- Author: Ariel Smoke
See the video here.
For two years now, Elliott Stenzler of North Stockton 4-H (and is also a current San Joaquin County All Star) has been the driving force behind the Beautify Stockton project. It has been recognized in many media articles, and has even received a Revolution of Responsibility grant from the State 4-H Office.
Currently, Elliott is in the running for the National 4-H Council's "4-H Youth in Action" award, which recognizes outstanding 4-H'ers who epitomize 4-H youth empowerment and leadership. In his application, Elliott described Beautify Stockton this way:
The 4-H Project of Excellence I would like to share with you is my Beautify StocktonProject. I began this project three years ago when I was 14 years old.
The housing crisis of 2007 really impacted the residents of the city of Stockton (the city I reside in) causing many to lose their homes. By 2008, Stockton was experiencing financial problems that led it to be the first city to claim bankruptcy. As you can imagine, theStockton environment was one of fear, anger and panic. The homeless community grew as did the litter that scattered the streets of our city.
As a teenager, I felt I wanted to do something. I saw so much good in our city and I wanted to help lift the spirits of people who had encountered hardships. I was also tired of hearing bad things about our "crime-ridden" city from people who did not live in our town. That is how theBeautify Stockton Project began.
I approached North Stockton 4-H members and told them about my idea. Everyone seemed on board! We met twice a month and started targeting certain areas. Whenever I would go around town, l would notice the difference we were making. People would stop by and thank us. We even had non-4-H members wanting to join in our efforts!
Then something else unexpected happened. Within a few months of my project, I received a telephone call from the local newspaper. They wanted to feature me as the "Unsung Hero" of our city. Can you imagine! The article was published and then the phone calls really starting coming in with friends and acquaintances asking about the Beautify Stockton Project. My NorthStockton 4-H Project was growing. I felt so passionate about what I was doing that I wrote a speech about it and presented it at the Academic Decathlon competition and the 4-H State Speech and Demonstration Day. On both occasions, people came up to me afterwards and told them that I had inspired them.
Three years later, I have received a $1000 grant from state 4-H and local donations from various stores that want to support my efforts. I say "my efforts" but really it is a team effort that consist of young, old, male and females working together for a common goal. The BeautifyStockton Project not only achieved my goal of helping to make Stockton look like a better place but it also brought people together and it gave San Joaquin 4-H visibility.
As you can see, youth can make a difference. I did.