Local youths to participate in community service project

LYNN – Eighth-graders and youth community service advocates Tyler Brown, Moira Landry and Curtis Craffey have been selected by their middle school principals to represent Lynn, Swampscott and Lynnfield in Boston this Saturday at Massachusetts? Project 351.Project 351 is a youth community service project as part of Gov. Deval Patrick?s inaugural celebration that invites one eighth-grade student from each of the state?s 351 cities and towns to spend Saturday in Boston working on a variety of community service projects with non-profit groups such as Cradles to Crayons, an organization that provides basic essentials for needy children.?Project 351 is about encouraging the next generation of leaders to give back to our communities,” Patrick said in an e-mailed statement. “The goal is to generate 351 ripples of impact as the young people return to their homes and schools, spreading the spirit of service in the North Shore and across the Commonwealth.”Brown, Landry and Craffey were selected based on their past community-service work and leadership potential.Brown, a student at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Lynn, attended the 2010 “Learning and Leadership” program at Endicott College during the summer to study STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and performing arts.The “Learning and Leadership” program seeks to develop the leadership capacity of students entering high school and to increase student engagement in life-long learning.?We learned a lot about computers and electronics and how to solve problems,” said Brown. “We learned to work as a team and took turns being the leader.”Brown is also part of the after-school Homework Club at the Greater Lynn YMCA, where he spends time working on school work and helps his peers.?After I get my homework done I help other people who need it,” he said. “I like meeting new people and exploring new subjects and areas.”Landry, a student at Swampscott Middle School, is no stranger to humanitarian work. She spent years volunteering at Cradles to Crayons (she even had a birthday party there) before developing her own non-profit organization in Swampscott called “Hope for Creativity” at the young age of nine.Landry?s mother, Melinda Hanlon, said a trip to New York City sparked Landry?s interest in giving back.?I gave some money to a homeless person and she asked me why I did that,” said Hanlon. “I explained to her that the person was homeless and she looked at me and said ?Mom, I want to help those people.?”Now at age 14, Landry is the founder of “Hope for Creativity,” a kid-run organization that provides art supplies to homeless children in Massachusetts.Since July 2009, “Hope for Creativity” has given more than 300 art packs to children in Massachusetts.?It?s amazing to me to see what her simple hope in a way can bring,” said Hanlon. “To see one person make a difference and to have her be my daughter is just amazing.”Landry said she?s looking forward to returning to Cradles to Crayons on Saturday after taking a break from volunteering there since starting “Hope for Creativity.”?I?m excited to go back there and see people who I?ve worked with in the past,” said Landry. “I hope to continue volunteering there at some point in the future.”Craffey, a student at Lynnfield Middle School, has participated in the Lymphoma Research Foundation walk-a-thon for the past two years to help support a sick neighbor.?The whole neighborhood does the walk for support,” said Craffey. “I think it?s important to give back.”Craffey also works in the School Store at Lynnfield Middle School and sits on the Student Advisory Council, a position he received in the fifth grade after being nominated by a teacher.?I like having a voice, a say in things,” said Craffey.He also participates in the Destination Imagination Team, a creative academic challenge group at the middle school.Craffey says Destination Imagination meets once a week with other students who are presented with a situation or a problem tha