Kids In Action:
Here are some examples of how kids are already making a difference. Hopefully these stories can inspire you to make a difference too.
A Place to Call Home
Teenager Kristen Thomas of Sterling, CO started A Place to Call Home after she was touched by the plight of the homeless she saw while on a trip to Denver with her Dad. She and her friends, Jenna and Danielle, collect donations of toys, toiletries, baby food, and bibles that they then put together as care packages to distribute among the homeless in the Denver area.
Care Bags Foundation
Annie Wignall of Newton, IA is the founder and director of the Care Bags Foundation, an organization she started when she was eleven years old. Care Bags provides essential, fun, safe, and age appropriate things (games, toothbrushes, books, etc.) to kids during difficult times in their lives. Care bags go to over 800 disadvantaged, abused, and displaced kids every year. They are distributed by 20 agencies serving over 80 towns in Iowa, as well as going to other states for disaster relief and all over the world via Airline Ambassadors. Using the Care Bags Starter Kit, other young people have adopted Annie's program and are implementing it in their own communities.
Carolyn's Compassionate Children
Carolyn Rubenstein founded Carolyn's Compassionate Children in 1999 when she was 13 years old. Carolyn's Compassionate Children is a support organization linking critically ill children, and children with life challenges, with volunteer teens in schools through letter writing. They have since expanded and are now organizing annual school supply drives, holiday letter and gift campaigns as well as awarding college scholarships.
Chores-For-Charity
Ilana Rothbein founded Chores-For-Charity as a way to raise money for FACES (Finding a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures). Juggling schoolwork, sports, social activities, and part-time work, she found it very difficult to organize a fundraiser. Instead, Ilana decided to donate the money from her babysitting jobs to FACES. Over a year, she donated 45 hours of her time babysitting and $450 of her earnings to FACES. She thought, "Maybe I can get other kids to do the same thing. Since kids are donating their time to contribute their earnings to a charitable organization, it's only fair that those hours be counted as charitable work." She began developing her personal fundraising project into an official program with support from her family and FACES.
Free Bytes, Inc.
Thirteen year-old Charlie Shufeldt of Atlanta, GA and his two friends Owen Boger and Josh Silfen, founded Free Bytes to make computer equipment available to educational and charitable organizations. Free Bytes accepts computer equipment that corporations and individuals no longer need. High school students and youth groups then volunteer to rehabilitate the equipment according to the needs of nonprofit organizations that cannot afford to buy computers.
Free the Children
After reading an article about a 12 year-old Pakistani boy who was murdered for speaking out against child labor in his country, 12 year-old Craig Kielburger of Toronto, Canada decided to start an organization where kids could help increase awareness of child labor and child poverty around the world, and take action to combat these problems. Free the Children has branches in over 35 countries.
Grandma's Gifts
Inspired by the memory of her grandmother who lived in Appalachian Ohio, 9 year-old Emily Douglas established a nonprofit organization called Grandma's Gifts. Since 1992, Emily has raised over half a million dollars worth of food, clothing, toys, books, and educational field trips for schools, children, and organizations in the area. Emily hopes that Grandma's Gifts will raise awareness of economic hardship in the Appalachian Ohio region, bridge the cultural gap between Appalachia and the rest of the United States , and show other young people how service to the community can be a fun and worthwhile endeavor.
Kids For A Clean Environment (F.A.C.E.)
Kids F.A.C.E. is an international children's environmental organization started in 1989 by 9 year-old Melissa Poe of Nashville , TN. The club was established to provide a way for children to be involved in the protection of nature and connect them with other children who shared their concerns about global environmental issues. Kids F.A.C.E. currently has 300,000 members worldwide, and together they've planted over a million trees!
Kids Helping Kids
In 1997, a year after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, Mischa Zimmermann established Kids Helping Kids. A nonprofit volunteer organization run by teens to benefit teens and children affected by catastrophic illness or injury, KHK provides support with peer interaction, mobility equipment, and special wishes while also raising awareness of the life changes these individuals and their families face. The teens who are a part of KHK often help with event and activity planning, learning the value of contributing their time and developing a profound sense of commitment to something bigger than themselves.
Kids Konnected
Eleven year-old Jon Wagner-Holtz started Kids Konnected in 1993 after his mother was treated for breast cancer. Jon founded Kids Konnected because he couldn't find any programs that could help him find other kids to talk to who knew what it was like to have a sick parent. Kids Konnected started in California and now has programs across the United States. The organization offers a 24 hour hotline, an email newsletter, a chatroom, monthly meetings, resources, and summer camps.
Kids Saving the Rainforest
When they were nine years old, Janine Licare Andrews and Aislin Livingstone sold painted rocks at a roadside table in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica to raise money to help protect local rainforests and endangered wildlife. In 1999, the girls opened a store to sell their artwork as well as the work of local artists and craftspeople. All of the store's profits go toward preserving rainforest land, rehabilitating baby animals, and educating people around the world about the connection between humans and nature.
Kids Who Care Foundation
Risha, a 7 year-old who underwent an Auto Islet Cell Transplant for Chronic Pancreatitis in March 2004, understands very well the challenges of being in the hospital room and staring at the bare white walls! The Kids Who Care Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was founded by Risha to help and support other kids with Pancreatitis and other chronic diseases. Risha's mission is to brighten the days at the hospital for kids that are having major surgeries. She does this by making cards with the help of friends and neighbors. She sends them cards with the hope of making them feel better and making their rooms cheerful from kids who care.
Pennies to Protect Police Dogs
Eleven year-old Stacey Hillman started Pennies to Protect Police Dogs in March of 2000 after reading an article about police dogs and their dangerous jobs. The article told the story of a police dog that had been shot on the job and mentioned that there were special bulletproof vests for police dogs. Unfortunately, the vests are very expensive and most police departments cannot afford them. Over the past few years, Pennies to Protect Police Dogs has raised over $255,000 and has outfitted over 375 K-9 dogs with bulletproof vests. Stacey's goal is to ensure that every police dog has a bulletproof vest.
Streaming Futures
Streaming Futures is a free, web-based career program dedicated to helping teens choose the right career path by allowing them to watch internet-based video interviews with career professionals from a wide variety of fields. Founded by Joel Holland when he was 15, Streaming Futures received funding from Nortel Networks and the federal government and became part of the Nortel Networks Kidz Online content program. The online show is seen in thousands of high school classrooms across the country and continues to grow as Joel travels around the nation interviewing success stories in all types of careers.
Students for Organ Donation
Students for Organ Donation is a student-run, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping close the gap between the supply and demand for vital organs and tissue. Working within the framework of universities throughout the nation, Students for Organ Donation seeks to promote organ donation, awareness, and registration among students, staff, and members of the community.
TakingITGlobal
The TakingITGlobal Online Community sprung from a conversation between its two co-founders, Jennifer Corriero and Michael Furdyk, aged 19 and 17 at the time, who were striving to use technology to improve education and opportunities for youth around the world. Jennifer and Michael wanted to share their business and leadership experiences with other youth and provide them with empowering, meaningful experiences. As young tech-savvy leaders, they were able to make their visions a reality with the help of a core team of volunteers equally dedicated to the mission of TIG. The source of energy and imagination behind TakingITGlobal continues to grow with innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a desire to make positive change in the world.
Teen Force
Brynn MacDonald founded Teen Force after a teen advice site she volunteered with shut down. Brynn is dedicated to building Teen Force into the best worldwide outreach program for teens. The website offers one-on-one, teen-to-teen advice as well as online teen programs, teen-written articles, and a place for teens to share their stories.
The Cello Cries On
Jason Crowe started the Cello Cries On in 1998 in the wake of the mortar attack on civilians standing in a Sarajevo market during the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina. The attack killed 22 people. Jason was ten years old when he started the Cello Cries On, named in honor of Vedran Smailovic, a cellist in the Sarajevo Opera Orchestra who visited the market the day after the attack and proceeded to play his cello in the market for 22 days in memory of the people who died in the attack. The main project of the Cello Cries On is to raise money for the creation of a statue that will be given to the citizens of Bosnia-Hercegovina from kids around the world in the name of peace and harmony. Jason also publishes The Informer, a newspaper for kids that has readers in 29 states and 15 countries.
The Victorian Hands Foundation
Nadia Campbell founded the Victorian Hands Foundation when she was 18 in memory of her late aunt, Victoria. After watching a television special on elder abuse, she wanted to help the seniors in her community. Through the organization, youth volunteers work to make seniors feel loved and appreciated through programs like "Adopt a Grandparent."
Unite for Sight
Unite For Sight, an organization founded in 2000 by 18 year-old Jennifer Staple, is dedicated to preventing blindness through free community vision screenings, public education about eye disease and the importance of regular eye exams to prevent blindness, a speaker series, and an eyeglass drive. Vision screening and vision education programs are conducted at local community centers, including schools, soup kitchens, and libraries. Unite for Sight is also committed to supporting those community members with deteriorating vision through community assistance.
Youth Action International and PeaceForKids.Org
Youth Action International and PeaceForKids.Org were founded by Kimmie Weeks to give young people a chance to participate in pressing humanitarian problems around the world. Since its establishment, Youth Action International has raised thousands of dollars for humanitarian programs and Kimmie Weeks has been a huge activist for child soldiers and an inspiration to U.S. children. Kimmie has been working on projects for peace since he was 11 years old.
Youth for Environmental Sanity—YES!
Youth for Environmental Sanity was founded in 1990 by 16 year-old Ocean Robbins and 19 year-old Ryan Eliason to educate, inspire, and empower youth to join forces for social justice and environmental sanity. Since 1990, YES! has spoken in person to 620,000 students in school assemblies, held 83 week-long youth action training camps and hundreds of day-long workshops, and inspired the formation of more than 400 nonprofit clubs and organizations working for positive change. YES! supports youth committed to building a just and sustainable world, helping young changemakers to expand effectiveness, network with one another, and gain the support they'll need for a lifetime of action. YES! alumni have persuaded schools and businesses to purchase recycled products, offer organic and vegetarian options in cafeterias, retrofit their lighting, and offer anti-prejudice trainings.
Youth for a Better World
Lindsay Logsdon of Amherstburg , Ontario , Canada started Youth for a Better World with her sister Brittany in September 2000 because they wanted to help solve problems they saw around the world. Youth for a Better World has organized fundraisers for the local battered women's shelter and a food bank and collected toys to send to a children's hospital in East Timor . They also sponsor a child through World Vision Canada .