Red Ribbon Week Romulus Youth Leadership Students host a Red Ribbon Week campaign in October. Students are asked to take the pledge to remain drug and alcohol free and sign their name on a red ribbon to hang on our poster during lunches. After students take the pledge, they receive a drug free rubber bracelet and sticker. RMS Students also get involved by decorating their Advisory teacher’s door with the annual Red Ribbon Week theme. RYLM students also create posters to hang around the school to remind students to remain drug free! During Red Ribbon Week, we also run an Essay and Poster contest with prizes.
Pasta for Pennies Campaign Romulus Youth Leadership Students host the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society’s Pasta for Pennies Campaign during the month of February. We choose to do this fundraiser because of students, past and present, who have been affected with various types of cancer. We believe that being able to raise money for cancer research will one day lead to a cure! RYLM students collect spare change and donate it to a jug in their 4th hour class. The class that collects the most change in the 3 week span receives an Olive Garden Lunch. Over the years we have raised nearly $2,000.
Anti-Bulling Campaign Romulus Middle School is continuously taking strides to identifying and eliminating bullying throughout the school. We have partnered with Champions Against Bullying and are teaching students how to appropriately handle bullying situations. Throughout the year we will have breakout sessions with those who have been bullied as well as work with those who are doing the bullying. By utilizing our resources we believe we can build confidence in our students to stand up against bulling while also changing the behaviors of those who initiate bullying situations. Don't be a Bystander, Take a Stand!
Healthy Living Campaign RMS Leadership Students host a Healthy Living Campaign at the start of every new year in January. They hang posters in the cafeteria with nutritional facts and eating tips for their fellow students. Other activities include blind-fold taste tests of heathy foods, fitness challenges and trivia facts on the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
The Canned Food Drive The canned food drive at RMS takes place during the months of November and December. Students are asked to bring in non-perishable food items to donate for families in need. The food collected goes to Helping Hands, a food pantry in Romulus, to help with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. RYLM also donates other holiday essentials with money they collect. As a friendly school wide competition, the advisory class that collects the most items is rewarded with a pancake breakfast.
Hat and Mitten Tree Collection The hat and mitten tree is located in the main office until Christmas break for RMS staff to donate to. Hats, mittens, scarves and gloves, are donated to students throughout the district, in addition to Helping Hands in Romulus who disperse the items to our community members in need.
Toy Drive RYLM hosts an annual toy drive during December. Students and staff donate new, unopened toys and in return receive a raffle ticket. At the end of the drive all toys are donated to Helping Hands in Romulus, who distributes the toys to families within the community to help ensure every child has a Christmas.
Christmas Dinner at the Senior Center RYLM Students start working on Christmas decorations for the Senior Center in October. They create stockings and decorative placemats for 100 seniors. The day of the dinner, students help set up, serve, and clean up. The students also sit down and enjoy some time with the seniors!
Valentine's Day Candy Grams RYLM Students sell Valentine's Day Candy Grams to students and staff. Be sure to purchase a candy gram for someone special. The cost is $1 and are sold during lunches and Parent/Teacher Conferences. All proceeds are donated to a different charity every year.
Community Unity Dinner at Romulus High School The annual Soul Food Dinner is held in the Romulus High School Cafeteria during the month of February. In celebration of Black History Month the community gets together to enjoy a meal together. The dinner attracts a great turnout which includes student performances from schools across the district..
Midland Conference The FCCLA state leadership conference in Midland provides RYLM students with an opportunity to showcase their projects in a competitive setting. Dressed in business attire, students present display boards and deliver speeches to judges, who award points for their projects and presentations. Throughout the conference students attend workshops with students from various schools across the state. At the closing ceremony student groups earn medals based on their presentation.
RMS Campus Clean-Up A few times a year, and especially as the school year winds down, we take responsibility for cleaning up after ourselves and others. RYLM students pick up litter around our school grounds and near the football field, to tidy up the campus. Students often break into groups and compete for bragging rights by seeing who can gather the biggest bag.
Soles for Souls Shoe Drive RYLM Leadership Students, in cooperation with the Sole 4 Souls organization collect shoes donated by RMS students and staff. "Soles4Souls is a global not-for-profit institution dedicated to fighting the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty through the distribution of shoes and clothing." For more information about this organization go to www.soles4souls.org.
RMS Summer Program During the summer, RYLM Leadership students are invited to participate in summer learning opportunities. Students participate in challenging team building exercises. They also learn video productions skills to produce PSAs and Promos throughout the year. Other Activities include learning computer programs to utilize our die-cut machine, sticker maker, poster maker and lamination machine.
MSU Leadership Camp Students from RMS Leadership attend the Youth Philanthropy Service Camp in June at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Our Leadership students experience college campus life and gain teamwork skills by working on service-learning projects. During the three day camp, over 200 students from around the state of Michigan participate in leadership training activities. Our students participate in: making Birthday Kits, to help give children the chance to celebrate their birthday with a cake. Students also help pack "Kids Against Hunger" packages. They make new friends and learn that working together can build bridges in a way that helps the world.
Past Projects
Here are a few projects RMS Leadership projects from the past conducted in response to specific needs. They are not a part of our annual schedule, but we are proud of them just the same!
Cents for Sandy RMS Leadership Students wanted to help with the devastating hurricane that swept the northeast states. Students hung-up posters around the school encouraging students to help out! 8th grade students collected change during lunches and at parent-teacher conferences. WE collected more than $200 to send to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy Victims!
Dolls for Haiti RMS Leadership Students created rag dolls to send to children in a Haitian orphanage. After the devastating earthquake of 2010, Haiti has had difficulty recovering, and our students recognized a need and wanted to help in some way. They made 30 rag dolls to send down along with blankets and bracelets made by other groups. The group of adults who brought our dolls to the orphanage also provided medical care, glasses, and assisted with building a school house for the children there.
Flint Water Drive With the Flint water crisis being so close in proximity to Romulus, RYLM partnered with the Bright Futures program and Eastern Michigan University to organize a district wide water drive to help the citizens of Flint.