By Jeff Kenney Citizen editor
The young people of BEAM (Bettering Every Aspect of Marshall County) are well aware of the impression many adults have of teenagers: jaded, withdrawn, sulking…not the stuff that evokes images of community leadership. And if the “youth movements” of eras like the 1960s were all about working outside – if not against – adult parameters, area teens in BEAM (or “BEAMers,” as they prefer to be called) are a different breed, and somewhat represent the buzz occurring nationally that many young people want to change their country from the community on up, and want to do it positively and through service.

“The future of Marshall County changing the future of Marshall County,” says the slogan of BEAM, a youth philanthropic organization started this year as an offshoot of the Marshall County Community Foundation.
Bremen High School principal Bruce Jennings introduced the organization at an Aug. 17 press conference near the lighthouse in Culver’s town park, an intentionally symbolic locale also reflected in the group’s logo. Jennings credited 2006 Bremen high school graduate Stasha Dirrim, who had served Stuben County with hundreds of hours of community service already when she moved to Bremen as a sophomore, with the inspiration for the group. Dirrim gave an “outstanding presentation” to the executive board of the Community Foundation in 2006, said Jennings, about her work with a youth philanthropic group in Stuben County. Around that same time, he said, the Lily Endowment gave the MCCF a surprise gift of $70,000 in leftover scholarship money (“The executive board called it ‘pennies from Heaven,’” Jennings smiled). Jennings and Dirrim felt benefiting many young people was preferable to one scholarship for just one student, and the idea of BEAM was born. “We decided we should let the youth decide what to do with that $70,000,” he notes.
That idea, as it evolved, became a senate-based model of representation from all the public schools in Marshall County (Culver Academies, a private school is also represented; Jennings said that the Baptist school in Plymouth pulled out its applicants): that is, an equal representation for each school, rather than one based on school population size. BEAM is comprised of seven males and seven females; six seniors, eight juniors, all hailing from a total of eight high schools county wide.
A screening committee made of up MCCF board members filtered the more than 40 applicants down to:  Linda Cramer, a Laville junior; Federico Cuattaccuatt, a Plymouth senior (Jennings praised Cuattaccuatt for his artistic talent in designing the group’s lighthouse logo); Bryant Davenport, a Triton junior; Shelby Dirrim, a Bremen junior; Alexis Howard, a Culver Academy senior; Andy Langdon, a Plymouth junior and BEAM treasurer; Peggy Nifong, a Triton senior; Nathan Niswander, a Culver High School junior; Nathanial O’Dell, a John Glenn junior; Myles Pinder, a Culver High School senior and president of BEAM; Anna Rich, a Culver Academy junior and recorder for BEAM; Shannon Sickelka, a Bremen senior and secretary of BEAM; Kelli-Jo Stachurski, an Argos junior; and Mackenzie Williams, an Argos junior.
If nothing else, said Jennings, “the networking and ideas these young people are sharing, they’ll take back to their home schools. We’ve already stolen all kinds of ideas we’ll use in the Bremen schools!”
Stasha Dirrim herself, now a consultant and obvious source of inspiration for the members, described the commitment of the students who signed on “blindly into a project; all they knew was they would be bettering their community. When I told them they’d be getting the $70,000, it was the most incredible moment ever! These kids will change the mould of Marshall County. They will show their peers what youth can do in their communities.”
“We were all drawn to this opportunity due to our desire to improve our schools, our community, and the entire county,” said BEAM president Pinder. He said the group hopes to lend time and talent to identified needs and causes throughout the county and also offer smaller grants to local youth philanthropy groups that embody vision of BEAM. “BEAM will try to start and support at least one community service project locally per month” once it gets on its feet, Pinder added.
Andy Langdon, BEAM treasurer, said he met with MCCF director Jennifer Maddox and discussed the group’s finances; MCCF gave BEAM an opening fund of $2,500 with which to start off running.
For her part, Shelby Dirrim says she’s excited not just to be watching older sister Stasha involved in community service. “This is really, really exciting,” she beams. “I’ve seen what groups like this can do.”
“We’re showing our generation is not all jaded and outside of things,” adds Shannon Sickelka. “We really can jump in and make a difference.”
Even though BEAM itself is comprised solely of the existing members, Jennings says the group seeks to “model community service and get other youth to ‘pay it forward. We want to get as many youth involved in this movement as possible, including younger, (elementary-age) kids.”
He notes that after this year, BEAM will need 10 students to replace seniors leaving for college. “BEAM is not like the Lions Club or Kiwanis,” Jennings continues. “We’ll be turning over every two or four years.” Active members, he says, may be freshman through seniors in high school.
In the meantime, today’s BEAMers intend to spread the word in their own schools to build up community service-oriented groups amongst their peers. BEAM will also address the MCCF at its annual meeting Sept. 25 at the Argos Community Life Center, to which the public is invited.
Stasha Dirrim has seen the possibilities in youth philanthropy firsthand, all of which grow out of youth empowerment, which she says is “working to counter the image of the ‘me’ generation. It’s recognizing the capabilities of youth to care and make a difference and be involved. Adults in the community have to be wiling to give kids the knowledge and opportunities and resources; then youth can make the difference.”
While Culver’s Anna Rich says the group’s initial goal is to assess the needs of the county as a whole, that hasn’t stopped the Culver-based BEAM members from contemplating specific needs in Culver. Pinder says he’s hoping to involve BEAM members and others in helping with the Sept 27-28 Vandalia Village community-built playground effort. He adds that local members plan to be available to aid any local people with specific service needs, such as help shoveling sidewalks.
Nathan Niswander notes that local BEAM members like himself hope to work towards incorporating already-existing CCHS service groups like CYCO and the CAVS club actively into BEAM’s mission. Pinder and Niswander agree that they’d like to see service enthusiasm spread at their school. “I don’t think it’s that people don’t want to help,” Pinder explains. “It’s that maybe don’t know how to. If we can get the idea out there, I believe (many students) will help.”
Rich expects BEAM’s focus to take off at Culver Academies. “Leadership is a huge deal at the Academy, so many students will be willing to jump at that. We usually do mostly in-school (service) groups, so something in the local community will go well; it will be something different.”