One of Usher’s New Look former campers is using his talents to be Powered By Service this week. Brandon “TD” is using his talent and network as an athlete to get his community involved in flood relief. Read below as Brandon describes his project and motivation in his own words. Check back everyday this week for an update!

I want to give back to my community because I believe I am taking a big step in getting my football team and school involved. We have a growing football team and this being my senior year, I want to leave an impression on the younger guys as well as my entire school. I'm not doing this to rack up my community service hours, I already have enough. I'm doing this because it is the right thing to do and hopefully I have started something at my school.

My goal for this project is to not only help victims of natural disasters, but to also challenge other schools and athletic teams to get involved in their communities. I chose to do this with my football team because it bonds the team while helping our community. I know for a fact that a lot of my teammates don't get involved in the community as much as they should. This project will show them there is a lot that they can do and set an example for younger kids that look up to high school athletes such as ourselves.

Being a 5-year camper of Usher's Camp New Look, I have learned many things about the flow of business and how I can get involved in my community. This year at camp we learned how to take effective steps to starting our own projects. We learned strategies of networking with people and how we can get others to become involved with us. Learning all these skills at the camp really prepared me for putting together this service project. I reached out to Shawn Wilson, president of Usher's New Look Foundation, to assist with my project. With his help and support from the New Look Foundation, my project has taken off.

My project will take place at my school during our homecoming week. We will collect donations to give to families in need in our very own community. We will also collect donations at our homecoming game, and give the money to families in need. I believe this project will become a new movement in my community, and empower others. There is so much we can do in our communities and so many people in need. It all starts with the youth. Once we step up to the plate and make a difference in our communities, it makes a bigger difference in the world. I am proud to say that I am powered by service and I encourage every teen in America to find a cause that directly affects you, and use your talents and skills to change the world.

Day 1

Today was off to a good start. The school is starting to get into the project. I made a video for day 1 and it looks awsome, but my computer froze while creating the video. I will have to post it tomorrow because it is getting late. So far today we have collected $37. I'm sure there will be more on the way. Many people forgot to bring extra money today, but many said they will bring more during the week. I am working hard to make this project successful.

Friday, October, 16, ABC’s Ugly Betty will feature the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign during its season premiere! Remember that Malaria Prevention is Powered By Service, so apply for a grant to send some nets and save some lives!

Ugly Betty’s 2-hour premiere (beginning at 8pm ET) has title character Betty Suarez arranging her first fashion shoot as assistant features editor at MODE magazine, and she helps to spread the buzz on Nothing But Nets with the United Nations as a backdrop! The show marks the first time a sitcom has ever been filmed at the UN.

This is an incredible opportunity to highlight the issue of malaria and the Nothing But Nets campaign. Plan a watch party, plan a Powered By Service project and use your talents--just like Betty does--to raise awareness and nets to prevent malaria! You can get your hands on $500 for a project that uses your unique skills to address this important issue.

Check out www.NothingButNets.net for more information and specifically the latest blog about Ugly Betty at: http://www.nothingbutnets.net/blogs/malaria-gets-ugly-on-abc-ugly-betty.html

Have you ever wanted to truly change something negative in your community? Every person, especially youth 12-20, sees an issue they would address and change if only they had the funding and backing from fellow peers and organizations that felt the same passion to create and correct. Well, here is the chance to receive all that and more! Usher’s New Look Foundation announced an international initiative at the Clinton Global Initiative this past month, Powered By Service! Through the Powered By Service Campaign, youth in 6 cities: Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, Los Angeles, and New Orleans; can apply for grants to implement long term impact youth led service projects. Currently there are 400 grants of $500 a piece up for grabs. Applications are available on the www.poweredbyservice.org site.

Some tips for youth thinking about applying, make sure you have a group of around 5 people willing to take on leadership roles and a youth oriented organization; thoroughly think through the issue, its causes, and possible solution(s) you may accomplish through your project. Make your project unique by employing the talents and skills of you and your team in order to hike interest and make service fun! Put on a play, design in an all-charity fashion show, or even create a song about service and sell it on iTunes! Also contact local resources such as news stations and local politicians to help you spread the word and bring attention to your issue. Include proof of preparation with your application to show how serious you are about changing your community. Once your application is reviewed by fellow youth of the Mogul In Training Youth Advisory and Philanthropy Board, and approved, the Board will continue to contact you personally, and help you meet deadlines and create goals to make your service project more effective. The grant applications are approved every two weeks and the deadline for submissions is November 6th.

Through this youth lead movement, 500,000 youth with mobilize 500,000 peers and impact the lives of over 5,000,000 people worldwide. These grants are only being issued to those that truly want to erase a problem and not put a temporary fix on a long lasting issue. So if you have an issue that needs to be addressed in your community, gather some friends, connect with an organization such as; Boys and Girls Clubs or City Year and apply for a grant to create a change and correct that issue!

Powerd by Service at the Clinton Global Initiative This initiative has the potential to drastically increase the number of young people engaged in service while also increasing the international visibility of service. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO