Most cannot drive or vote, they often have adults scratching their heads to understand what it is they love so much about the music they blare from their rooms or how they can leave the house in that outfit, but these all too often misunderstood youths have power and influence. Yes, children and teens may need parents permission, but they are the leaders of tomorrow and many are not waiting to show the power of their voice and action to make a significant difference in local and international community and aid projects.
A recent article in Crain’s New York Business, reports that teenagers are utilizing their social media power to launch internet fundraising campaigns and launching their own global philanthropic initiatives. From using their virtual voice on Facebook to as far as founding their own foundations and NGOs, teens are leading the way in volunteerism and fundraising for a wide variety of causes. Out of the the young grassroots leaders and philanthropists it is girls that are really taking charge and raising the bar high in comparison to their male counterparts. In the U.S. over the past year, 79% of girls have contributed food or clothing, 53% have donated money, and 66% have solicited family and friends to pitch in for global relief efforts, according to research sponsored by the UN Foundation. The UN Foundation, which introduced its Girl Up campaign last fall to inspire girls in the U.S. to raise funds for their counterparts in developing countries, has had inspiring success since the launch.
The news that young people are leading the way is no shock to myself in human rights and the nonprofit sector that their really is power in youth. Social media has shown it is the way forward, as I have seen with my nonprofit Bridge to Freedom Foundation (BTFF), as without our Facebook page, which has allowed us to recruit virtual volunteers and it is the youth that are spreading our message faster than any of our other supporters. Our successes so far with both individual youths and groups such as City Year have led students to collect clothing donations, organizing speaking events at their schools, sort donations, helping in the office, or launch individual campaigns for BTFF via RootFunding.
One of our personal teen success stories, which is still in the making, is Martine Gaetan, who I have been honored to mentor over the past year as she began to show more than a budding interest in the fight against sex trafficking. Martine has organized survivor art exhibitions and speaking events at her school, she had helped sort clothing donations, researched and wrote papers on the subject matter, and most recently produced her own documentary “Teen Trafficking” which is featured on C-SPAN’s StudentCam 2011 student documentary competition. When I asked Martine why she became involved in the cause and why she is so active in raising awareness, she stated;
The first movie I saw about teen sex-trafficking was Human Trafficking when I was twelve years old… The shocking movie encouraged me to find out more about the issue–was this actually happening today? Recently, I have been more active in raising awareness about sex-trafficking within my high-school. It is a well known fact that raising awareness about the issue is a key instrument to solving modern day slavery. Consequently, I organized several events…as well as make a news-package about the issue that has been publicized via several websites. I chose to work on this issue and try to raise awareness to be able to make a difference, even if a small one, in the awareness sector of human trafficking.
Martine is a perfect example of how teens can leverage what they have to get involved in a cause and how they can get other teens involved;
Teens tend to get more involved with a cause when they see that their peers are also interested and involved. Therefore, I believe that if more teenagers were to get involved with spreading the word about the issue, they will attract their peers, and so, more young, vulnerable people will be aware…
Teen philanthropy is defiantly something to take seriously and adults are listening as some such as SV2 (Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund) highlighted when they brought twenty middle and high school students on board for six training sessions on nonprofit development and giving, the group was then ultimately tasked to choose an organization to receive a $5,000 to $10,000 grant.
There are a number of amazing teen leaders, some of which I have previously featured, such as Nkosi Johnson, Kimmie Weeks, Ishmael Beah and Craig Kielburger, but many go unrecognized outside their local communities. Thankfully as there are increasingly more and more young people making a significant impact as humanitarians and philanthropist, their work is not unnoticed and recognition for many can be found such as through the Brick Awards, which honors young people under the age of 25, who have taken and made amazing strides to make a difference.
While you are never too small to have an impact, nor is a child. Children too can have a lasting impact on the lives of other children, and our world. There are many ways that teens and children can get involved, think outside the box and never be afraid to think too big or feel that even a small effort will not go to help make a big impact. Volunteer opportunities for adolescents aren’t difficult to find, and one of the best places to start is with your school, local place of worship, service groups, etc. There are a number of youth centric organizations, such as Kids Can Make A Difference that also help children and teens find ways to serve both local and international communities and causes.
Encouraging teens to do volunteer work is one of the most important things you can do for them as a parent or leader, and the best part is teenagers love to volunteer! Students who do volunteer work actually do better in school than those who don’t volunteer. In fact, volunteering provides many benefits for teens, including increased self-esteem, it creates a sense of value, the opportunity to meet new people, the acquisition of valuable new skills, and not to mention the leadership skills and amazing memories they will create. When teenagers serve others, they become empowered and knowing that they can make a difference in the world and already are investing in the future…it is just the fuel they need to be the best leaders of tomorrow.
