Summertime has arrived!  STEP is here to help you enjoy the simple pleasures of the season. You can get a close-up view of one of life’s most amazing mysteries by watching a caterpillar morph into a chrysalis and then become a butterfly. Make a butterfly house out of a half gallon orange juice carton. It’s easy and fun.

• First wash container very well and leave off cap.
• Cut a 3 inch hole in each of the four sides.
• Cover the top and side holes with mesh and tape into place.
• Now put some fresh parsley, dill, or milkweed inside the carton.
• Place a cotton ball dipped in sugar water also inside.
• Now go search plants and bushes for a caterpillar and give it fresh leaves and water everyday.
• When you find your caterpillar give it some of the same kind of leaves that you find it on.
• Many butterflies are endangered. Share your winged treasure with family and friends then set it free when it has morphed.

STEP will be sharing how to make your own butterfly garden in upcoming articles this summer. In the meantime enjoy being a responsible and caring steward of our planet by protecting butterfly habitats in your neighborhood.

I discovered this fantastic article today at NewScientist.com discussing the curiosity of a young child, and how Children are natural born scientists.   This may come across as somewhat obvious to those of you who are parents, as I’m sure you can recall the many many questions posed to you by your children.  Sometimes they come across as pointless questions, and sometimes by the 28th “why?” in a row, even as antagonizing.

Nevertheless, this questioning is at the core of a childs mind, and it is imperative that we cater to this curiosity to encourage our children to strive after those things that they are passionate about, and to help continuously feed them new knowledge.  At some point, they may not be able to retain information as well, so isn’t it a good idea to share as much information with them as they can take?

What you may sometimes not realize as a parent is that as children grow up, they begin to formulate their own opinions, theories, and proofs.  The scientific method is present in their very existance as a child.. if I cry will I get food?  If I misbehave, will I get attention?  How we respond to a childs actions and questions will determine how they formulate their “truths” in life.  Will they grow up to accept the popular opinion, or that something is impossible, because a President, Pastor, Employer, Peer, etc.. “told them so”, or will they grow up to challenge opinions, even their own, in an effort to seek out higher truths. Continue Reading This Article…

“THE WING THING”

BUTTERFLY ART CONTEST

STEP is a not for profit organization, calling artists to participate in “The Wing Thing”, to benefit STEP programs and The Chrysalis Conservation Courtyard. The Chrysalis Conservation Courtyard, to be located on the campus of Hilton Head Island High School, will include: story-time benches, an outdoor classroom, a secret garden of discovery, and trellises full of host plants for butterflies - all designed for promoting the importance of conservation in our community.

The Chrysalis Conservation Courtyard will encourage caring young people to inspire younger students with positive life skills, while creating a successful life for themselves as they learn to protect the planet.

ART COLLECTOR OPPORTUNITY!

Continue Reading This Article…

That’s right. SunTrust will donate $100 to STEP for each personal or business account that is opened by May 1, 2008. It only takes a few minutes and cost nothing to open. So tell your friends and family to please support STEP, by simply opening an account at Suntrust Bank and completing the redemption form. Do it Today!

Once you have an account, don’t forget to sign up for the SunTrust Rewards Program, (SunTrust’s reward points system) and use it to make donations throughout the year without actually spending any money.

Continue Reading This Article…

To further expand our fundraising efforts, we have collaborated with Cafe Press (as anyone can do) to provide STEP branded merchandise. You can find all types of gear, from hoodies to wall clocks and t-shirts for your puppy. The best part about it is all profits go to support STEP.
  
Something else that is really cool… if you would like to create you own Cafe Press store, you can use our affiliate link, and Cafe Press will donate 5% of your sales to our cause !!!
  
Click here to learn more about how you can help

Welcome to the freshly designed website for STEP (Student Training Empowerment Program) Hopefully, I can just stick to using STEP in the future. The purpose of this site is to give the program an online presence that will allow us to not only spread the message of STEP for those wanting more information about this growing organization, but also give us an opportunity to interact with an audience through the blog.
 
You can read to the left here, and also on the “about” page to see an overview of the program, or you can follow our regularly updated blog to get a feel for our personalities, struggles, ambitions, and triumphs.
 
You should find one thing to be very clear and consistent; that we firmly believe in the empowerment of young people. STEP gives young people opportunities to help them overcome real-world obstacles, discover themselves, and obtain a greater awareness of their individual impact on the world.
 
One of the best environments for learning is an environment of peers, and in order for true learning to take place, young people must be interested in the topic being taught. Exceptional leaders are not born they are educated. STEP hopes to be part of helping young people to discover their passions and strengths, and consequently develop leadership skills that will help ensure not only a happy and healthy lifestyle, but a better community for everyone.

December 21, 2007 - “College For Kids” - This is a condensed experience with the Student Training Empowerment Program, grooming tomorrow’s leaders through a program which facilitates creativity, positive thinking, team work, problem solving, role-playing and critical thinking.

“For many years S.T.E.P. has been helping young people to realize why making good, healthy choices in life is so important for their futures; something that is not always easy to instill in the minds of such impressionable youth who rarely think of the future consequences of unhealthy choices. Now, with the Fabien Cousteau partnership, it is great to see that S.T.E.P. will be able to broaden its lessons to also help students understand the importance of making good choices in regards to protecting the environment.”- Omolola Campbell, Former S.T.E.P Student

March 3, 2007 - HHH group receives environment award - A Hilton Head High School student-mentor program has received a state Champion of the Environment award and $500 for transforming a neglected courtyard into an outdoor natural learning area. (read full article)

March 2, 2007 -HHHS project wins state award - “STEP students work with mentors from the Coastal Carolina Discovery Museum to choose native plants to provide habitat for wildlife including native butterflies whose host plants are in short supply in the Hilton Head area.” (read full story)