Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE

Age:

• 12-18

Philanthropy is:

• Giving, serving and private citizen action intended for the common good.

Objectives:

The young person will:

• develop a plan to achieve a challenging goal in a group situation.
• develop and practice behaviors and attitudes of cooperation and teamwork.
• reflect on ways that resiliency and teamwork can have a positive impact when facing unexpected challenges.
• demonstrate the benefits of utilizing a variety of skill to reach an identified goal.
• reflect on new learning and its application to philanthropy.
  

Activity Theme:

“As long as you can envision the fact that you can do something, you can—as long as you really believe it 100%.”

~Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1990, Governor of California
and Movie Actor

The facilitator explains to the participants that they will be learning about the value of leadership, communication and teamwork through sharing their time, talent and treasure. The facilitator might say something like, “This is a very fun, yet quite challenging activity. Often, community service projects and philanthropic endeavors require individuals to work cooperatively and to overcome unexpected challenges with creative solutions. Be prepared for the unexpected on your adventure down the Amazon. Challenges will be designed purposefully to frustrate you and make it difficult for you to achieve your mission. Those that refuse to persevere and practice the above mentioned skills will find success!”

Activity Steps:

• Tell the following story:
  
  The Amazon River Challange
  
  The year is 2020. You are all team members of an environmental expedition. You are scientists, doctors and researchers who have been sent on an important mission to a remote part of the Amazon rain forest in South America. Your team has discovered several rare plant species that when combined form a medicine that will stop a fatal disease that is threatening all of humanity. You have successfully completed your work in the Amazon. When leaving from a remote airstrip, your plane is struck by lightning and loses power and communication. It must land not far from where you took off originally. You are quite far from civilization and several of your fellow team members are injured. You must find help right away. The only way to do so is to navigate down the dangerous Amazon River to a town where you can find help for the injured and get your new medicine into production. Your groups decide to build rafts to float down the river. However, what you fail to realize is that the vines that you used to bind the rafts together will slowly disintegrate in the water and will eventually fall apart. You are challenged to get down the river as quickly as possible!
  
• Divide the group into teams of 8-10 members each.
• Determine the starting point and an ending point for each team’s “Amazon River” (about 25 to 30 feet long in length).
• Each team is instructed to designate participants with the following imaginary injuries:
  - Unable to use left arm
  - Unable to use right arm
  - Unable to use one leg (no contact with the ground)
  - Unable to talk
  The remaining team members have no any physical injuries.
• Each team going down the river is given a number of carpet square samples (approx. 2 X 3 feet), the number of squares equal to 80% of the team’s number of participants. These “rafts” simulate the rafts the teams in the story built. Participants are instructed that “being completely on” these imaginary rafts is the ONLY way they can get down the Amazon. They must follow this rule as challenges are given to them one after another and work together as a team to resolve each different situation.
  RULES:
  - Rafts (the carpet samples) cannot be scooted or thrown. You must only drop them two to three feet from one another.
  - If you step off a raft in any way and touch the floor (river) your entire team has to freeze motionless for ten seconds.
  - The main facilitator and other designated persons may remove rafts from the teams throughout the challenge in several ways. If the facilitator shouts “ Raft is removed” to a particular team, that team must remove one raft. (Point out that life is full of obstacles to overcome that aren’t always fairly distributed)
  - You may have one foot on one raft and one foot on another raft but you may never be completely off a raft without penalties.
  - Throughout the game facilitators (there should be one per team if possible) continue to clarify activity goals and rules. They can also challenge and encourage their team at the same time.
  - After about 10 minutes each team is given a can or box with the medicine to carry down the river with them to get the crucial medicine to safety. To complete the mission all medicine must arrive at the designated destination intact and with the team.
  
• Teams that are advancing quickly may be given more obstacles such as chairs and facilitators in their path to act as barriers to make them take a turn on the river.
• When the main facilitator determines that the team that is ahead is within 3 or 4 minutes of reaching the finish, the countdown on time begins. Tell them every thirty seconds the clock is running out. Do this for as long as it takes for at least one team to reach the finish.
• When the first team reaches the finish they must go back and help the other teams through helpful hints and encouragement.
• This dramatic ending creates a great team spirit and enthusiasm for assisting one another with the big mission.

Processing Questions:

1. What does teamwork have to do with philanthropy?
2. How did you have to work together to accomplish your goals?
3. Is real life always fair? What obstacles did you encounter and what did you do to deal with them? Did you have to be creative and how?
4. What were some of the keys to your success in completing your mission?
5. What are the lessons you learned from this activity? How does communication and cooperation apply to your group, school, community and globally? Give some concrete examples.
6. How did your team members assist others? How does this apply to working with groups in real situations of giving, serving and advocacy?
7. Did you feel like just giving up? What kept you going?
8. When did you realize that the other teams were not opponents to defeat you, but partners to actually help you?
9. How did it feel to realize other teams were coming to help?
10. How did it feel to help other teams?
11. Can obstacles be turned into gifts? Do you know of anyone who has been able to do this and can you share the experience? Explain.

Variation:

This activity can also be done outdoors. When outdoors, you may blindfold some participants, using your best judgement about what is appropriate for the group and setting.

Have each team prepare a list of the skills of communication, attitude and cooperation exhibited by their team.

Supplemental Activity:

Have participants reflect on doing a group project and develop a list of “Guiding Principles” for future meetings and group projects.

Have participants discuss the South American Rain Forest and the responsibility to be good stewards of the world’s natural resources. Have them develop ideas for ways they can further environmental stewardship.

Activity Source:

Community Partnerships with Youth Inc
New Material (Field tested by the Kansas Youth Philanthropy Initiative
Grant-Making Boards and the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility)

Philanthropy Theme Framework :

Strand Standard Benchmark PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS01. Self, citizenship, and society MS 4. Describe the characteristics of someone who helps the community. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS01. Self, citizenship, and society HS 4. Describe and give examples of characteristics of good citizens in a democracy.