From the Front Lines: Stories from Children & Youth
Here you can read stories about how young people have gotten involved in philanthropy.
Read stories from adults who work or volunteer in community youth service.
You can also send us your own stories
about how you’ve participated in causes you care
about. Just click on the link to the Share Your
Story Form, where you can fill out and
submit the form. We’ll post your story here so
others can read about your project and learn from
your experience!
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Total running time: 4 minutes, 12 seconds
Jordan Coleman, 13, of Hackensack, New Jersey
Jordan Coleman, 13, of Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S., used the money he earned as an actor to make a film about the importance of education for African-American boys.
Sonya Sackner-Bernstein, 17, of New York, New York, U.S.
Sonya Sackner-Bernstein, 17, of New York, New York, gives back to her community by participating in a grantmaking organization that is both led and run entirely by students.
Chelsea Makela, 17, of Brentwood, California, U.S.
Chelsea Makela, 17, of Brentwood, California, participates in an "Adopt a Family" program that gives holiday gifts to families of oncology and hematology patients in her community.
Aubre Lehman, 16, Garden Plain, Kansas, U.S.
Aubre Lehman, 16, of Garden Plain, Kansas, is planning to open a teen center where young people in her community can have fun in a safe environment.
Michael McCall-Delgado, 14, Humacao, Puerto Rico
Michael McCall-Delgado, 14, of Humacao, Puerto Rico, shares his love of books with others by volunteering at the library in the BUCAPLAA Community Center. BUCAPLAA is a cultural center originally created as a meeting area for three urbanizations: Bucaré, Apolo, and Alto Apolo. The center's name is an amalgam of these three sites.
Drew Landry, 13, of Saco, Maine, U.S.
Drew Landry, 13, of Saco, Maine, visits schools to speak about bully prevention and to help children understand what they can do if they are bullied.
Ashley Highsmith, 15, Fresno, CA, U.S.
Ashley Highsmith, 15, of Fresno, CA, started Ashley's Blessings, which gives holiday presents to children in local shelters.
Zach Bonner, 8, Valrico, Florida, U.S.
Zach Bonner, 8, of Valrico, Florida, helps homeless kids by raising money and supplies for the Little Red Wagon Foundation, Inc. and Stand Up for Kids.
Karl Roosevelt Smith, 19, Liberia
Karl Roosevelt Smith, 19, of Liberia, volunteers for Educational Youth Empowerment, which helps to educate young people in Liberia.
Brittany Williams, 15, Harlem, New York, U.S.
Brittany Williams, 15, mentored children with special needs while fulfilling her own wish to learn figure skating in a program that teaches the artistic sport to girls in Harlem.
Hellene Seleina Rotiken, Narok, Kenya
Hellene Seleina Rotiken, now 20, of Narok, Kenya, volunteered as a peer counselor in Maasai Education Discovery, an organization that has connections in Boston, London, and Narok. It was founded in 1999 by Ledama Olekina, a Maasai from Kenya, to promote education for his people by using technology to promote bicultural education between the Maasai and people of Western nations.
Kennedy Jet Kulish, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Inspired by her younger brother, Kaeden, who was born with a heart defect, Kennedy Jet Kulish, 9, of Lancaster, PA, has been running her "Kisses for Kaeden" campaign for the last three years to raise money for children's health organizations.
Cole Hodges, Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Cole Hodges, 11, has asked for money instead of birthday presents for the past six years, and donates the money to charity. He, along with his mother, started Donate Your Birthday to encourage others to do the same.
Matthew Wettach, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, U.S.
Matthew Wettach, 16, co-founded Write Start, which provides school supply kits and care packages to local kindergarten students in need.
Cody Clark, Kemptville, Ontario, Canada
Cody Clark, 11, provides "Comfort Kits" to children and seniors in hospitals and nursing homes to help them forget, for a moment, about their illnesses and fears, and to let them know that someone cares about them.
Alex and Nolan Brown
Alex and Nolan Brown, ages 8 and 5, respectively, worried about the children who lost their belongings in Hurricane Katrina, so they collected stuffed animals to send to them.
Stephanie Dummerth, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Camp Sunrise is one of many summer camps organized by local chapters of the American Cancer Society for children with cancer. For the last five years, Stephanie Dummerth, 12, of St. Louis, MO, has volunteered as a junior counselor to provide the children the same carefree experiences she had when she attended the camp in 1998.
Avion Thurmond, Shaker Heights, Ohio, U.S.
Eight-year-old Avion Thurmond follows his mother's example of giving back to the community by feeding and preparing food for homeless and needy families, among other activities.
Mitchell Clayton, Dumas, Texas, U.S.
Five-year-old Mitchell Clayton donated some of his playthings to a local museum so it could start a children's center, and now he is saving money to expand the toy selection.
Allison Hill, San Diego, California, U.S.
At age 17, Allison Hill was given a children's dance studio, which she now runs as a performing arts center for disadvantaged children.
Michael Lang, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Ingraham High School junior Michael Lang, 16, practices social enterprise by selling candy at his school to raise money for local charities. At the same time, his fellow students learn that as socially responsible consumers, their shopping choices can also help social causes.
Jordan Schwartz, Marietta, Georgia, U.S.
Twelve-year-old Jordan Schwartz of Marietta, GA, formed a bilingual theater group for children who are learning English or Spanish. She recently added the 2005 Prudential Spirit of Community Award to her growing list of awards and recognition for her community service.
ChaDawn Parker, Chicago, U.S.
ChaDawn Parker, a 21-year-old percussionist and music major, formed a drumline with eight inner-city children from his father's small church in Chicago's West Side. Four years later, the drumline has more than tripled in size and has been invited to play at events throughout the city and the Great Lakes region.
Katharine Mehta, New York, New York, U.S.
Nine-year-old Katharine Mehta walks dogs to raise money for Mighty Mutts, "an all-volunteer, no-kill organization dedicated to the rescue, care and placement of the stray animals of New York City."
Kyla Ryan, U.S.
10-year-old Kyla Ryan recruited her peers to raise funds for local charities. Besides feeling good about helping others, she and her friends discovered the benefits of teamwork and learned how to conduct meetings and make decisions about who received their "grants".
Henry Schwartz, of Menomonie, Wisconsin, U.S.
Henry Schwartz, 16, has owned his own skate shop since May 2004. However, he already understands that good business means giving back to his community, in terms of donating merchandise or money to help build skate parks in nearby towns.
D.J. Anderson, of Lanham, Maryland, U.S.
D.J. Anderson, 5, learned about civil war in Liberia by donating school supplies to children in that country through his school's partnership with the Liberian Outreach Program. Below, he and his mom describe the experience.
Manoah Chengeah, Nairobi, Kenya
In Kenya, where abortion is permitted only under certain circumstances, many women undergo unsafe, "back street" procedures, which often lead to life-endangering complications. In the capital city of Nairobi, Manoah Chengeah, 23, is trying to decrease the number of unsafe abortions and abandoned infants by educating young women about their reproductive choices.
Sonia Chaudhary, Storrs, Connecticut, U.S.
Sonia Chaudhary, 19, is a student at the University of Connecticut who leads her peers to contribute their time and money to charitable causes.
Savannah Walters, Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Twelve-year-old Savannah Walters is fighting to save the Arctic wilderness by recruiting her peers to educate drivers to keep their tires inflated properly to conserve fuel.
Pat Robert, Kampala, Uganda
Saved from a life in the streets, Pat Robert, 20, now is helping to provide the same services to the next generation of homeless youth.
Hak Bounthavy, Richmond, California, U.S.
Student Hak Bounthavy, 23, of Richmond, Calif., is the executive director of a nonprofit organization that he created to provide recreational activities for low-income, at-risk Southeast Asian refugee children and youth.
Mark Hanis, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Impelled by his family's history of surviving the Holocaust, Swarthmore College (Pa.) student Mark Hanis, 23, has united students and legislators across the U.S. in his efforts to end genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
Aman Prasad, Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Aman Prasad, 15, volunteered for one year at a large hospital, working in areas ranging from the emergency department to the discharge desk.
Justine, Brittany and Catherine V.F. Dronet, Norco, California, U.S.
Justine, Brittany and Catherine V.F. Dronet of Norco, CA, ages 12, 14 and 8, respectively, share the joys of their miniature horse during their visits to a local hospice and a center for mentally challenged adults.
Ellie Wen, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
At 16, Ellie launched an online collection of famous poetry, prose and speeches and accompanying audio clips to help English language learners worldwide.
Alex Scott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Four years ago, Alex Scott, now 8, started making and selling lemonade to raise money for the hospital where she was receiving chemotherapy. Her "lemonade stand" has grown into a national fundraising movement to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research.
Seth Cassel, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
For each book that is purchased through his Web site, tween-teen book reviewer Seth Cassel of Baltimore, MD, earns credit from online bookseller Amazon, which he then uses for underprivileged youth and cash-strapped libraries.
Chelsea Amaio, New Britain, Connecticut, U.S.
When Chelsea was 11, she placed boxes in the hallways to recycle newspapers for an assignment. Her project was such a success that it was implemented throughout her school district.
Mari Trubenbach, Lake Forest, U.S.
Mari, age 14, traveled with her grandfather to witness his "Passion in Action": Performing corrective surgery for Ecuadorian children.
Krystal and Vanessa Brandt, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Krystal, age 18, and her sister Vanessa, age 16, are helping distribute grants while learning about organizations that are serving their community. Read Krystal's and Vanessa's stories!
Thomas Puciarella, Severn, Maryland, U.S.
Thomas makes a difference in the lives of critically ill children and their families, when he volunteers at the Casey Cares Foundation.
Amanda O'Neil, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (by way of NYC)
In addition to her work with Amnesty International and Santa's Helpers, Amanda started an organization called My Travel Bug, which promotes the educational benefits of travel abroad.
Gary Fox, Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Gary, along with two friends, started Junior Organization for Youth, a high school club that helps children through volunteering and fundraising.
Vucinic Zeljka, Slavonski Brod, Croatia
Vucinic Zeljka works with disabled children using physical therapy in Slavonski Brod's general hospital, which is in Croatia.
Ruth Vitsemmo Akumbu, Cameroon, Africa
Ruth Vitsemmo Akumbu, 25, is founder and coordinator of "Seek Ye Multipurpose," a group that helps underprivileged Aku-Fulani girls in Bambili, which is in the Northwest province of Cameroon, Africa.
Seth Ullman, San Francisco, California, U.S.
Seth Ullman, age 17, participated in an 8-week philanthropy program this past summer, The San Francisco Foundation "Faiths Initiative".
Links to More Stories by and About Young Philanthropists
Take Up the Business of Change