Richard Maize Daughter - Ally Maize - Green Youth Movement – Changing the World “One Kid at a Time”

Richard Maize Daughter - Ally Maize’s Green Youth Movement – Changing the World “One Kid at a Time”

From a basic desire to do something to help the planet, and being inspired by Al Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth” to running a rapidly growing environmental non-profit organization that is grabbing the attention of opinion leaders and the media – including Al Gore himself – is the path young Ally Maize has taken over the past two years.

Now just 17-years-old, Ally – also known as Los Angeles’s “green teen”– is the driving force behind GYM – Green Youth Movement – set up to educate the younger generation about the meaning of “green” and how they can change the world “one kid at a time,” she says.

The story behind Ally Maize’s rapid climb to public recognition and acknowledgement by one of the world’s leading environmentalists – Al Gore – started at the Maize family dinner table in Los Angeles just two years ago.

Her father, Richard Maize, a Los Angeles Real Estate entrepreneur and community leader, said his daughter had always wanted to do something to help mankind.

“She would lend a hand helping the homeless and being active in community events, but she felt she had more to give, more to offer and wanted to do something that would make a real difference,” said Richard Maize, who helped Ally plan and set up the organization.

Ally says that Al Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth” was “such an eye opener for me.”

She continues: “It made me think that I had to so something. He’s doing so much and opening so many eyes across the country, I felt I should do something too...”

She discussed the initial idea with her father, Richard Maize, and asked him how to go about setting up a non-profit organization. With his experience as a founder of the Rochelle and Richard Maize Foundation, and his business acumen, Richard helped Ally outline what the organization would look like; what it’s goals and objectives should be; what obligations she would entail and generally how to run a non-profit organization. With help from business professionals, such as accountants, the GYM was brought to life.

The next phase of her mission saw Ally and her mom Rochelle, going out into the community to recruit kids and spread the GYM message around local schools.

Now with an exciting, highly informative web site (www.greenyouthmovement.org) and a dynamic program, the immediate goal is for kids to become aware of environmental issues.

She speaks regularly at elementary schools and youth groups throughout the area. “The aim is to get their wheels spinning in their heads about what they can do now and inform them of what’s going on,” said Ally.

And the message seems to be getting through. One parent told her how her daughter had written a four page paper about how Ally had inspired her to start changing her life (with regard to the environment) and said this is what she wanted to do.

Ally truly believes that living a green life is not that difficult, Ally says: “...the whole global warming issue is very big, but if you break it up into basics it’s not that overwhelming and if you just change one thing about your lifestyle, the impact is immense.”

Even Ally’s mom, Rochelle, ha been inspired b y her daughter’s work. As a residential real estate agent, Rochelle Maize has now been licensed as an “Eco Broker”– a licensed broker who advises clients how to turn their houses green and how to be more energy efficient.

Ally and GYM have a long list of additional achievements.

They have planted sustainable gardens at local schools and homes – including at the Maize home in Los Angeles. Super model Tyra Banks gave Ally and GYM special recognition on her show – together with a stunning makeover

Al Gore himself has acknowledged Ally’s work and was also the recipient of the Green Youth Movement Inspiration Award 2009 to thank the former vice president for inspiring the Green Youth Movement.

Ally and her organization also took Halloween to a new level last year with their “Hallo-Green” concept – everything about her family’s Halloween had an environmental "Eek-O Friendly" message, driving home the need to recycle and take care of the environment. Moreover, the Maize family has made a real contribution to the future:

"We had around 650 trick-or-treaters come by,” said Richard Maize, so our family committed to planting a tree for each and every trick-or-treater. We have thus planted 650 trees for the future," Richard Maize added.

Ally was also recently featured as a “Cool Kid” on ABC’s “Eyewitness News” television program.

In March 2010 she presented the Green Youth Movement 2010 Humanitarian Award to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, at LA Fashion Weekend’s official eco show “The Green Initiative”. In front of an audience of 400 people, Mayor Villaraigosa was honored for his unprecedented undertaking in making Los Angeles greener, cleaner, and healthier through the Million Trees LA Project. He also praised Ally’s work and pledged to take GYM to a national level. (See Video: http://vimeo.com/10387300 and http://vimeo.com/10393006 )

The event marks the beginning of a partnership between the Million Trees LA Project and GYM, the Green Youth Movement, to plant a brighter and healthier tomorrow for Los Angeles...a partnership which is guaranteed to take GYM to a leading position in young environmental activism and make young Ally Maize’s dream of doing something for mankind a dynamic reality.