High school students are required to perform community service yet often times do not know where to volunteer. Many may want to find out what other teens think of a particular service organization. The creation of the Opp-Guide serves both purposes: the Guide provides a database of volunteer opportunities throughout Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties in a fun and youth friendly way by having youth prepare written reviews of the particular volunteer experience.

The Opp-Guide, a 501(c )(3) corporation, was founded by Melissa Oppenheim, now a senior at Fort Lauderdale's Pine Crest School, in 2004. Modeled after the "Zagat Survey," this comprehensive database is available in print form and online, at www.opp-guide.com. The Opp-Guide features honest and interesting reviews of volunteering opportunities -- written by teens, for teens. Among the many organizations reviewed by the Opp-Guide are those for animals; child, teen and elderly issues; medical causes; and entertainment, athletic and teaching opportunities.

The Guide's website allows teen reviewers to rate these agencies and organizations in five categories: "Fun,"Friendliness,"Involvement,"Helping," and an "Overall Review." This enables students, whether newcomers or veterans, to identify those non-for-profits that best fits their skills and interests. By matching the volunteer experience with the teen, the Guide's hope is to encourage volunteerism among youth that will carry throughout adulthood.

Initially serving Broward County, the Guide is now expanding its reach into Dade and Palm Beach counties. "Our goal is to expand the reach of the Opp-Guide to various communities throughout the U.S.," said Ms. Oppenheim. As such, middle and high school students outside of South Florida are encouraged to become involved by starting local branches within their geographic areas. The Guide has received grants and foundation monies to further its expansion. Anyone interested in supporting the Guide can do so on-line at www.opp-guide.com.

Aside from her dedication to the community, Ms. Oppenheim, the founder of the Opp-Guide, continues to make headlines for her educational achievements. Ms. Oppenheim, who plans on attending either Harvard or MIT in the fall, was recognized as one of twenty-five juniors, internationally, as a 2007 "Tomorrow 25" leader by Time Magazine, in conjunction with Bentley College and is also the recipient of the highly selective Coca-Cola Scholarship, awarded to top high school seniors who have demonstrated exceptional community service.

Recently, Ms. Oppenheim won the highly prestigious Silver Knight Award in the New Media category for the creation, development, and sustenance of the Guide. The user friendly, opp-guide.com website, won accolades for reaching youth to volunteer. While Ms. Oppenheim is leaving for college, her organization will be left in very capable hands, including those of her sister, Wendi Oppenheim, who is the 2008-2009 President and a board of six students. As such, the Opp-Guide will continue to provide honest reviews of local not-for-profit opportunities for future generations.

South Florida teens' good causes make big difference

By Stephanie Horvath

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

May 05, 2008

South Florida teens' good causes make big difference Read the original story

When five students started the For Darfur club at Saint Andrew's School in Boca Raton last year, they just wanted to raise awareness for the suffering African region.

Sixteen months later they've raised $300,000, assembled an advisory board of nonprofit movers and shakers, and hired a New York public relations rep.

Tonight they're conducting a fundraiser at Kanye West's concert in Miami. West is donating $1 from every ticket sold to For Darfur. With 11,000 seats and the strong possibility of selling out, For Darfur is looking at a potential blockbuster.

'I don't think we expected it to happen that quickly,' said Gabriel Schillinger, the group's president and a senior at Saint Andrew's. 'A year ago we were barely an organization, and look where we've come. It shows when teenagers put their minds together momentum starts to grow.'

For Darfur might be an example of extreme success, but high school students across South Florida - some not even old enough to vote - are trying to make a difference on a global scale. Kids are canvassing for Barack Obama, raising money for food relief in Haiti and starting recycling programs.

While Both Palm Beach and Broward counties require their students to complete a certain number of hours of community service, these teenagers are doing much more.

'They're not satisfied with making a small difference. They want to take a big plunge,' said Carlos Barroso, a Saint Andrew's spokesman.

That's certainly happening at Saint Andrew's. In addition to the huge success of For Darfur, the school's chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society raised $17,000 in its first fundraising event, just two months after the club started. Samantha Leder, 16, started the club, because her uncle died of leukemia. She was able to recruit 40 other students and get her dad's company to match what they raised.

It's not just at Saint Andrew's, though. At the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, students organized letter writing campaigns and awareness concerts to support Amnesty International.

'We've been raised to think we can do anything and since you can do anything, you should. People feel a pressure to live up to something but in this case it's a good thing,' said senior Sabina Ibarrola, the chapter's president. 'It leads us to give more of ourselves.'

Melissa Oppenheim, 18, cared about community service and wanted to make it easier for her peers to participate. So as a freshman at the Pine Crest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale she started www.opp-guide.com , a Web site for rating community service groups, so students could find a good match.

'There's a lot of causes right now,' said Oppenheim, who also canvassed for Obama in Texas over Spring Break. 'Just through the media, teens are more aware of the social and political problems in the world, like the energy crisis and the global food pandemic. There's more ways to get information and more ways to do things because of the Internet.'

One group at Boca Raton Community High School has raised $5,000 to help children in Uganda. A class studying the Holocaust started a program to raise money for Darfur by selling $1 triangles commemorating Holocaust victims. The idea: donors can't help the Holocaust victims, but they can help people in Darfur from suffering a similar fate.

'I know here it's definitely been the most active year I've seen,' said Geoff McKee, Boca Raton High's principal. 'I'm not sure why. I think it's partly how smart they are and aware they are.'

The school has sold $12,000 worth of triangles and given the money to the Save Darfur coalition and the Genocide Intervention Network.

'There's no more space in the school, they're in every window, on every wall,' said Sharona Kay, the group's adviser. 'My students are making a difference. It's wonderful.'

Danny Bricknell, 17, started out overwhelmed by the idea of protecting the environment. He set up a recycling program at Boca Raton High this year and recruited 60 students.

'We needed to go green and the way to start that was with recycling,' said Bricknell, a junior. 'This is the planet we need to live on. If what we all do will help stop future problems, we have to take charge of that.'

And even though students are in the throes of exams this week, Bricknell is taking the time to raise money for another cause: sending food packages to starving people in Haiti.

But For Darfur has had explosive success. In addition to the Kanye West concert, the group held a fundraiser in November with Palm Beach designer Lilly Pulitzer that raised $100,000. That donation to Doctors Without Borders was the largest raised at a single event that year, said Jennifer Tierney, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit.

'We have adults who haven't raised this amount of money,' she said.

For Darfur now has 150 members that include local high school students and far-off college students, and about seven other chapters have formed across the country.

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