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SAMPLE PITCH: Student-Led Lawn Care Network for Seniors

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SAMPLE PITCH: Student-Led Lawn Care Network for Seniors

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Jane Doe - Valley HS - Grade 9

Many elderly residents in our community struggle to maintain their lawns. We propose a student-led volunteer lawn care network that connects students with elderly residents who need occasional help.

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SAMPLE PITCH: Student-Led Lawn Care Network for Seniors

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John Doe – Cuba HS – Grade 11

My pitch focuses on the overlooked history of our town square, which has served as a site for community gatherings for over 100 years. Most residents walk through the square without knowing its history, and I believe it deserves public recognition. My idea is to place a historical marker on the town square so people can better know our history.

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Be sure to include the following:

#1 - First & Last Name – School – Grade

Example:

John Doe – Macomb HS – Grade 10

#2 - Post Description (2–3 sentences)

In the text box, include:

A brief summary of your pitch (What is it about? Why does it matter?)

#3 - Attach your Pitch Product

This should be one of the following:

PDF (one-pager or infographic)

Link to Google Slides or Google Doc

Link to a video, etc.

REMEMBER: Your idea matters more than how polished it looks.

⭐ What Happens Next?

Selected pitches will:

Receive $100 recognition awards

Be showcased at the Western Illinois Museum

Be featured on The Forgottonia Project podcast

Your voice matters. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

NOTE: You may complete this project:

On your own

With one partner

In a group of up to 3 students

If working with others:

List all student names, schools, and grade levels

Submit ONE shared post per group

🏆 Important:
Prizes are awarded per submission, not per person.

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Amber Cannon - Cuba MHS senior

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An annual storytelling event that uses community stories would help people feel more connected to their community and also encourage people to talk to each other. Having this be annual event gives people something to look forward to. There can be multiple readers or even music too. An example of this that may be similar is Raritians opera house hosting a story telling event. I also did a story telling event for my senior project and it was very popular among older people. If you have this be something that happens more frequently, younger people may be more interested. Teachers and adults can also get students involved too

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          Cain Wilson - Cuba High School - Grade 11

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Cuba is not the cleanest, prettiest or most up to keep town around. So to help this issue I propose one day, once a year where people put all the items and junk they either do not want to sell, throw in the trash or keep any longer outside of there houses where people can view them. Then, people from around town can grab your old junk that they want and free yourself of it, it is like a simpler yard sale. Then, when it is all said and over any left over junk can be taken away by the trash companies. Many people dislike throwing out items they once owned, I feel this way even about my old toys I have not used since I was 5. I would much rather see it go to someone who would use it then some trash bin. Furthermore, this is a good way to further connect the community of Cuba as people will communicate and find out more about people's interests through what they gather or give away. This could even dig up old historical items or memories from peoples houses that they believed were trash or had forgotten. All in all, a man's trash is another man's treasure.

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A pile of junk outside someone's house, with someone looking at it

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Jacoby Kolodziejski - Cuba HS - Grade 9

A place to meet up with people with clubs and similar interests to you and others, where people of all ages and skill levels can come and play games and read books based on a suggestion system. Ex. A monthly D&D club where people can join in and leave at any time. This can promote collectiveness and unity with the younger people in the community, along with the younger people getting out of the house and out of trouble.

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Kixon Bowles - Cuba HS- Grade 11

My idea would be to resurrect the abandoned "Mell of a Hess" building that is next to Caseys general store in town. It would be cool if we could make it into a diner or a cafe because we do not have on of those in town. A cafe would be a great addition to the town, it would be a place where people could go meet, especially the people of old age. The building used to an old cafe kind of place, so the layout would not have to be changed much. Obviously, I cannot accomplish doing this right now, but it would be cool if someone or a group of people could.

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My pitch focuses on getting the houses around town. To rebuild them into new better houses rather than just letting them sit off to the side and rot. Due to the fact that houses that are run down lead to a lot of problems for our area. So my proposal is a student and adult lead volunteer service. So we also can bridge the gap between the teens and adults. Since everyone would be working together so we could get these houses rebuilt and give our neighborhoods a more appealing look. Also better neighborhoods also make it more appealing for new businesses to come in so it would just be good for our whole area.

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Laundry mat

My pitch is that a laundry mat would help our community. A laundry mat would be so helpful to our community because there are apartments that don't have access to a laundry. There used to be one, but now it's a gym, which I think was good for our community, but a laundry mat would have been better. People have to go to Canton or Lewistown to do laundry, which is a waste of gas because you have to travel like 10 miles just to wash some clothes. I  think if the community took care of the laundry mat, then it would last longer than it did. If someone checked on the laundry mat and kept all the bad people who would take advantage of it, then I think it would be just fine. A laundry mat would also be useful because usually laundry mats have bigger washers, and you could fit a good amount of laundry in there. People could also do multiple loads at once and make it quick instead of doing multiple loads that would take all day.

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Many places in Cuba have received little attention in recent years. I propose a social media page that features photos of places in Cuba, along with a description of each place to highlight the town and its background.

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Georgia Kennedy- Cuba HS School- Grade 12th

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I am not originally from Cuba. I was from Lewistown for my whole life. People might think the two towns are similar since they happen to be small towns in Illinois, but that is incorrect. One thing I didn't know about Cuba was the businesses around it. In Lewistown, you could get fresh produce at almost every store. My family did not know that they would have to leave town every time they needed fresh produce. I would consider this town a Food Desert. A definition of a Food Desert is "Neighborhoods and communities that have limited access to affordable and nutritious food". While we are in the midst of Canton and Lewistown, IL, consider the people in Smithfield, Fiatt, and Marietta. The food pantry does a lot, but at the same time, it doesn't provide the folks who need it with proper nutrition. My pitch is to bring a communal garden to Cuba or even have a DG mart. (DG Mart is a Dollar General store that has a variety of fresh produce and poultry.) I just want everyone who can't afford to leave town or purchase groceries at the main business to have some nutrients in their families. No one should be left hungry or left just buying processed food “just to get by”.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK208016/-Link I used.

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Kalee Foster-Cuba HS-Grade 12

I have lived in Cuba for almost sixteen years now, and the longer I live here, the more places keep shutting down and almost forcing people to move away. My pitch is that, of course, not all at once, but slowly, Cuba starts implementing more things in the square. We have a great start with Jules Ice Cream and Coffee Shop, the gym, the library, but we truly need more, maybe a fun recreation type center with ping pong and pool, or a fresh market, or even a cozy diner. This is important because the population of Cuba continues to decline due to a lack of resources and truly nothing to do, and if we want Cuba to become a thriving township, we need to start taking action.

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Colorful Illustrated Rules for Adopting a Rescued Dog Infographic

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My pitch would be is that Cuba needs some sort of a produce store,all we have is a Dollar General or the Amish store outside of town. We need a grocery store where people can get real produce. We practically live in a food desert and the food available to us is all unhealthy options. I think Cuba needs to get a grocery store back and that we would really benefit from it.

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Dalen Bradford - Cuba High School - Grade 11

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Dalen Bradford - Cuba High School - Grade 11

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My pitch would be that there be a public pool added to Cuba somewhere in town. Many people in Cuba that enjoy swimming during summer go to Big Creek in Canton to swim at the pool, which is out of the way and inconvenient. I think that there should be a public pool in Cuba so the residents can enjoy swimming during the hot weather.

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Kolby Cleer- 12th grade- Cuba high school 

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My pitch would be to get the community together to clean up the town and make sure it stays pretty and clean for new people and old. Communities often forget that a town should be pretty and clean. Residents should want to keep their town beautiful and clean

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Brody Thum - Cuba HS - Grade 12

Honoring family members that have passed is important to me and I think our cemeteries need more flowers. My proposal is to place a various amount of flowers and make it look beautiful. Plenty of people put flowers on relatives graves, but a lot of people get left out and I think they deserve flowers as well.

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I think it would be great for the community if Cuba had a local thrift store that people could donate to, as well as shop at. A thrift store located at the square will encourage sustainable shopping and clothing reuse. It would be a more affordable option for community members, and I think many people in town would appreciate having a place close by to get their clothes. It would also give people a better option than throwing out their clothes. We could transform one of the unused buildings on the square and remodel it into something I think every community member can benefit from.

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We plan to convert Cuba’s abandoned hospital into a centrally located nursery and produce market. By offering fresh vegetables and flowers, we will fill a critical gap for residents with limited transportation who currently rely on Dollar General or must drive to Lewistown/Canton. This walkable, local option aims to improve our community's health, combat obesity, and provide nutritious, accessible food.

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Grace Yaste - Unforgettable Forgottonians Pitch

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My pitch is about the community center and fixing it up to allow future generations to enjoy it as we did.

The community center is loved and used by many people. Kids ranging from preschool to post-graduation. If we want kids in the future to be able to use it as we did, we need to keep it in good condition. It has many purposes for the residents of Cuba. Some kids stay there after school in place of an expensive daycare. Others stop by when they have free time to do things they love with people they love. You can swing, run around, play on the playground, play basketball, etc. All in all, the community center allowed many generations to learn and come together, and we should allow the same for future generations.

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Myah Brenner - Cuba HS - Grade 12

I think it would be a great idea for Cuba to have a local thrift store. Thrift stores are an important part of every local economy, and they allow people to purchase clothes and other used goods for a fraction of the price of brand-new items. It would also give people an easier way to donate their items, so they don't have to throw them away or drive to Canton or Macomb. Another benefit of a local thrift store is that it is better for the environment. By recycling clothes, we would be helping conserve resources and reduce landfill waste. If we could convert one of the empty buildings on the square into a thrift store, it would be a business to help the local economy, and one that Cuba could be proud of.

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Emma Probyn-Cuba HS-Grade 12

I have lived in Cuba my whole life, and not till recently did I realize that Cuba had a food pantry. For my senior project, I hosted a softball camp and asked for donations that I would donate to the food pantry. It wasn't until then that I really noticed that the Cuba food pantry was there. So my pitch is to move the Cuba food pantry from the community center to a more well-known place. Right now, it is just in a room in the Cuba community center, and I don't think that many people know that it is there. I think that it should be moved to a more well-known area of Cuba, like the town square. Moving it to the square, then it will be in the middle of town. But I also think that it should be advertised more on social media. I believe that if it is moved and advertised for, then it can be used to its full potential.

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Pitch- Local Library Tech Volunteer Program

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Pitch- Local Library Tech Volunteer Program

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Society is becoming increasingly digital, and many older adults are at risk of being left behind. At the same time, students are often looking for meaningful ways to engage with their communities and develop leadership skills. I propose a weekly community meetup hosted at the local library, where students volunteer to help senior citizens build confidence and skills in using digital tools. These meetups would focus on practical, everyday technologies such as video calling, email, and social media platforms. This initiative creates a welcoming space where these two groups can connect. The environment will be informal, patient, and supportive, ensuring seniors feel comfortable asking questions and learning at their own pace. This pitch is more than just tech help; it is a bridge between generations. I believe we can create a program that strengthens our community one conversation, one lesson, and one connection at a time.

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elderly getting help with technology by younger teen