When I was about 11 or 12 I lived in the west side, on the corner of
Bird and Baynes. My name is Dillon and I’ve lived my whole life on the west side
of Buffalo. I would go to my neighbor's house a couple of days a week. When I
was 12 or 13, myself, my neighbor, Adam, and my brother, Kyle were all talking
of ways to make money to get snacks and videogames for the summer. We came up
with the idea of selling slushies in front of Adam’s house. It didn’t work as
well as we had hoped. So, I became determined to get a job to get money that I
would save most of, but spend some on videogames and snacks. I was then told
that I had to be fourteen to be employed during the summer. I tried asking
people I knew if they had any place I could work for. Adam's mom, Diane, told
me where she worked and that they employ youth in the summer and during the
school year.
I started working at MAP in the summer of 2011. Fast-forward to
now and I’m 18, about to graduate from Fredrick Law Olmsted High School, I’m
going to go to college to get an environmental Bachelors Degree, and I’m still
working at MAP! I think that out of all the youth who currently work at MAP.
I’ve been there the longest. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent and the work I’ve
done at MAP. At MAP, every two weeks, we have a meeting and sign up for work
hours. I like working on the farm the most and I sign up there every time I
can.
Through working at MAP, I have become involved with the Youth Advisors
Council and the Buffalo and Erie Food Policy Council. The Youth Advisors
Council strives to improve Buffalo Public Schools with student involvement and
the Food Policy Council is an advisory body that advises public agencies and
policy makers in Buffalo and Erie County on matters pertaining to Food Policy.
Thank you for checking out The Revolution Will Be Cultivated! To support #MAPYouth for The United Way of Buffalo & Erie County's Spring It On campaign, visit out our fundraiser page here: www.springiton.org/MAP
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