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Table of Contents
What Is a Community Leader? 4-5
Parent Teacher Association 6-7
School Principal 8-9
Youth Leaders 10-11
Charity Leaders 12-13
Business Leaders 14-15
Government Leaders 16-17
Religious Leaders 18-19
Community Cleanup 20-21
A Great Place to Live 22-23
A Day in the Life Then 24-25
Tools of the Trade Then 26
Tools of the Trade Now 27
A Day in the Life Now 28-29
Glossary 30
Index 31
Credits 32
What Is a
Community Leader?
There are many kinds of cornrnunities (kuh-MEW-
nuh-teez). A community can be the place where you
live. Or, it can be a group of people who like the same
things. A community is a group of people who work
together as a team .
• Senator Barack Obama speaks at a town hall meeting.
Communities have leaders. These leaders do many
kinds of jobs. But, they all have the same goal. They
help to make their communities better. These leaders
make plans. And, they help people who are in need.
.. A Sizable Difference
Communities can be very big. Or,
they can be very small. New York
City is a community. It has over
8 million (MIL-yuhn) people! A
small town called Victory in
the state of Vermont is also a
community. They have fewer than
100 people.
••
Parent Teacher Association .
Do you know what the PTA is? The letters PTA
stand for Parent Teacher Association (uh-so-see-
AY-shuhn). The PTA helps parents work with their
children's schools.
Every PTA has a president (PREZ-uh-duhnt).
This person is a volunteer (VOL-uhn-teer) from the
community. He or she helps run the PTA. The PTA
president meets with parents and teachers. They talk
about school. The school may have problems. The PTA
president works
hard
to help solve
these problems.
A PTA meeting in 1960 •
-
Getting Started
Phoebe Hearst (FEE-bee
HUHRST) started the first
PTA. She called it the
National (NASH-uh-nuhl)
Congress of Mothers. She
was a teacher. And, she
was a mother. She wanted
mothers and teachers to
work together. This group
became the PTA. Today, it
is not just for mothers. Any
parent or teacher can join.
The PTA raised money for students •
to 90 on this field trip to the zoo.
• This principal welcomes a new student.
School Principal
Did you know that your school principal (PRIN-
suh-puhl) is a community leader? Principals help run
schools. They help teachers salve problems. They keep
order in their schools. They help keep students and
teachers safe.
Principals make sure students learn the skills they
need. They meet with parents and teachers. Principals
work hard to make sure their students do well on tests.
They want what is best for
their schools.
One-Room
Schools
Schools used to be
just one classroom.
There was only one
teache~ Theteacher
would teach all grade
levels at the same
time! There were no
school principals. But,
schools began to grow.
They needed principals • One-room school
to help run the schools.
.• This principal runs her You Are Not
school's spelling bee.
(_.- , in Trouble
Some students think that
principals are only there
to discipline (DIS-uh-
plihn) them. That is far
from true. They are there
to help their students.
Some principals used to
work as teachers. They
still work to make sure
that students learn.
Youth Leaders
Are you a Girl Scout or Boy Scout? Or, do you go .
to the Boys and Girls Club after school? If so, then you
know how great youth leaders can be. Youth leaders are
community leaders. They work hard to help young boys
and girls.
These leaders plan meeting s and camping trips.
They play games with their groups. They teach children
skills. Youth leaders teach children to be a part of a
team .
•. A Boy Scout and a Girl Scout salute the flag in 1960.
Crazy for
Cookies
Girl Scouts sel! cookies.
Nearly 200 million boxes
of cookies are sold every
year! The money made
goes to the Girl Scouts.
The money helps pay for
future Girl Scout events.
• Former Los Angeles mayor James Hahn
and his son buy Girl Scout cookies.
A Boy Scout
on the Moon?
Some Soy Scouts have
gone on to become United
States presidents! A lot of
famous people were once
Soy Scouts. Neil Armstrong
/ was an Eagle Scout. That
Neil.
4 is the highest level of Soy
~ Scout. The Soy Scouts gave
Armstrong
Armstrong many awards.
They were proud that a Soy
Scout was the first man to
walk on the moon! •••
Charity Leaders
,A charity (CHAIR-uh-tee) is a group that helps
others. Some groups collect money or food and clothes.
These things help people in need. Some groups help
sick people. Others just help children. They may
collect gifts. Then, they give these gifts to children on
holidays.
Charity leaders plan events. These events make
money. A leader can plan to have a bake sale. Then,
the money from the bake sale can go to a good cause.
Some groups have food drives. The food goes to people
who do not have enough to eat. Charity leaders give
their time to help others .
• These volunteers sort food at a food drive.
You Can Donate, Too!
Students can help raise money, too.
A great way is to have a car wash.
AII it takes is a bucket, a hose, and
some soap. Plus, you will need lots
of students ready for hard work!
The Salvation Army
William Booth and his wife wanted to
start a charity. Their group became
The Salvation (sal-VAY-shuhn) Army.
This charity group assists people
who are in need all over the world.
They give food and clothing. And,
they find homes for people who do
not have places to live.
• This business leader is helping her community.
Business Leaders
Did you know that big companies (KUHM-puh-
neez) have leaders, too? These leaders help the
business (BIZ-nuhs) world. And, they also help their
communities. Some business leaders give money to
their communities. Others give their time.
Business leaders can share their skills. They can
speak to students. Some teach college classes. They
teach people how to start new companies. Business
leaders also offer new jobs. New jobs help many people
in the community.
30 Billion Dollars!
Warren Buffet is the head of a big
company. He is a business leader. His
company makes a lot of money. But,
Buffet thinks it is wrong to keep all that
money. So, he gives money to charity.
Once, he gave 30 billion dollars to one
•.
charity! No one had ever given that
much money to a charity before.
~
\~
•. Business meeting
Government Leaders
Do you know who solves problems and makes
laws for our community? This is the job of the
government (GUHV-uhm-muhnt). Each community
has many government leaders. We vote for them.
They help make big decisions (dih-SIZH-uhnz) for
our community.
Women line up •
to vote long ago.
Let's Vote on It
Any citizen (SIT-uh-zuhn)
who is at least 18 years
old can vote in the United
States. But, it was not
always that way. Long
ago, only certain men had
the right to vote. Women
did not like this. They
wanted to vote, too. In
1920, women got the right
to vote.
Judges (JUHJ-ehz) are cornrnunity leaders. They
work in courts of law. They decide what each law
rneans. Mayors (MAY-uhrz) are in charge of cities.
They rnake sure the people in their cities are safe. City
or town councils (KOWN -sills) rnake the rules for cities
and towns. Men and wornen frorn the cornrnunity are
elected to be on a council. Most neighborhoods (NAY-
ber-hoodz) also have leaders. They rnake sure people in
the neighborhood follow the rules,
f)
Everybody is Welcome
Do you know that citizens can attend council
~~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil
meetings? They can speak to the council
about any concerns. This helps the mayor
make the right choices tor the city. Some
meetings are shown on television. And, some
can even be watched on the Internet!
••
• This cardinal is speaking
on Easter Sunday.
•• Young Buddhist monks
Religious Leaders
There are a 10t of religions (rih-LIJ-uhnz) in the
world. Re1igion he1ps peop1e make sense of their 1ives.
Re1igious 1eaders he1p their communities. They he1p
peop1e understand the world. They listen to peop1e' s
prob1ems. They a1so give advice.
• The Qur'an is a sacred
book of Islam.
Special Books
Each religion has a book. These
• This rabbi reads to
books tell the history of the a young boy.
religion. Religious leaders know
these books very well. They use
these books to guide others.
Each religion has leaders. Christians (KRIS-chuhnz)
have leaders called pastors or priests. The Jewish religion
has rabbis (RAH-biyz). There are many other kinds of
religious leaders. All of these leaders share the same
goal. They want to help others.
Community Cleanup
Many community leaders work to keep their
communities clean. They pick up trash on beaches.
They help clean up neighborhood parks. Some people
help plant new trees. They work hard to keep their
communities hea1thy. These people are good role
models.
Storms can cause a lot of damage (DAM-ihj). Too
much rain can cause flooding. Homes are ruined. Many
people help clean up after a storm. They fix and rebuild
homes. They help put the damaged community back
together.
Red Cross •
workers
help aman
who is hurto
.. • This woman
helps clean
up her local
beach.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity (HAB-uh-
tat for hyuh-MAN-uh-tee) helps
build houses. The houses are for
people who do not have homes.
The houses are sold at low prices.
Many people come to help out.
The group has built over 200,000
houses. In 2005, abad storm hit
the United States. It was called
Hurricane Katrina (HUHR-uh-kane
KUH-tree-nuh). Many people lost
their homes. Habitat for Humanity
helped rebuild homes.
Former President ••
Jimmy Carter helps
to build a home.
Red Cross
The American Red Cross helps
out in disasters (dih-ZAHS-tuhrz).
They hold blood drives so people
can give blood. They even have
classes. These classes teach
people how to be safe.
A Great Place to Live
Community leaders help make a community a great
place to live. What would your school be like without
your principal's help? What would our country be
like without government leaders? Our communities
would fall apart. These leaders help to keep community
members happy and safe. They also make sure that we
all work together as a team.
Community leaders givc their time to help others.
They are caring and kind. Many people look to them as
role models. They inspire (in-SPYER) members of a
community to do their best. Do you know any leaders
in your community?
• This youth group leader is teaching children about nature.
A Day in the Life Then
Juliette Gordon Low
(1860-1927)
Juliette (joo-LEE-uht)
Gordon Low wanted to help
her community. But, she
did not know how. One
day, she met the leader of
the Boy Scouts. He told
her about the programo
She thought it was a great
idea. But, there was not
a group for girls! She thought this group would be
great for the girls in her community. So, she started
the Girl Scouts.
Let's pretend to ask Jullette Gordon Low
some questions about her job.
Why do you think the Girl Scouts
are important?
Girls' are always taught how to do things
indoors. They know how to cook and clean.
But, there are important skills that can be leamed
outdoors. Girl Scouts leam how to take care of
themselves. They leam to be confident.
What is your day like?
We meet as a group. The girls leam something
new every week. This week, the
girls are leaming how to swim.
What do you like most about your job?
1 like being a community leader. 1 have started
a group that willlast a long time. There will always
be girls who want to learn new things. And, the Girl
Scouts will be there to teach them.
This group of Girl •
Scouts met First
Ladies Mrs. Coolidge
and Mrs. Hoover.
Tools of tbe Trade Tben
•• These women were Red Cross
nurses. They took supplies on
a train. These supplies were
given to soldiers. The trains
were helpful tools for the Red
Cross.
"Even a Iítne
can help alot -NOW"
This is a poster from World War 11. •
The United States needed money for
the war. The poster asked children to
buy war stamps. The money from the
stamps was used to help the soldiers.
,,_,1 .••• 1.
!8tPf
[Link] STAMPS BONDS
•• The Nineteenth Amendment
gave women the right to vote.
This was a very important tool
for communities. It let women
help choose their leaders.
Tools of the Trade Now
• Soldiers still go to war. And, they still need supplies. Red
Cross workers today can send supplies by airplane. This
is an easier way to help. And, it is much faster!
• Voting is a very important tool.
Most community leaders wear pins
and stickers on voting day. This
is to remind other people in their
communities to vote.
• These boys are selling
lemonade. The mayor of
their town will collect the
money. The money will be
used to build a new park in
their town. These boys are
helping to make their
community a better place.
A Day in the Life Now
Kim Hood
Kim Hood
is a Girl Scout
troop leader. She
lives in Illinois
(ill-uh-NOI). She
works hard to help
the girls in her
community. She
is very active! Mrs. Hood loves roller skating.
She even owns her own roller-skating rink! She
loves to rock climb. And, she loves to camp, make
crafts, and play games with
her family.
When did you decide to become a Girl
Scout troop leader?
1 have three daughters. My oldest daughter
wanted to join Girl Scouts. That was when she was
in kindergarten. It seemed like a great adventure!
So, 1 became a troop leader. Now, 1 have been a troop
leader for 14 years!
What is your day as a troop leader like?
1 work with older girls now. We do a lot of
activities. And, we do a lot of things to help our
cornmunity. We have fundraisers. Then, we have
meeting s where the girls can eam badges. My day is
busy! 1 help plan the activities. 1 also have
to get things ready for the meetings. And,
1 set goals for the girls.
We work together as a
team. We break things
down into steps. This
is how we reach our
goals. It is fun to work
as a team to make
things happen.
What do you like • This is Kim Hood with
most about your her daughter, Sydney.
job?
1 love to watch the girls try new things. Ilike
being a part of a youth group. Our group builds
confidence and cornmunity awareness. And, 1
like to eat s'mores and sing silly songs around a
campfire. You only get to be young for so long!
