The benefits of service can best be explained in a quote form Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which states that anybody can be great because anybody can serve - one only needs a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love. A blueprint is an exact detailed plan. My blueprint for service will be to create free after-school programs in Memphis. My program would be called "From Me to You" because its purpose will be to focus on the exchange of knowledge from one teen to another.

Adults would supervise the program, but teens would run it, emphasizing the fact that something good already exists in Memphis. Young people of all ages, grades, and races would be encouraged to join. "From Me to You" would be especially helpful to immigrant students in Memphis City Schools, where the number of ESL students has doubled since 2001. The diversity of students involved in the program would benefit them because they would be introduced to people and cultures that they did not previously know.

"From Me to You" would create employment opportunities for teens who would be paid to assist the adults in supervising the programs activities. The teens' experiences in the program would give them three important things they need to be successful in the future: developing their leadership skills, learning effective communication skills, and encouraging interaction with new people.

One of the most important points of "From Me to You" is its use of peer mediation and group discussion to teach teens positive ways to handle negative conflicts.

The only mandatory requirement for participation in the program would be that teens have to complete monthly community service projects at various locations around Memphis, such as the Mid-South Food Bank, homeless shelters, or even hospitals. Volunteering at these places would help students appreciate the lives they live and make them feel better about themselves because they helped others.

The ultimate goal of the "From Me to You" program is to encourage every individual involved to develop values that teach the importance of community, to embrace not reject diversity, tolerance of others different from you, promote positive thinking, and to increase social interaction between different races in Memphis City Schools.

"From Me to You" embraces the benefits of service as explained by one of the all-time great examples of service: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In closing, my blueprint for service, "From Me to You," proves that anybody can be great because anybody can serve.