The Ripple Effect is all about helping high schoolers get informed on global topics and issues and then make it so they can share them with younger students. This organization helps many and is continuing to grow.
AW: Tell us all about you and your organization!
TRE: The Ripple Effect was founded on the belief that youth can make an impact through spreading awareness. We worked together to develop training programs that would empower high schoolers to develop presentations about global issues to share with elementary and middle school students. With the rise of COVID-19, many of these in-person activities have halted, however, we are doing our best to spread awareness through social media platforms. We hope to resume hosting training programs and workshops as well as other in-person activities in the near future.
AW: Why do you think it’s important for your generation to let their voices be heard?
TRE: The world is a constantly changing place and the future lies in the hand of the youth. By speaking up for important issues such as climate change or the refugee crisis, we can bring positive change while proving to those who are vulnerable that our voices matter.
AW: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future?
TRE: We believe that it is important to have an optimistic view about the future when working with activism. We must believe in a future that holds hope and change in order to speak up about it and work towards achieving that future. The future is unpredictable and anything is possible as long as we work towards that goal as one, without conflicts.
AW: What are the most important issues facing our world right now? And in the future?
TRE: We believe that there are many issues that the world is facing right now and there is no way to claim that one is more important than another. This is why we chose to focus on awareness in general through our organization and act as a platform to allow youth to bring awareness to the various issues they may care about. We hope that in the future, people will continue respecting each other and the issues that we each care about and all work together towards a better world.
AW: What does your organization offer that helps the world be a better place?
TRE: The Ripple Effect offers a platform for youth to become educated on some of the most important issues, both globally and locally, in our world today. We believe that being educated is the first and most important step of creating change. Thus the first stage of TRE has been focused on providing youth with reliable, unbiased information. Now, as TRE expands into our future stages, we hope to equip youth with the skills to become humanitarians by teaching them the skills they need to raise awareness about important issues to aid in making the world a better place for all of us.
AW: Will you be voting in the next election?
TRE: I will be voting at the next Canadian election because elections can be incredibly effective when drawing attention to certain issues. It allows us to try and support real change regarding the topics we care about, and regardless of the outcome, elections are one of the few ways that we can each have our voices heard. It’s important to vote, so I highly encourage everyone to educate themselves and vote!
AW: Please tell us all about your current campaigns, projects and endeavors. Tell everyone where to find you online and on social platforms.
TRE: The Ripple Effect is currently working on our three monthly posts that will be released in the coming month. Additionally, as aforementioned, TRE is working on our second stage as an organization. Thus, the development of our workshop programs are underway! Individuals can keep up with TRE on Instagram @therippleeffectorgg, on TikTok @rippleeffectorg, and on our website highlighted in our Instagram bio. You can also contact us via our email therippleeffectorg@gmail.com.
Audrey Willett is a southern California sophomore in high school. She is an activist and aspiring filmmaker, and the Social Media Outreach coordinator for The Gen Z Collective.
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