involved to do something good and something new and fun,” Samantha said. “It makes it that much more fulfilling and kind of fun to do these things with your friends.
Morgan said no matter what the campaign, it is always fun and worth it.
“It really doesn’t take that much effort to go out and do something for a day or even an hour,” she said. “I recently collected 66 cans and used them for a project … so it can be something that simple.”
Emma, who aspires to working in non-profit management, was one of only three high school teenagers hired by dosomething.org as summer interns last year and has been invited back for a second internship this spring.
“People who aren’t getting involved I don’t think realize the impact they can have with the simple actions that they can do, so I think if they can see that, the world might be a better place.”