Film junior Jared Doles shows off the blankets that the ASU March of Dimes club made for sick babies and their families. This project was funded by the Miley Cyrus and Youth Service America "Get Ur Good On" grant. (Photo courtesy of Jared Doles)Film junior Jared Doles is on a quest to change the world, one premature baby at a time.
Youth Service America and the Festival of Children Foundation selected Doles as Arizona’s National Child Awareness Month ambassador in June.
“National Children Awareness Month is an event that goes on every year on service and improving the lives of children across the country,” Doles said.
The 51 college-aged ambassadors, one from each state and one from Washington, D.C., received a $1,000 scholarship and flew to Washington, D.C., for a three-day leadership conference last week.
These ambassadors are trained to develop a community service project focusing on youth in that state.
Doles said the March of Dimes Foundation nominated him to Youth Service America.
The ASU March of Dimes club plans to create care packages for families of the sick newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.
These packages will include necessities and comfort items, including food vouchers, hygienic supplies, healthy snacks information about the child’s illness, and more.
“When a baby is born prematurely … your heart, your lungs, everything isn’t developed yet,” Doles said.
With all of the potential health problems associated with being born prematurely, the medical costs stack up to tens of thousands of dollars, he said.
March of Dimes secretary Katrece Swenson said the club is not entirely sure when the packages will be delivered, and it is currently being decided.
“There is a big process to go through when delivering the packages to the hospitals,” Swenson, a biological sciences sophomore, said.
As of now, the care packages will be distributed to St. Joseph’s Hospital, Doles said.
March of Dimes vice president Erin Lin said the club recently received another grant to help with its services for its previous project, which was to make blankets for families and babies in the hospital.
“We received the (Miley Cyrus and Youth Service America ‘Get Ur Good On’) grant for $500 to help fund our project to make the blankets,” Lin said.
Doles said he is involved with the March of Dimes because it is an important organization that affects everyone, even college students.
“I think that college students don’t always realize that this issue touches them,” he said. “What they are doing now will affect their lives, and will affect their ability to have a healthy child.”
Although he graduates in December 2013, he plans on using his film background to further support March of Dimes.
“I will always be a March of Dimes volunteer,” Doles said. “I love having a skill that is really useful to them and being able to donate my time.”
Doles said that with his involvement in several different clubs, it is hard to have a social life.
“I don’t get a lot of free time,” he said, “but when you’re doing something you love and something that is really satisfying, it is worth it.”
Reach the reporter at bmlawso2@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @brookeml
