PRESS RELEASE
November 9, 2020
Contacts:
Andrea Van Wambeke, LPW c/o 2020 Project Manager
andrea@sweeneybarn.com // (703) 282-3033
Andrea Money, LPW Executive Director
andrea@leadershipprincewilliam.org // 703-853-0323
Local Leaders Work Around COVID Pandemic to Help Community
Manassas, VA– Members of Leadership Prince William’s (LPW) Class of 2020 are keeping their promise made to the community prior to the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. As leaders of integrity in the Prince William community, the Class of 2020 remains committed to their promise made to the at-risk youth who reside on the Youth for Tomorrow(YFT) campus. “Our chosen class project was to provide an obstacle course and sensory rooms at Youth for Tomorrow,” said Andrea Van Wambeke, Class of 2020 Project Manager. “These projects will provide an outlet for at-risk youth to grow, heal and become confident teens as they mature to adulthood.”
This project was developed, planned and voted on byLeadership Prince William class members. Working as a team, the class was to plan and execute a day of volunteer service through Comcast Cares Day with our partners at Comcast.As in years past, the effort would have coordinated the efforts of hundreds of volunteers working together to complete the project in a matter of hours.This annual tradition was canceled due to the pandemic. Still, the class has decided they will remain committed to the project even though there is no requirement for them to do so.
“Year after year, as the class has planned their project, they individually and collectively develop greater ties to their community, to one another and to their own leadership abilities. The project is meant to show them who they really are,” said Andrea Money, Executive Director of Leadership Prince William. “It would have been easy to forgo this year’s project. But I am pleased that the Class of 2020 has chosen instead to be the kinds of leaders who remain true to their word; especially in dealings with young people who have been accustomed to having promises made to them and then broken.”
“The youth on our campus need a healthy outlet where they can express their emotions in a positive way while still challenging themselves mentally and physically,” said Lawrence Schuster, LPW Class of 2020 and YFT’s Director of Program Utilization. “The youth here were part of creating the vision of building a confidence obstacle course and sensory room. The obstacle course is so fitting for the youth on this campus.” The obstacle course will provide a therapeutic way for the youth staying on campus to learn how to overcome challenges to reach their goals.
Often the children served at Youth For Tomrrow come from places where broken promises and a lack of commitment is the norm. “It’s special to know that LPW cares for the kids so much that they are willing to continue to finish the project to show these kids that they remain committed to them,” said Schuster.
In lieu of the planned day of service, monetary donations will be collected through December 5, 2020 and presented to Youth for Tomorrow to assist in completing construction when it becomes safer to have workers on their campus.
Tax-deductible donations are being requested as well as in-kind donations of supplies, labor and other materials. Find out more at the project website: https://leadershipprincewilliam.org/news-events/class-project.
About Leadership Prince William: Leadership Prince William is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that inspires and engages adults and youth to enrich the Greater Prince William Region through collaborative leadership. We operate a Signature Program for adults, continuing education and networking for alumni, and a Summer Youth Academy for middle school students. LPW is governed by a Board of Regents and has one full-time staff member. To learn more about Leadership Prince William visit https://leadershipprincewilliam.org/
About Youth for Tomorrow:The mission of Youth For Tomorrow is to provide children and families with the opportunity to focus their lives and develop the confidence, skills, intellectual ability, spiritual insight and moral integrity – each based on Godly principles, resulting in positive changes to the benefit of the child, the family, the community, and the nation. Find out more about Youth for Tomorrow at https://youthfortomorrow.org/
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Interviews available to media from Leadership Prince William, LPW Class of 2020 members and representatives from Youth for Tomorrow.