OUR AMBASSADORS

Meet Raul

 At the age of fifteen, Raul, a student at SA Douglas High School in Philadelphia, recognized that the elderly people in his community were often ignored or disrespected. He also felt that many of the seniors in his community had negative views of teenagers, which bothered him because he knew that he and his friends were good kids. Raul knew that he wanted to do something to change this, but he wasn’t sure where to begin. 

Raul had a passion for salsa dancing, and realized that he could use salsa as a way to bond with the seniors in his community. He contacted St. Anne’s, a local community center for seniors and asked if they would be interested in developing an intergenerational program where teens taught the seniors how to dance. He then went back to his school and recruited twenty-one of his peers. One of his teachers actually agreed to create a video documenting the project.  

Raul and his friends began by introducing themselves and doing intergenerational interviews, discussing the seniors’ experiences as teenagers and their views on the youth of today. In their next meeting, they began to teach the seniors the basic salsa steps. The seniors were so excited by this that in return, they wanted to teach the teens the jitterbug. 

As Raul realized how important this program was, he understood that the support of his friends and teachers was not enough. He began to write letters to local businesses to get donations and financial support for their projects so that he could assist with renovating the senior center.  Through the efforts of one young man, this project has been adopted by his high school, and it will continue for years to come.  

At the Champions of Caring Recognition Program, Ms. Jane, one of the seniors that Raul worked with, joined us onstage and shared with the audience how this program had changed her:

“This experience helped the seniors at St. Anne’s Center to see what life is like through young peoples’ eyes and  promoted understanding between the generations. We read so many negative stories about young people. It helped to change our attitudes about the youth of Philadelphia and to feel more comfortable around young people in our neighborhoods.  Raul and his peers showed that they truly wanted to be there, and that they are kind and generous young people who will surely grow up to become kind and generous adults who make great contributions to their community. Raul, the students, my fellow seniors and myself are better people for this experience.”  

Raul is a perfect example of how a young person identified a need in his community, and used what he was passionate about – in his case, salsa dancing – to develop a service project that had a positive impact on the community. The best part of all, is that it was fun, and an opportunity to socialize with his peers, while promoting respect between the generations and changing negative stereotypes.