In December 2008, Tim DeChristopher, along with his church group, was protesting outside a Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction of 116 parcels of public land in Utah's red rock country. Tim decided to take his protest inside and disrupt the auction itself. Instead, at the door, he was offered a bidder's paddle — which, after a split second of hesitation, he accepted.
Realizing the lack of a safe community within the Northern Utah Area, Sammy, a highschooler from NUAMES in Davis County, started his project “I Matter” with a series of interviews in which he found this sentiment echoed. That’s why Sammy created “I Matter”, I Matter is an organization just for Northern Utah Teens.