Our little corner of the world

Important lesson learned: you don't have to be part of a large organization in order to make a significant impact on the world. It is possible to make a difference to a small group of people, because every life matters.

I would venture to say that PR involves a lot of internal philosophy.

Every winter semester for the past 3 years, NMU's small PRSSA Chapter has implemented a campaign to help a non-profit. The first year, we helped raise money for the situation in Darfur. Wishing to reach out more to our local community, last year we raised $2,200 for an organization called Voices for Youth, a "home base" for youth in the Marquette area who left home. This year, we are putting our efforts into Teaching Family Homes. This is a remarkable place about 10 minutes outside Marquette located down an isolated road. This organization teaches troubled youth what "family" means, and how to live by "family values" in hopes of someday, these kids grow up to be sufficient adults capable of raising their own loving families.

Our PRSSA took a tour of this facility, and I was nothing short of amazed and inspired. We went to one of the homes that housed about eight youth, and received a tour from nine-year-old Josh, who explained to us his daily life and what he was learning. In giving the tour, Josh got to apply some social skills he had been practicing with his "family". I wondered if Josh would have been just as sweet, kind and hopeful if he was not with TFH and their program.

TFH is building a school house on their campus to accommodate youth that are not quite ready for the public school environment. This is what NMU's PRSSA is contributing to through a Ski and Snowboard Competition (Jam for Love) and 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. Though small, TFH is accomplishing tremendous things in our little corner of the world, and as a small PRSSA chapter, its a great lesson for us to see we can contribute something too.

This has made me realize that I don't have to go to a big city to make a positive impact and do something "big" with my life. Sometimes, the small communities need just as much help, if not more than the metropolitan areas. And sometimes, the small organizations, such as TFH, are making just as much of an impact as the large non-profits. A human life is a human life no matter what the size of the region, city or organization. Making a difference in a person's life can be done anywhere.

To learn more about Teaching Family Homes and their services, visit their website at www.teachingfamilyhomes.com

To learn more or participate in PRSSA's fund raising efforts for TFH, visit our Facebook groups:
Jam for Love
3-on-3 Basketball Tournament
Or feel free to email me at kannala@nmu.edu or prssanmu@gmail.com for more information.