Jodi Klebick, the Executive Director for Multiplying Good, has reported that the Brownsville, PA Students in Action Team (SIA) has been named Top in in the Country for 2018.

Last year, the team at Brownsville planned and executed 13 service projects, raised $2,250 and impacted 2,500 individuals, involving 100% of the student body through the Multiplying Good program.  And, for over a decade, the Brownsville SIA team has spearheaded complete economic revitalization of their town, including the creation a park and the building of an amphitheater!

When their library, the Brownsville Free Public Library, was in danger of closing, due to lack of funds and stagnating use, the team visited libraries all over southwestern Pennsylvania to create their concept for a teen space at their library.  They wanted to provide a safe space to learn and socialize and they decided to bring new funds and attention to this vital community resource.

A few weeks ago they got approval from their local Zoning Board to move forward with the architectural drawings and the donated design work.  They are now working toward raising additional  money and planning for construction.  It was this project that won them Multiplying Good’s Jefferson Award as Top in the Country for 2018 for Students in Action Teams.  This video [2:58] provides more detail about the project.

Andrew Havens, one of the leadership students  at Brownsville High School with whom Klebick works, was inspired by this process and has written the article The Importance of Local Public Libraries in Communities Across America.”

Multiplying Good is a national nonprofit focused on elevating public service as the means to empower individuals.  For 50 years, this Pittsburgh organization has “generated ripples of good through service to others through a continuum of activation, training, and recognition.”