Service is the Solutiona Shayla Price creation

According to the USDA, over 16 million children lived in food insecure households in 2010. Nearly 14 million children are estimated to be served by Feeding America, over 3 million of which are ages 5 and under. School attendance and academic performance both suffer due to student undernourishment.

To ring in the New Year, I am launching an End Childhood Hunger Contest. President Obama has set an ambitious goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015. Let’s help him!

In order to enter the End Childhood Hunger Contest, you must (1) donate at least 5 can goods to your local food bank, (2) upload a picture of you donating, and (3) write a 100-word or less essay on how America can end childhood hunger. Entries will be judged based on creativity, originality, and overall appeal. One (1) winner will receive $100.

Fill out the contest submission form. The deadline is Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 5 pm EST.

Good Luck!

In three short weeks, the ONE Hunger and Agriculture Griot Project has rallied together hundreds of worldwide change agents to end global hunger. Hunger is the world’s No. 1 health risk. It kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Currently, 925 million people do not have enough to eat, and 98 percent of them live in developing countries.

To fight against hunger, ONE and WFP-USA have teamed up to train leaders. We are learning how to be storytellers for poverty. As advocates, we are gaining valuable skills on how to take action in our communities. Here are 3 reasons why the Griot course is so awesome:

1. Gain In-Depth Agriculture Knowledge

With access to cutting-edge articles and videos, we are studying how agriculture is a viable solution to global hunger. Griots learn why nutrition is so important. Moreover, we now understand how women play a crucial role in food security and production.

2. Practice Advocacy Skills

In a short amount of time, griots have written and called policymakers. We have created and practiced elevator speeches to pitch the fight against hunger to community members. We’re even enhancing our social media presence to encourage friends to join the cause.

3. Plan Your Very Own Action Event

We not only talk the talk, but we also walk the walk. Each griot is planning an action event to educate and mobilize our peers to end global hunger. Watch out! We may be campaigning in a city near you.

The Griot course is awesome! We are taking our knowledge and advocacy skills to the next level.

However, you don’t have to be a course participant to help end global hunger. To get involved, become a ONE Member by signing ONE’s Hungry No More petition.

Post previously published on BudgetWise Financial Solutions.

Since I wrote about how to go to college debt free in my previous post, I asked “Scholarship Queen” and expert, Shayla R. Price to write an article on how to obtain scholarships for college bound students today. Read on below.

So, you’re ready to apply for college scholarships? The scholarship process can be daunting, from asking for recommendation letters to writing detailed essays. However, you have the power to come out on top. With your unique experiences and passion to pursue a post-secondary education, you can earn free money to achieve your goals today.

Creating a strategy, or game plan, will help you organize your scholarship approach in an efficient and effective manner. The key to your success is developing a routine to establish a habit and researching your ideas to create a winning essay. Here are a few techniques to get you started right now:

1. Track Your Community Service
People love giving to those who give to others. Service includes nonprofit work, church ministry, and everyday deeds. Create an Excel spreadsheet documenting your community service. What organization did you volunteer with? What was your role in the activity? How did the service impact others? Also, record the contact information of the person in charge of the activity; you may have to ask him or her for a recommendation letter in the future.

2. Search for Scholarships
Locate eligible scholarships on websites, like Fastweb.com, ScholarshipExperts.com, and Scholarships.com. Create a Facebook page dedicated to asking people to post scholarships on your wall. Consider using your Twitter account to find scholarships; follow these gurus: @stlvolunteen and @scholarsgrants.

3. Write a Great Essay
Read the scholarship essay question carefully. Also, make sure you read the official rules, or the fine print. Are the judges looking for creativity or originality? If so, give them what they want. Answer the essay question by telling a detailed story, adding research from outside sources, and including your community service. Then, ask for help from a tutor, librarian, or English teacher to receive feedback.

Remember, you will succeed by sticking to a plan and consistently using the resources above. You have to develop your own scholarship regimen, enlist the help of others, and keep applying despite any rejection letters. I believe in you. Achieve scholarship success today!

Previously published on AIDemocracy

The hotel suite’s view was breathtaking, yet mind-boggling. Through the Victorian style window, I saw the rich, red clay of the roads crowded with playful children surrounded by dilapidated buildings in desperate need of repair.

Like most young Americans, I have always dreamed of traveling abroad. Now, I had my chance! In the summer of 2010, I had an incredible opportunity to travel to Kampala, Uganda, Africa. As a research team member of Southern University’s International Center for Information Technology and Development, I helped develop a case study about how mobile technology impacts health care in resource-poor communities.

Similar to other countries, Uganda has its challenges. Citizens are faced with health issues stemming from malaria, typhoid and yellow fever, and residents have an average life expectancy of 54-years-old. Nonetheless, local facilities and volunteers are continuing to build functioning community structures to bring access to quality health services to underserved populations.

As a result of my experience in Uganda, I have learned that the United States has role of preserving human equality and liberty around the world. Standing for the idea of political freedom, Americans shape and define the principles of independence and self-government. When America protects the interest of justice of people abroad, it secures the blessings of liberty at home.

In the past, I thought of volunteering as mentoring a child at a neighborhood school or joining a statewide nonprofit coalition. But, after returning from Africa, I understood that my volunteer efforts should reach a global scale. In January 2011, SCOUT BANANA, a non- profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the lack of basic health care in Africa, welcomed me as a new member of its Board of Directors. I am proud to be part of a youth-led team supporting organizations working in communities to provide basic health needs in Africa.

Traveling abroad for me was a life-changing experience. When I look at the picture of my hotel view, I now see a sense of hope for Africa, and America’s capacity to change lives around the world. To learn more about mobile healthcare in Uganda, go to http://ires.icitd.com/. Also, visit SCOUT BANANA.

Thank you Council on Women and Girls for granting authorization for the interview.

1. What are your duties and responsibilities as Deputy Director for the Council on Women and Girls?

President Obama created the White House Council on Women and Girls in early 2009 because he understood that it is everyone’s responsibility to understand and address the needs of women and girls, not just one person or office.  The Council includes representatives from all of the Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies as well as all of the White House offices – a set of incredibly smart and talented people from across the government.  My job is to work with the Council members to reach our goal of making sure that the entire federal government is doing something that has never done before:  focusing on the needs of women and girls. At times, that means working with individual agencies to achieve the goals they set out for themselves.  While other times, I am focused on bring all of the agencies together to address one issue.

2. What have been a few key accomplishments of the Council since President Obama signed the Executive Order creating it?

This Administration has been focused on supporting women and girls since day one. In fact, the very first bill that President Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gives new legal recourse to women who’ve experience sex-based pay discrimination.

Once the Council was created, we began a process of surveying the agencies and thinking about the unique concerns of women and girls when examining and creating government policy.  We understand that women and girls are critical to winning the future and it shows in our efforts.  In keeping all parts of the federal government focused on women and girls, we’ve made sure that their needs are considered in major policy decisions such as health insurance reform, which contains numerous important provisions that will empower women to live healthier lives.  The Council is designed so that our work is accomplished at the agency level, from the creation of the State Department’s Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues to a partnership that the Department of Transportation developed with Spelman College that exposes young women to careers in highway engineering.  It includes working with the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women and a collection of Council representatives to focus the full resources of the federal government on preventing violence against women and sexual assault.

We understand that in order to win the future, we must educate girls in the careers of the future, support women business owners so that they help grow the economy, build stronger workplaces that are able to meet the needs of a 21st Century workforce, and work to ensure that women and girls are safe from violence.  The Council pushed the conversation forward on workplace flexibility, hosting a Forum with the President and First Lady and working with the Department of Labor to expand the dialogue through events around the country.  We also worked with the Office of Personnel Management to conduct a workplace flexibility pilot project within the federal government.  We are creating new opportunities for women in the career fields of the future – those that involve science, technology, engineering and math through the President’s Educate to Innovate initiative and our work with the agencies.  The Council is supporting women business owners and entrepreneurs, through a Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit to listen to the needs of business owners directly and working to implement the Women Owned Small Business Rule, which expands the number of industries in which women-owned small businesses are able to compete exclusively for federal contracts.

3. What changes has the Council suggested to the President, regarding federal policies to address issues of special importance to women and girls?

We do not comment on our recommendations to the President, but I can say that he is committed to helping improve the lives of women and girls in this country.

4. What can women and girls in cities and towns across America do to support the Council?

The President has long said that we cannot change the country alone – it takes all of us to make a difference.  We encourage people of all ages to get involved with the work of the Council.  Whether it’s sending us policy ideas and feedback at cwg@who.eop.gov or talking to their friends and neighbors about the critical issues impacting women and girls.  We also encourage people to sign up for our White House Women’s Newsletter at www.whitehouse.gov/cwg to stay informed and engaged.

5. What initiatives will the Council be pursuing in 2011?

While the Council and Administration have accomplished a great deal, we have more work to do – and we hope to engage more people in the process along the way.  We will be focused the implementation of healthcare, so that more women, children, and families receive the type of care they deserve.  We will make more progress on some of our key initiatives, like workplace flexibility and ending violence against women.  We are also excited to see the impact of the Women-Owned Small Business Rule as we open up new industries to women.  In addition to supporting women business owners in the U.S., the Council will start addressing the similar challenges we face with women entrepreneurs abroad.  We will expand our work with girls, furthering our focus on the STEM fields and supporting girls around the world.  In addition, the Council will expand our support for women business owners and include addressing the similar challenges faced by women entrepreneurs abroad.

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