She’s on a mission to get you involved

By Melinda McKee

December 6, 2010

We're proud to share that Amber Smith, founder/president of Wake County's volunteer matching service ME3, has been chosen as one of the recipients of Independent Weekly's 2010 Citizen Awards.

Among the many accomplishments of ME3, this year saw the launch of their Community Leadership and Service curriculum in two Wake County high schools.The students' first Service Project Fair, sponsored by NCGives, kicks off tonight!

"Amber Smith: Making volunteerism cool again with ME3"
(Independent Weekly)


In groups of three and four, the seniors taking a new Community Leadership and Service class at East Wake High School in Wendell are conferring with their visiting mentor, Amber Smith, about the volunteer projects they're working on. One group wants to organize a drive to gather supplies for the local boys and girls club. Another group, three young women, wants to mentor fifth-grade girls on making the jump next year from elementary to middle school. A third group, male athletes alarmed at the statistics on child obesity, is planning a field day at the middle school on nutrition and teamwork. "Some will be better at sports," one of the young men says of the younger kids. "But teamwork is about everyone in the group taking a leadership role."

Smith, an N.C. State University graduate student, affirms this insight with a radiant smile. Everyone can lead; everyone can help meet the community's needs.
 
This class, and another like it at Broughton High School in Raleigh, is using a curriculum that Smith developed, the latest initiative of an organization she created called ME3—an acronym for Motivate, Educate, Empower and Engage. The "ME" means everyone.
 
Five years old, ME3 is hitting its stride in its two-fold mission to promote volunteer action in Wake County and serve as a gateway for prospective volunteers and the nonprofit groups that want their help. ME3's core group has grown from a handful of people to about 40, according to Smith. They partner with 70 nonprofit groups, helping to recruit volunteers either for single events or ongoing participation in the organization—each group and each volunteer makes that call with ME3's help— before and after the initial match...
 
 
 
You can see the full list of Indy's Citizen Awards here.

 

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