Begin Your Own TLO

TLO (Ticktocker Leadership Opportunities) are a new idea this year in the Salt Lake City chapter. The concept that you can come up with your own project for charity is, of course, something NCL has encouraged for years, but now you can get appreciation and even hours for your own unique idea.

I joined NCL through a project that would be considered a TLO. I worked with my cousin to create a Christmas coloring book to hand out to kids in Primary Children's Hospital. The idea was all our own. No one at the hospital asked us to do it. We didn't volunteer through a charity organization. We contacted them and arranged everything ourselves.

Before and since I've had the opportunity to be involved in many great service projects but this felt uniquely my own and gave me so much creative space for my own ideas. I loved watching the book come to life and delivering it to the hospital. I felt an attachment to it I'd never felt for another project. When my cousin mentioned that a second batch of books would be welcome at the hospital if we could afford it, I called my friends together to raise the money ourselves.

A TLO is a service project you come up with on your own. It's your own unique idea, something that you want to do for a cause you care about, tailored to your talents. It can be individual, or a cause to get other girls to help you with. In February, ticktockers Avery and Sarah arranged a TLO project that included recruiting the whole of NCL at our general meeting. This blog was created as my TLO.

This year, awards will be given for TLOs as well as hours counted. It's not too late to come up with your own! Get creative, get involved, and decide something for yourself. Talk to your grade level leader about getting the appropriate paperwork and information to set one up for yourself.