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The Creation of Something Inspiring
In January 2013, student leadership from Lusher Charter School approached United Way of Southeast Louisiana to work together on an initiative that would encourage and incentivize community service among high school students beyond any community service hour requirements for their school. Not long after that, Benjamin Franklin High School joined the initiative as Lusher’s rival, and the students, together with United Way, developed what is now known as Mission Ignition. The concept of Mission Ignition is fairly simple: schools compete to complete the most service hours during a one-month period. In the six school years since its inception, the program has grown from two schools to eight, engaging thousands of students, rallying nearly 20,000 hours of service, and inspiring tens of thousands of social media posts about the event.
Where We're Headed: Spreading our Mission
Although United Way Mission Ignition is currently focused on the New Orleans area, the planning team has no reservations about expanding the competition across the lake, the state, and even the country. The United Way Mission Ignition Board is continually looking for new schools to get involved. If your school is interested in joining us, contact Melody Reed at MelodyR@UnitedWaySELA.org or Haley Mack at HaleyM@unitedwaysela.org
