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How a Teenager Managed To Save 10 Million Litres of Water, Half a Glass at a Time!

Water, which is supposed to righteously be available to all, is now a privilege. A basic need that life can't survive without, is a privilege. We are incapable of imagining a time when we would have to struggle for a single drop of water to drink while many around the globe currently live the nightmare. That is where the world stands right now, and it calls for an immediate and collective response.

In these times where most people don't see the severity of the water crisis and the rest choose to overlook it, change that comes from young individuals stands as a strong hope for all of us. One such individual is the Water Girl of India, the CEO and founder of Why Waste? who is using her passion for water conservation to make a global impact. She is a girl from Bangalore, Garvita Gulhati.

One is never too young to change the world. This quote perfectly describes Garvita, who was a mere 13 years old when she started working as a changemaker and finding solutions to the water crisis in the country. She is the CEO and founder of Why Waste?, the largest youth-led organization working for water conservation. In 2021, Garvita was the youngest person on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia-Pacific list of Social Entrepreneurs. She also has been selected as one of the 17 Youth Climate Leaders representing the UN in India as a part of their We, The Change campaign.

If you have ever been to a restaurant that served you half-filled glasses with quirky notes on them, you have been confronted by Garvita's initiative #GlassHalfFull. At the young age of 13, when the main aim for most is to catch up with their academics , Garvita was spending time thinking about how she could save each and every drop of water possible. While she was at it, she ended up saving 10 million litres (and counting) of water and has touched over 4 million lives.

The birth of a changemaker

"My interest in water conservation began when I was a teenager during one of my trips to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. As I walked around one of the most iconic stepwells in the world, a little girl ran up to me. She looked exasperated. I thought she needed some money. Surprisingly, she pointed at the bottle in my hand - she just wanted water. I quickly gave it to her, and in no time, her eyes lit up and her face adorned a smile. The irony of this experience was tremendously pivotal, making me realize the importance of treating water with respect", shared Garvita.

A second nudge, which finally led Garvita working towards restaurant-centric water conservation, was a PPT that was presented on World Environment Day at Garvita's school, back in 2015. She came across the statistics which stated that the amount of water that is wasted through half-drunk glasses of water at restaurants is a massive 14 million litres every year. The impact on her was such that, despite attempts by teachers, friends, and family who insisted she focus on her studies since she was said to be too young to find solutions, she came up with Why Waste?

#GlassHalfFull

Garvita's Why Waste? started this initiative in order to reduce the massive amount of water wasted at restaurants. The initiative includes encouraging waiters to fill glasses only half instead of full, that way people take just as much as they need and not waste. This helps the restaurants save water and also treats restaurateurs' pockets.

Garvita and her enthusiastic team, The Waterpreneurs, have reached over 5 lakh restaurants thanks to their partnership with the National Restaurants Association of India, impacted about 6 million people, and prevented over 10 million litres of water from being wasted.

The stepping stones

Like any other initiative, Why Waste? faced criticism in its budding days. The ideas, and most importantly, Garvita's ability, were questioned from people around her forcing her to , to the restaurateurs, who thought a young one like herself couldn't possibly have something valuable for them. Garvita said, "Convincing authorities and organisations that we are in it whole-heartedly and are most keen to build the right change has been the most challenging. Initially, it was increasingly tough since most people didn't want to hear what a teenager had to say. Convincing people in the early days of the ideas having the capacity to make a difference without them yet having seen the light of day, let alone real impact, proved incredibly hard."

But the passion, resilience, and belief in the idea that drove her, did not stop her from making the change that she had set out to make, and finally they were able to convince organizations like Ashoka-Everyone a Changemaker, Change.org, and the Global Changemakers to get on board with the idea and provide support and implementation. As the impact grew with time and effort, so did the number of leading organizations like the National Restaurants Association of India that joined hands with Why Waste?

"In 2018, I petitioned the National Restaurants Association of India and campaigned for an entire year persuading them to take this concept to the half a million restaurants they represent. Proving that this concept saves over 50% of the water being wasted earlier, finally won their support.", said Garvita.

Today, the global organizations: Facebook, Shawn Mendes Foundation, CNN Network 18, United Nations, The Diana Award, IKEA Foundation, Forbes, and many more are amongst the list of supporters and partners of Why Waste?

In partnership with CNN, Why Waste? has encouraged more people to calculate their water footprint through their app and become a part of the change through their national campaign "Mission Paani".

Vision for the future

"Our goal is to help every single person realise that they can be a part of the solution when it comes to solving the water crisis. Through our simple, hands-on solutions, we want to empower each individual to take charge of their water consumption habits and pioneer change by simply altering their own habits!", explained Garvita.

The youth have been at the forefront of the climate change battle for recent years and Garvita is one of the 17 Youth Climate Leaders representing the UN in India as a part of their We, the Change campaign.

All of her achievements make her commendable, but she is still a regular engineering student who is a professional classical dancer and a calligraphy artist. She's like any of us, the only difference being the awareness and empathy that she shares with the world.

Although change happens from a collective effort where the authorities and the Government play a role in making a change, the change still depends highly on individual consciousness. We need more empathy towards the situations prevailing around us and need to be our own changemakers. As Garvita perfectly puts it, "In a world where change is the only constant, we are now in constant need of changemakers."

Exclusively written for Giving for Good Foundation by Bhairavi Hiremath

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How a Teenager Managed To Save 10 Million Litres of Water, Half a Glass at a Time! - The Goodness Journal

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One is never too young to change the world. This quote perfectly describes Garvita, who was a mere 13 years old when she started working as a changemaker and finding solutions to the water crisis in the country. She is the CEO and founder of Why Waste?, the largest youth-led organization working for water conservation.

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Changemakers (read and click their links)

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Changemakers (read and click their links)

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Today is International Youth Day, when we lift up the brilliant leadership of young people everywhere. This year's focus? The U.N. is showcasing how young people innovating to ensure the wellbeing of people and the planet by changing food systems for the better.

For months, activist, science communicator, and educator Danni Washington has been interviewing young changemakers across the U.S. for the Genius Generation podcast. These young leaders are taking on all kinds of issues and putting their their world-changing ideas into action, from launching nonprofits to creating their own tech inventions.

Today we're highlighting five young leaders with solutions for the climate, food security, and human health. Have a listen and get inspired!

At age 16, Adithi Raghavan learned about "colony collapse disorder." Bees are disappearing around the world for reasons that we haven't totally grasped - they include factors like viruses, pesticides, and climate change. Bees pollinate 71 of the top 100 food crops, from almonds to bok choy, which means there are huge consequences for our food systems. Talking with her peers, "I realized that nobody else knew about this issue either," Adithi says. "And I thought if nobody knows about it - how are we going to put an end to it?"

Adithi founded her organization BEEducated and created "The Million Pollinator Garden Challenge" to equip people to create their own bee pollinator gardens - safe places for bees to live and thrive in their own backyards. Listen here.

When a speech she wrote about climate change received unexpected attention, Luna discovered the power of her own voice. She founded the Effective Climate Action Project (ECAP) - a youth-led organization working to increase awareness of effective solutions to climate change.

The climate solutions we often hear about, like planting trees or avoiding plastic straws, focus on individuals. While those actions are important, Luna wants people to understand that we need bigger, systemic solutions.

Her team runs interactive workshops called "climate simulations," where people work in groups to think of solutions together. Anyone -adults, middle school students, science experts - can participate, and afterwards the solutions are measured for effectiveness. At the same time, Luna and her team are doing online advocacy and working for policy change. She shares her story here.

Ananya Sridhar learned about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan when she was 12. Lead poisoning has devastating health impacts, particularly for young people her age and younger. One day, Ananya's chemistry teacher showed the class a litmus test. "Why can't we do this for lead?" Ananya wondered. The idea for Neptune Project was born.

Alongside her teacher, she tinkered in the science classroom during lunch and after school on Fridays, trying over and over until they got a test that worked. Not only did Ananya find an innovative and affordable way to test lead levels in water, she figured out how to code a machine learning model in high school that would identify the communities most at risk. The next step? Bringing on more volunteers to conduct tests across the country. Listen to the full story on the podcast.

In his sophomore year of high school, Chander saw an empty vegetable refrigerator in his cafeteria. He couldn't stop thinking about how the lack of nutrition impacted his peers, their health and education. Chander also knew about the potential of urban farming - his grandmother, an Indian immigrant living in Memphis, Tennessee, had grown food in her backyard garden for decades.

So Chander decided to start an urban farm at his high school, growing fresh fruits and veggies through regenerative agriculture - and pulling a little carbon out of the urban atmosphere at the same time. The students began creating urban farms in other schools and homeless shelters in the Washington D.C. area., turning into an organization called Urban Beet. Hear from Chander on Genius Generation.

Volunteering at a shelter in downtown San Jose, California, Kiran felt deeply impacted when he met young people waiting in line for a free meal. "They look just like me and have similar aspirations," he thought. "Yet, they tell me hunger is a barrier to achieving their dreams."

Kiran wanted to do something. He knew that food insecurity is a large-scale problem-and so is food waste. He spent a year doing in-depth research, shadowing the teams that work at restaurants and charities, to learn the factors that prevent them from donating excess food to those who need it.

Once he understood the problems, he collaborated to design a platform, Waste No Food to solve them. Farms, restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, and grocery stores post excess food on the site. Then organizations feeding the hungry can view what's available nearby, pick it up, and offer it to their clients. The platform has spread across the country, serving over 6,000,000 meals so far. Hear from Kiran on Genius Generation.

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Meet the young people transforming food systems

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Today is International Youth Day, when we lift up the brilliant leadership of young people everywhere. This year's focus? The U.N. is showcasing how young people innovating to ensure the wellbeing of people and the planet by changing food systems for the better.

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Babar Ali - The World’s Youngest Headmaster || when he was just 9 year's old || Short Film || Record

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From pint-sized activists to elementary school entrepreneurs, the digital world has been instrumental in giving a global platform to anyone who wants to make a difference-regardless of age. Need proof? Look no further than the 15 amazing kids highlighted here, each of whom is doing his or her part to make the world a better place.

1. DALIYAH MARIE ARANA

Studies show that the typical American will read around five books per year. Well, 5-year-old Daliyah Marie Arana of Gainesville, Georgia, does that in a week. What's more impressive: She read more than 1000 books before she even entered kindergarten. Her love of reading became so prolific that it caught the attention of the Library of Congress, where she was invited to serve as Guest Librarian in January 2017.

"I want to inspire all the kids at my school to read more," Arana tells Mental Floss. "I read to my 5-month-old baby brother, Demetrio, every day because I want him to learn to read before age 2!"

That same passion extends to her community, where Arana says, "I want to work with my mom to make my school the best group of readers in Georgia!" -Jay Serafino

2. GISELLE BAZOS

Nine-year-old Giselle Bazos has solved a problem that plagues kids her age: lost retainers. Her invention, the Retainer Container, prevents kids from losing their dental appliances while they eat. "I have a retainer that I lost a couple times," Bazos tells Mental Floss. "I found it really hard, especially when you are eating, to keep it somewhere where it won't get thrown away or broken."

Her storage container can be worn on the wrist, so that a kid's retainer never actually leaves their person. (Which is good news for parents, too, as it can cost as much as $600 to replace a lost retainer.) Bazos got to present her idea at the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo in the summer of 2017. Though right now she's more focused on being a regular fourth grader than manufacturing the device, we'll be looking out for her next brilliant invention. -Shaunacy Ferro

3. ROBBIE BOND

This past April, the president issued two executive orders that hit close to home for 9-year-old Robbie Bond. They threatened the protected status of 27 national monuments, including Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Bond's home state of Hawaii. He knew he had to do something, so with his family he decided to hit the road. Bond's mission is to visit each of the 27 vulnerable monuments while raising awareness of the issue among both kids and adults. He's already well on his way to achieving that goal, and tracks his progress on his website, Kids Speak for Parks.

"I love when I visit schools and interact with my peers and they tell me about their experiences visiting national parks and monuments," Bond tells Mental Floss. "At every National Monument I have visited, the community has welcomed me and people have taken the time to educate me about the uniqueness and significance of each monument." -Michele Debczak

4. HENRY BURNER

When a school trading post project tasked fourth grader Henry Burner with bringing in something to sell to his classmates, he didn't want to go the traditional baked goods route. Instead, Henry made and sold his own pinback buttons with the help of his mom's button machine. The success of his creative project spawned an idea.

"I did so well at my trading post that when I got home I asked mom whether I could 'make real money doing this,'" Burner tells Mental Floss. He began selling his buttons at farmers markets, but when the season ended and the markets began to close, he said, "My mom suggested e-commerce and that's when the business really took off!"

Now as the founder of Buttonsmith, Inc., Burner-who was named as one of Forbes's notable 30 Under 30 in the retail and ecommerce industry-is creating jobs in his hometown of Carnation, Washington. With a patent pending on the design, his products are available both online and in Walmarts across the country. While Burner cites "selling more than $1 million gross in 2017, being in 1600 Walmarts, [and] being able to sell custom products on Amazon" as some of his biggest achievements, he's also very conscious about the kind of company he wants to run. He's proud of Buttonsmith's "products [being] 100 percent made in the USA, being a union shop, and creating 10 good jobs for our employees!" -JS

5. AMARIYANNA COPENY

For years, residents of Flint, Michigan have had to deal with a water supply known to contain dangerous levels of lead and other contaminants that irritate the skin. To make sure President Barack Obama was aware of the situation, 8-year-old Amariyanna "Mari" Copeny wrote a letter to the White House in March 2016. After not hearing back for months, Copeny's mother, Loui Brezzell, got a call from Washington: The President was coming to Flint and wanted to meet Copeny.

Known as "Little Miss Flint" from her days in beauty pageants, Copeny became a lightning rod for the water crisis in her town. "When we found out the water was making us sick, I decided I wanted to stand up and give a voice to the kids in Flint that couldn't stand up and speak for themselves," she told.

Copeny-who has more than 21,000 Twitter followers-has since spearheaded a charity movement to donate 1000 school backpacks to area students. In November 2017, her tireless community efforts were recognized by Central Michigan University, which presented Copeny with a $25,000 scholarship to the school. -Alvin Ward

6. SOPHIE CRUZ

Sophie Cruz has proven that you're never too young to start caring about national issues, especially when your family's fate hangs in the balance. Her story got global attention in 2015 when, at just 5 years old, she handed the Pope a letter and a hand-drawn illustration in hopes that he could help change U.S. immigration laws, which threaten to deport her parents, who are both undocumented immigrants. The illustration was of Cruz, her family, and the Pope joining hands, with "My friends and I love each other no matter our skin color," written in Spanish across it.

Her story continued at the Women's March in January 2017, where she made a speech to the crowd in both English and Spanish, pleading with them to fight for immigrants around the country. "We are here together making a chain of love, to protect our families," Cruz, who was just 6 at the time, told the massive crowd. "Let us fight with love, faith, and courage so that our families will not be destroyed." Cruz's story has become a rallying cry for nonprofit organizations like Fighting for Families. -JS

7. ADDISYN GOSS

Ten-year-old Addisyn Goss, of Fenton, Michigan, met her grandfather for the first time in 2015. He was very sick, with one leg amputated, and had been homeless for six years. "So many of his stories made me sad, and I wanted to help others that might be homeless," Goss tells Mental Floss. With her family's help, she bundled donated toiletries, clothes, snacks, and blankets into 50 individual bags she dubbed Snuggle Sacks, which they delivered to the homeless in Lansing and Flint. Soon they were giving out 50 each month; now it's 500. Goss's nonprofit has handed out 3200 survival kits so far.

"I like seeing how the Snuggle Sacks really help people," she says. "We have met lots of very nice people, and see them over and over again. They tell us how happy they are to get a new pair of socks, or the gloves, and how it helps them stay warm and safer. That makes us feel good. And, my brother and sister help me every day, so we are very close now." -Jennifer Pinkowski

8. RYAN HICKMAN

Ryan Hickman's passion for the environment began early. When the 8-year-old was just a toddler, his father, Damion Hickman, would take him on trips to their local recycling center in Orange County, California. These outings inspired Ryan to launch his own recycling business, Ryan's Recycling, with help from his community.

In just five years, Hickman has recycled nearly 300,000 cans and bottles. He has also raised more than $5000 for the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, a marine mammal rescue center, by selling company-branded T-shirts. "I love recycling because it helps keep trash from getting into the ocean near where we live and that helps the animals in the ocean," Hickman tells Mental Floss. -Kirstin Fawcett

9., 10., AND 11. JACKSON, TRISTAN, AND VIOLET KELLEY

In the summer of 2009, the Kelley brothers-Jackson, then 10, and Tristan, almost 8-launched Backpacks for New Beginnings, a charity that provides backpacks and school supplies for underprivileged kids around the Boston area. "We wanted to create a charity where we could do more than donate money or toys," the brothers told Mental Floss by email. "We wanted it to be a charity for kids run by kids."

They fundraise, shop for items-which also include warm clothes, toiletries, and other basics-manage around 30 volunteers, and coordinate deliveries themselves, donating more than 7500 backpacks in the past nine years. And they show no signs of stopping-especially now that their 7-year-old sister Violet has gotten involved.

Though Jackson is now a freshman in college, he still plans on staying involved from afar and during the summers, and hopes to found a new chapter wherever he ends up after graduation. In the meantime, 16-year-old Tristan is spearheading the effort at home, and Violet is preparing to take over the operation in the future. -SF

12. ROBBY NOVAK

Navigate past YouTube's sea of unboxing videos and famous cats and you'll sometimes find someone worth your time-Robby Novak being a prime example. Since 2013, the 13-year-old has been posting videos as "Kid President," featuring optimistic and enthusiastic addresses from his cardboard Oval Office that have promoted charitable causes, like urging people to donate clothes and meals to the needy. In other clips, he uses humor to make salient points about empathy. "Before you say something about the barbecue sauce on somebody else's shirt, take a look at the barbecue sauce on your own shirt," he says.

Novak's high spirits are in contrast to his osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease that causes his bones to be abnormally brittle and has prompted over 70 bone breaks in his life. Novak's infectious energy has been viewed by-and inspired-millions, including Real President Barack Obama, who visited with Novak when he invited the performer to the White House for the annual Easter Egg Hunt in 2013. -AW

13. SUNSHINE OELFKE

Most kids break open their piggy banks to buy games or toys, but 5-year-old Sunshine Oelfke found a more important way to use her savings. She started gathering up her own change after learning that a friend at school didn't have enough money to buy milk. Sunshine's mom, Jackie Oelfke, helped her fill a baggie with cash and take it to school, but they didn't stop there. They decided to extend Sunshine's good deed with a GoFundMe campaign that raised money for more kids who can't afford milk. "I want all my friends to have milk and lunch," Sunshine tells Mental Floss. "I want all my friends to be happy." -MD

14. GITANJALI RAO

Gitanjali Rao, a seventh-grader from Colorado, won the 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge and was named "American's top young scientist." Her winning project? An inexpensive, portable, accurate device that tests lead contamination in drinking water and a smartphone app that analyzes the results, which she created after seeing news stories about lead in Flint, Michigan's water system. With her $25,000 prize, Rao hopes to fine-tune her invention-which she named Tethys, for the Greek goddess of fresh water-and ultimately help people make sure their water is clean. "I believe [Tethys] could have helped the people of Flint if they had it earlier," Rao told The Denver Post. "My next step is to find out for sure." -Kat Long

15. CARL SCHECKEL

Carl Scheckel, 10, uses his love of comics to entertain soldiers and veterans. It all began when Carl (with help from his dad, William Scheckel, an adjunct professor at New York Institute of Technology) launched a website, Carl's Comix, to post reviews of works and interviews with comic book creators. "One of my readers asked me if I would want to donate comics to veterans," Scheckel tells Mental Floss. "I liked the idea and took 400 comics of my own and asked dealers, collectors, and creators I know if they would like to donate comics too. I raised 3500 comics!"

The Department of Veteran Affairs arranged for Scheckel's comics to be donated to a local veterans hospital and Army base, and thousands of additional donations poured in when news spread about his good deed. Scheckel plans to give a portion of these extra works to Maryland's Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. "I hope that when people get these comics, it reminds them of home and gives them something fun to do!" he says. -KF

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15 Amazing Kids Who Are Making The World a Better Place

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From pint-sized activists to elementary school entrepreneurs, the digital world has been instrumental in giving a global platform to anyone who wants to make a difference-regardless of age. Need proof? Look no further than the 15 amazing kids highlighted here, each of whom is doing his or her part to make the world a better place.

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By Sean Russell

The future of the ocean depends on us and we depend on the future of the ocean. This was the theme of the second UNICEF Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Activate Talk held on the eve of World Oceans Day in New York City at the UNICEF headquarters to share and celebrate the work of young conservation leaders activating to address SDG 14 - Life Below Water. This inspiring evening brought together hundreds of young leaders for a discussion emphasizing the critical role young people around the world play in helping to protect our blue planet.

With remarks from UNICEF leadership, Shannon O'Shea and Olav Kjorven, who shared how children and young people are inspired by and activating around ocean conservation, the evening kicked off with keynote speaker, Karan Jarath of Texas, Young Leader for the SDGs and inventor of a subsea oil wellhead capping device.

Having grown up working with young leaders in the ocean conservation community, it was an honor to have the opportunity to moderate the SDG Activate Talk panel discussion - Young Changemakers Go Under the Sea, which united an outstanding team of young leaders - Malati and Isabel Wijsen of Bali, Indonesia and co-founders of Bye Bye Plastic Bags; Ben May, Communications Coordinator for the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit and Sea Youth Rise Up delegate; Emil Bilaver, a ten year old student from Montreal, Canada who was inspired to take conservation action by the World's Largest Lesson initiative; and Fatoumata Cisse, a 7th grade New York City Junior Ambassador working to protect the ocean through community action.
Videos by Danni Washington
Panelists took the audience on a journey sharing their stories of their first connections to the ocean and the powerful role it plays in their lives, and communities, no matter where they live. As young leaders, they highlighted how each of them have activated in unique ways to engage their communities and peers in protecting the ocean and encouraged the audience to return to their communities and take action around critical ocean conservation issues. The panelists inspired the audience, emphasizing the importance of individual actions and calling on all present to understand the key role that young people play in the ocean conservation movement.

One of the key topics that emerged in the discussion was the threat plastic pollution poses to the health of the ocean. Regardless of their background and experience, each young panelist shared strong concerns regarding this issue. "The fact brought up by Melati and Isabel that a million plastic bags are used every minute put the current state of the world's oceans in perspective," said panelist Ben May.

The discussion went beyond concern and focused on solutions - highlighting diverse ways young people are activating in their communities to address plastic pollution at its source - ranging from working with their school cafeteria to eliminate single-use plastic lunch containers to advocating national governments to eliminate plastic bags. The team showcased how they're building grassroots movements on a global scale to engage their peers in taking on the challenge of plastic pollution.

The discussion went beyond concern and focused on solutions - highlighting diverse ways young people are activating in their communities to address plastic pollution at its source - ranging from working with their school cafeteria to eliminate single-use plastic lunch containers to advocating national governments to eliminate plastic bags.

"With the question of how our individual impacts make a difference, I cited two different studies that found that it only takes a small percentage of a population (5-10 percent) to convince everyone else," reflects May. "I wanted to show that every action can make a difference by paving the way for new people to get engaged."

This special event also featured guests - artist/designer Bernard Chang and Founder and Executive Producer of Kreative Kontent, Debbie Margolis-Horwitz as they unveiled the Annie Sunbeam and Friends comic, the latest in a series from Comics Uniting Nations highlighting the importance of protecting life underwater. The evening concluded with an energized interactive fair allowing for continued conversations and networking with a variety of youth-serving conservation organizations.

On the eve of World Oceans Day, this talk provided a powerful reminder that young people can no longer be written off as leaders of the future, especially when it comes to the protection of our ocean. Instead, young people are activating and leading the charge to protect our blue planet now and need your support to expand their impact. A special thanks to UNICEF and the SDG Activating Talks team for an outstanding event and their belief that young people can change the world. Happy World Oceans Day!

Sean Russell is a youth engagement strategist and the founder and director of the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit. He collaborates with conservation organizations on a global scale to develop initiatives to empower and activate young conservation leaders. You can connect with him online at www.seandr.com.
Join our global Coalition.

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Young Changemakers Inspire Action to #SaveOurOcean

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By Sean Russell The future of the ocean depends on us and we depend on the future of the ocean. This was the theme of the second UNICEF Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Activate Talk held on the eve of World Oceans Day in New York City at the UNICEF headquarters to share and celebrate the work of young conservation leaders activating to address SDG 14 - Life Below Water.

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On November 18 th 2021, Ashoka Changemaker Summit hosted a conversation named "Is the equity revolution changing our organizations? A timely conversation with DEI leaders from different sectors". We invited top leaders of the social sector to reflect on their role in building an equitable world. We had the opportunity to hear from them their biggest challenges, some of their successes, and more importantly about their commitments and aspirations for equitable practices in the social innovation field.

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Ashoka's DEI Initiative | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker

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On November 18 th 2021, Ashoka Changemaker Summit hosted a conversation named "Is the equity revolution changing our organizations? A timely conversation with DEI leaders from different sectors". We invited top leaders of the social sector to reflect on their role in building an equitable world.

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Kofi Annan Changemakers - Kofi Annan Foundation

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Each year 12 young Kofi Annan Changemakers will discuss ways to tackle some of the most pressing challenges they face to secure change as part of an Intergenerational Dialogue for impact.

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has been part of civic education in North America for fifty years. Here's what crews do.

detect eco-social problems

plan and implement projects

with relevant impact on society

lead teams

train others to take over when one moves on

We're not talking petty, cute stuff. This is badass hero*ine stuff. (80% of high impact teenage changemakers are girls)

Here is what that looks like.

We could go on and on and on.

I NEVER KNEW THIS OF AMERICA...

The world only gets to read about America's worst people, worst crap and a few gadgets. And it merrily adapts all of it, to their own demise. As yin yang teaches us - where there is darkness, there is light also.

As the world's youth (and city councils) awaken to rapid erosion of peace and prosperity and begin to realize that calling failing "government" to help is not helpful, it is a good idea to know of how youth born into a society long plagued by the globally emerging violence, ignorance, injustice, poverty, disease and despair, bad governance, corporate corruption and media manipulation - succeed to restore peace, joy and abundance for people and planet, even massively "outperfoming adult organizations".

It is under pressure that diamonds are born. Meet America's crown jewel.

It takes Heart. We all have one. You do. Fire it up!

Keep reading, it gets better.

It gets even better!

Across North America, in today's context of global learning, social media and escalating crisis, teenage hero*ines pop up all over the place, also without training, changing lives, laws, industries and learning culture at record pace and scale.

Teenage changemakers are no longer anomalies. Youth volunteer in historic numbers, score prime time on tv, are recognized as ultimate role models, showered with our societies' highest awards, in high demand as speakers at schools, their stories are used in educational textbooks, told at bedtime, and creating a good world for all has become integral part of learning culture at more than 16,000 schools, powered by youth!

It's taking on truly sensational dimensions.

Exactly. Let's hear what they say on education.

School is the one place where all young people hang out each day.

Exactly. That's what we're up to with you.

This time forms the foundation of the future of their generation. It's when they have community, infrastructure, support, genuine spirit and - TIME. The key TIME to unfold the Change Generation's powers and unleash positive change is at school from age 8-18. That's where we all must cultivate youth leadership as #1 priority. And we can tell you :

These youth embody the new Able, Active, Caring Citizen that our societies need.

Here is what the teens are saying

We are ordinary kids. If we can do this, kids everywhere can do it.

We provide kids with the tools and guidance to bring about the changes they want to see in the world.

Just find your passion, take small steps of action, and never stop.

YOUTH-LEADER teams engage in 400+ actions
pioneered and supported by 100+ teen and adult changemakers
with favorite causes and activities for everybody
and serving teachers to bring topics alive.

And when changemaking is omni-present at school, it builds good-spirited supportive community,

so one always has a crowd to raise funds, awareness and good vibes!

Yep. Now see what happens when such teens turn twens.

Exactly.

10 minutes ago, you didn't know of this.

It's all common sense. It works at 1,000s of schools, and is powered by ordinary caring citizens, teachers and youth.

What's your view of the world, of youth and the future now?

What if EVERYONE knows?

(There's still so many powerful solutions to discover!)

Yep. The steps are simple.

Minutes or months, you choose.

(can you hear all species alive today and generations to come cheering at you?)

It gets better. Wait until you see their videos, hear their music, feel their spirit!

Until you start dreaming and realizing all the things that you can do, rightaway.

Here's your manual.

NEW KIDS ON THE PLANET

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has been part of civic education in North America for fifty years. Here's what crews do. detect eco-social problems plan and implement projects with relevant impact on society lead teams train others to take over when one moves on We're not talking petty, cute stuff. This is badass hero*ine stuff.

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Melati (21) and Isabel Wijsen (19) started Bye Bye Plastic Bags at the ages of 10 and 12, after being inspired by a lesson in school about significant people, like Nelson Mandela, Lady Diana, and Mahatma Gandhi. The sisters returned home that day and asked themselves, 'What can we do as children living in Bali, NOW, to make a difference?'

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The Youth4Climate initiative amplifies the work of young climate leaders and celebrates the power of the young generation to drive ambitious climate action.

Global citizens under 30 are inheriting a hotter, more unpredictable climate that has enormous implications for their future. But they also have incredible power to change the course we're on-by calling on policymakers, implementing innovative solutions, telling their stories, and collaborating across national lines. For a brief history of the rise of the global youth climate movement, check out the C4C-supported documentary Youth Unstoppable , directed by the young filmmaker Slater Jewell-Kemker.

C4C has been amplifying youth voices for over a decade, and it's heartening to see meaningful youth engagement increasingly integrated into formal climate decision-making processes. We're excited to be supporting Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition, a first-of-its-kind event hosted by the Government of Italy that will bring some from nations all over the world to Milan, Italy this September for a comprehensive discussion of climate solutions whose outputs will feed directly into October's Pre-COP Summit. Participants will work to develop four key avenues to meaningful action: 400 young delegates Youth Driving Ambition , A Climate-Conscious Society , Sustainable Recovery , and Non-State Actors' Engagement .

Also joining the Driving Ambition event will be Brenda Orea , the recently announced winner of our ! This contest invited global youth to send in creative summaries of their favorite episodes of #SumItUp competition #Youth4Climate Live , a 2020-21 virtual series of nine intergenerational climate discussions put on by the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition in collaboration with C4C and the office of the UN Secretary General's Envoy on Youth. Brenda submitted a colorful infographic on the series' "Driving Empowerment" session that impressed both our jury and social media voters with its creativity and richness.

Competitions have been proven to be effective tools to help Connect4Climate raise awareness about climate solutions and harness the creativity of the young generation to tell climate stories in new and engaging ways. We have found success with contests around filmmaking, photography, virtual reality, advertising campaigns, and more; some examples include the Africa competition , Voices4Climate , , Action4Climate , Film4Climate Global Video Competition , Uniting4Climate VR Pitch Competition , New Blood Awards , and the All4theGreen Special Blue Prize .

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The Youth4Climate initiative amplifies the work of young climate leaders and celebrates the power of the young generation to drive ambitious climate action. Global citizens under 30 are inheriting a hotter, more unpredictable climate that has enormous implications for their future.

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Alex's Lemonade Stand (health & wellbeing)

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Alex's Lemonade Stand (health & wellbeing)

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Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

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Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation has grown into a Foundation that has raised more than $250 million for childhood cancer and funded over 1,000 research projects that have saved the lives of kids fighting cancer with no treatment options left. Learn about our journey.

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Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

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Our mission is to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.

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Cassandra, Grade 5, Fights Climate Change

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Cassandra, Grade 5, Fights Climate Change

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Her dad thought her clean energy idea was just a 'kid's project.' He was wrong.

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Cassandra is fighting global warming with one unconventional method.

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Have you ever swatted, shrieked, or squirmed at the sight of a bee? We naturally feel threatened by insects, causing us instinctively to shoo away anything buzzing...... Read more "Blog - Rachel Carson: The First Warrior"

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Have you ever swatted, shrieked, or squirmed at the sight of a bee? We naturally feel threatened by insects, causing us instinctively to shoo away anything buzzing...... Read more "Blog - Rachel Carson: The First Warrior"

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The mission of Books With No Bounds is to provide children and teens living in remote communities with books donated by publishers, authors, schools, individuals and organizations. Books With No Bounds organizes, catalogues, packs, and sends appropriate books, computer learning devices and other learning resources to native reserves across Canada and to impoverished communities around the world, so that children and teens are given critical building blocks for literacy and education success.

2. What makes you guys different from the rest?

Our work is driven by a belief that fostering new friendships and making new connections with the children we service is just as important as the books and supplies we send. Children facing struggles most of us could never imagine, need to know they are loved and they matter - regardless of where they live or who they are. Writing letters to the children and building new friendships and experiences is what makes us so different from others. We're teens, we're kids and we really truly care because each box we ship is made from 100% love.

3. Offices or open work space?

Definitely open work spaces.
Over the years we have found that working in our parent's basement and in large open community rooms allowed for greater youth participation that fostered a warm sense of unity. Our ideology was always to help inspire others to know 'there are no bounds to what you can do and who you can be'; working in open work spaces helped us to strengthen our bonds with others, without the stigma of a hierarchy system. There's is nothing like sorting and boxing books, laughing and sharing special moments with a group of people who share a vision of helping to give the gift of reading to others.

4. What three words describe your organization?

Boundless, Perseverance, Compassion

5. What inspires you?

In 2012 when we received our first letters from a group of students living in a remote fly-in only reserve in northern Ontario, known as Fort Severn, our inspiration has been and continues to be the children we service. Over the years, my sister and I have built some incredible friendships with children and teens living in remote communities throughout Canada and around the world. The letters and photos we receive are heartwarming and at times heartbreaking. Our inspiration comes from knowing they are our brothers and sisters, and as our global family we must continue to do everything in our power to provide the tools needed to succeed in school - and to let our friends know that they are loved and they matter.

6. What is the best part about your job?

Being able to travel to some of the most remote and isolated reserves in northern Ontario has been a phenomenal highlight to our work. Before we started our organization, I never imagined that in our own province there would be communities without clean drinking water, children being raised with no real schools or libraries and families struggling to pay for food that costs three to four times the cost of what our parents pay.
Spending time on the reserves has made me a better person and more aware of ability to create change. I have learned to give back to others in my own community, through food drives to our local food bank and cooking hot meals at Kerr Street Ministries over the years.
The best part of my job isn't that it's really a job, but a way of how I want to live my life.

7. Does your team eat lunch together?

At Books With No Bounds we tend to be very frugal on how we spend our limited donations. We don't have an expense account so when volunteers help us out, we tend to provide economical snacks instead of meals. It's never hard to please a kid or teen helping out - we love all kinds of treats and healthy snacks that are affordable (especially when we sometimes raid our own pantry!)

8. Facebook or Twitter?

Facebook allows us to share our mission and the impact it has had in the communities we service. Our Facebook page has a feel of a personal journal we can update from anywhere around the world.

9. What do you want Goodnet users to know about your organization?

Nelson Mandela once said, 'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.' At Books With No Bounds we believe that books can not only change the lives of children, it can propel a child to go further and to reach for the stars.

10. How can people get involved?

Support us on social media! Our Facebook journal - adorned with beautiful letters from the children who receive our books and incredible photos sharing our experiences - helps show the important value in our work. Our YouTube and Vimeo channels share footage of our travels and serve as a timeline to our mission. And our website connects others on ways to help and details the impact we have had on communities in Canada and around the world.

As well as managing Goodnet.org, Elana writes happy headlines with a particular focus on yoga, meditation and family matters. She has a background in online journalism and web content.

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10 Good Questions with Books With No Bounds [Q&A] - Goodnet

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The mission of Books With No Bounds is to provide children and teens living in remote communities with books donated by publishers, authors, schools, individuals and organizations. Books With No Bounds organizes, catalogues, packs, and sends appropriate books, computer learning devices and other learning resources to native reserves across Canada and to impoverished communities around the world, so that children and teens are given critical building blocks for literacy and education success.

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Melati and Isabel Wijsen: Our campaign to ban plastic bags in Bali

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Plastic bags are essentially indestructible, yet they're used and thrown away with reckless abandon. Most end up in the ocean, where they pollute the water and harm marine life; the rest are burned in garbage piles, where they release harmful dioxins into the atmosphere.

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This is the KidsRights Changemakers dev-environment

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Drawing hijabi characters - with style: A Q&A with artist Areeba Siddique

The unexpected star of my college lectures - my mom

Breaking chains and building dreams: Nicol Duran-Peña's journey through exalt

A conversation with junior Olympic athlete and student organizer Nora Wang on celebrating diversity & student voices

A week in the life of a 17-year-old assisting human rights research at Stanford University

From bias to bonds: challenging my bias, empowering girls and building community through science

When women excel, society follows: advocating for Guyanese girls' education

Kalyla's 4-step guide to dealing with academic burnout

A week in the life of a 15-year-old girls' rights advocate in Pakistan

10 girl-powered moments to celebrate on Day of the Girl

"Young and Restless" author Mattie Kahn shares how girls shaped American history

Strokes of protest: the Afghan artist painting a brighter future

What's your favourite extracurricular activity and why?

My body, my sanctuary: how body shaming affects girls beyond self-esteem

How mental health affects girls' education

For the love of the game: the Afghan Youth National Team reflects on life after leaving home, making a documentary and the Youth World Cup

Two years on, the world has failed us

Meet the Afghan women leading alternative learning initiatives

Echoes of separation: letter to a lost homeland

How a salon in the Dominican Republic helped me embrace my curly hair

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Malala Fund | Working for a world where all girls can learn and lead

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Founded by student and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, Malala Fund invests in girls' education programmes to help girls go to school and reach their full potential.

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reta Thunberg cut a frail and lonely figure when she started a school strike for the climate outside the Swedish parliament building last August. Her parents tried to dissuade her. Classmates declined to join. Passersby expressed pity and bemusement at the sight of the then unknown 15-year-old sitting on the cobblestones with a hand-painted banner.

Eight months on, the picture could not be more different. The pigtailed teenager is feted across the world as a model of determination, inspiration and positive action. National presidents and corporate executives line up to be criticised by her, face to face. Her skolstrejk för klimatet (school strike for climate) banner has been translated into dozens of languages. And, most striking of all, the loner is now anything but alone.

On 15 March, when she returns to the cobblestones (as she has done almost every Friday in rain, sun, ice and snow), it will be as a figurehead for a vast and growing movement. The global climate strike this Friday is gearing up to be one of the biggest environmental protests the world has ever seen. As it approaches, Thunberg is clearly excited.

"It's amazing," she says. "It's more than 71 countries and more than 700 places, and counting. It's increasing very much now, and that's very, very fun."

A year ago, this was unimaginable. Back then, Thunberg was a painfully introverted, slightly built nobody, waking at 6am to prepare for school and heading back home at 3pm. "Nothing really was happening in my life," she recalls. "I have always been that girl in the back who doesn't say anything. I thought I couldn't make a difference because I was too small."

She was never quite like the other kids. Her mother, Malena Ernman, is one of Sweden's most celebrated opera singers. Her father, Svante Thunberg, is an actor and author (named after Svante Arrhenius, the Nobel prize-winning scientist who in 1896 first calculated how carbon dioxide emissions could lead to the greenhouse effect). Greta was exceptionally bright. Four years ago, she was diagnosed with Asperger's.

"I overthink. Some people can just let things go, but I can't, especially if there's something that worries me or makes me sad. I remember when I was younger, and in school, our teachers showed us films of plastic in the ocean, starving polar bears and so on. I cried through all the movies. My classmates were concerned when they watched the film, but when it stopped, they started thinking about other things. I couldn't do that. Those pictures were stuck in my head."

She has come to accept this as part of who she is - and made it a motivating force instead of a source of paralysing depression, which it once was.

At about the age of eight, when she first learned about climate change, she was shocked that adults did not appear to be taking the issue seriously. It was not the only reason she became depressed a few years later, but it was a significant factor.

Thunberg on strike last August. Photograph: Michael Campanella/The Guardian

"I kept thinking about it and I just wondered if I am going to have a future. And I kept that to myself because I'm not very much of a talker, and that wasn't healthy. I became very depressed and stopped going to school. When I was home, my parents took care of me, and we started talking because we had nothing else to do. And then I told them about my worries and concerns about the climate crisis and the environment. And it felt good to just get that off my chest.

"They just told me everything will be all right. That didn't help, of course, but it was good to talk. And then I kept on going, talking about this all the time and showing my parents pictures, graphs and films, articles and reports. And, after a while, they started listening to what I actually said. That's when I kind of realised I could make a difference. And how I got out of that depression was that I thought: it is just a waste of time feeling this way because I can do so much good with my life. I am trying to do that still now."

Her parents were the guinea pigs. She discovered she had remarkable powers of persuasion, and her mother gave up flying, which had a severe impact on her career. Her father became a vegetarian. As well as feeling relieved by the transformation of their formerly quiet and morose daughter, they say they were persuaded by her reasoning. "Over the years, I ran out of arguments," says her father. "She kept showing us documentaries, and we read books together. Before that, I really didn't have a clue. I thought we had the climate issue sorted," he says. "She changed us and now she is changing a great many other people. There was no hint of this in her childhood. It's unbelievable. If this can happen, anything can happen."

The climate strike was inspired by students from the Parkland school in Florida, who walked out of classes in protest against the US gun laws that enabled the massacre on their campus. Greta was part of a group that wanted to do something similar to raise awareness about climate change, but they couldn't agree what. Last summer, after a record heatwave in northern Europe and forest fires that ravaged swathes of Swedish land up to the Arctic, Thunberg decided to go it alone. Day one was 20 August 2018.

"I painted the sign on a piece of wood and, for the flyers, wrote down some facts I thought everyone should know. And then I took my bike to the parliament and just sat there," she recalls. "The first day, I sat alone from about 8.30am to 3pm - the regular schoolday. And then on the second day, people started joining me. After that, there were people there all the time."

She kept her promise to strike every day until the Swedish national elections. Afterwards, she agreed to make a speech in front of thousands of people at a People's Climate March rally. Her parents were reluctant. Knowing Thunberg had been so reticent that she had previously been diagnosed with selective mutism, they tried to talk her out of it. But the teenager was determined. "In some cases where I am really passionate, I will not change my mind," she says. Despite her family's concerns, she delivered the address in nearly flawless English, and invited the crowd to film her on their mobile phones and spread the message through social media. "I cried," says her proud dad.

Thunberg ... 'They are still not doing anything.' Photograph: Michael Campanella/The Guardian

People with selective mutism have a tendency to worry more than others. Thunberg has since weaponised this in meetings with political leaders, and with billionaire entrepreneurs in Davos. "I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act," she told them.

Such tongue-lashings have gone down well. Many politicians laud her candidness. In return, she listens to their claims that stronger climate policies are unrealistic unless the public make the issue more of a priority. She is unconvinced. "They are still not doing anything. So I don't know really why they are supporting us because we are criticising them. It's kind of weird." She has also been withering about leaders in the US, UK and Australia who either ignore the strikers or admonish them for skipping classes. "They are desperately trying to change the subject whenever the school strikes come up. They know they can't win this fight because they haven't done anything."

Such blunt talk has found a broad audience among people jaded by empty promises and eager to find a climate leader willing to ramp up ambition. Thunberg's rise coincides with growing scientific concern. A slew of recent reports has warned oceans are heating and the poles melting faster than expected. Last year's UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change spelled out the dangers of surpassing 1.5C of global warming. To have any chance of avoiding that outcome, it said, emissions must fall rapidly by 2030. That will require far more pressure on politicians - and nobody has proved more effective at that over the past eight months than Thunberg.

The girl who once slipped into despair is now a beacon of hope. One after another, veteran campaigners and grizzled scientists have described her as the best news for the climate movement in decades. She has been lauded at the UN, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, shared a podium with the European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and has been endorsed by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

No, I am not more hopeful than when I started. The emissions are increasing

You may think this would put the weight of the world on the 16-year-old's shoulders, but she claims to feel no pressure. If "people are so desperate for hope", she says, that is not her or the other strikers' responsibility.

"I don't care if what I'm doing - what we're doing - is hopeful. We need to do it anyway. Even if there's no hope left and everything is hopeless, we must do what we can."

In this regard, her family see her Asperger's as a blessing. She is someone who strips away social distractions and focuses with black-and-white clarity on the issues. "It's nothing that I want to change about me," she says. "It's just who I am. If I had been just like everyone else and been social, then I would have just tried to start an organisation. But I couldn't do that. I'm not very good with people, so I did something myself instead."

While she has little time for chit-chat, she gets satisfaction from speaking to a big audience about climate change. Regardless of the size of the crowd, she says she does not feel the least bit nervous.

She seems incapable of the cognitive dissonance that allows other people to lament what is happening to the climate one minute, then tuck into a steak, buy a car or fly off for a weekend break the next. Although Thunberg believes political action far outweighs individual changes to consumer habits, she lives her values. She is a vegan, and only travels abroad by train.

At its best, this sharpness can slice through the Gordian knot of the climate debate. It can also sting. There are no comfortable reassurances in her speech, just a steady frankness. Asked whether she has become more optimistic because the climate issue has risen up the political agenda and politicians in the US and Europe are considering green New Deals that would ramp up the transition to renewable energy, her reply is brutally honest. "No, I am not more hopeful than when I started. The emissions are increasing and that is the only thing that matters. I think that needs to be our focus. We cannot talk about anything else."

Some people consider this a threat. A handful of fossil fuel lobbyists, politicians and journalists have argued Thunberg is not what she seems; that she was propelled into prominence by environmental groups and sustainable business interests. They say the entrepreneur who first tweeted about the climate strike, Ingmar Rentzhog, used Thunberg's name to raise investment for his company, but her father says the connection was overblown. Greta, he says, initiated the strike before anyone in the family had heard of Rentzhog. As soon as she found he had used her name without her permission, she cut all links with the company, and has since vowed never to be associated with commercial interests. Her family says she has never been paid for her activities. In a recent interview, Rentzhog defended his actions, denied exploiting Greta and said that climate change, not profit, was his motive.

On social media, there have been other crude attacks on Thunberg's reputation and appearance. Already familiar with bullying from school, she appears unfazed. "I expected when I started that if this is going to become big, then there will be a lot of hate," she says. "It's a positive sign. I think that must be because they see us as a threat. That means that something has changed in the debate, and we are making a difference."

She intends to strike outside parliament every Friday until the Swedish government's policies are in line with the Paris climate agreement. This has led to what she calls "strange contrasts": balancing her maths homework with her fight to save the planet; listening attentively to teachers and decrying the immaturity of world leaders; weighing up the existential threat of climate change alongside the agonising choice of what subjects to study in high school.

It can be gruelling. She still gets up at 6am to get ready for school. Interviews and writing speeches can leave her working 12- to 15-hour days. "Of course, it takes a lot of energy. I don't have much spare time. But I just keep reminding myself why I am doing this, and then I just try to do as much as I can." So far, this does not appear to have affected her academic performance. She keeps up with homework and is in the top five in her class, according to her father.

And now that she is active on climate, she is no longer lonely, no longer silent, no longer so depressed. She is too busy trying to make a difference. And enjoying herself.

This Friday, when she takes her usual spot outside the Swedish parliament, she will be joined by classmates and students from other schools. "It's going to be very, very big internationally, with hundreds of thousands of children going to strike from school to say that we aren't going to accept this any more," she says. "I think we are only seeing the beginning. I think that change is on the horizon and the people will stand up for their future."

And then the activist slips back into being a teenager. "I'm looking forward to it and to see all the pictures the day afterwards. It's going to be fun."

This article was amended on 11 March 2019 to revise an explanation of mutism. An earlier version of the piece said: "People with selective mutism typically do not suffer from an inability to talk; rather, they choose not to engage in conversations they do not consider worthwhile." This is not the accepted definition. The National Health Service, for example, notes: "Selective mutism is a severe anxiety disorder where a person is unable to speak in certain social situations , such as with classmates at school or to relatives they don't see very often ... A child or adult with selective mutism doesn't refuse or choose not to speak, they're literally unable to speak."

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Greta Thunberg, schoolgirl climate change warrior: 'Some people can let things go. I can't'

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One day last summer, aged 15, she skipped school, sat down outside the Swedish parliament - and inadvertently kicked off a global movement

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the teenagers getting plastic bags banned in bali - cnn

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The teenagers getting plastic bags banned in Bali

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Melati and Isabel Wijsen started campaigning against plastic bags in Bali when they were 10 and 12 years old, respectively. Four years later, it looks like they are about to achieve their goal.

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100% of your donation COVID RESPONSE: During the week of November 28th, 2019, our volunteers served meals to over 500 evacuees, first responders and Red Cross volunteers. We are partnering with the same chefs at FoodLove, to provide meals to medical support staff and senior veterans during Covid19 pandemic. We deliver 200 fresh, organic, nutritious meals through April and beyond if needed. If you'd like to donate to this effort please specify COVID19 or FOODLOVE when you make your donation. Check out this video to see us in action. to LemonAID Warriors furthers our mission to empower the next generation of change-makers and support our signature projects. Tennis Clinic and Extra Curricular activities for inner-city youth. Check out this video! PROJECT #3 Scholarships and Meals for students at African Bush Camps Foundation. (ABC Foundation) If you wish to donate to a specific project below, please specify after you click the donation link.
PROJECT #1. Construction of a dorm at a Corazon de Vida orphanage in Tijuana.

In August 2019, we hope to complete a new dorm for 10 teen boys and renovate an art therapy room for special-needs residents. We did this back in 2017 with a group of Warriors, led by warrior Nicholas Yotnegparian and Jasper Cerone. Check out our video!

In July, 2019, we launched a program with high school students at Neighborhood Youth Association to host a Tennis Clinic for younger campers at the program. Check out the video to see how much fun we had!Founding member Jasper Cerone and members of The Buckley School's Varsity Tennis Team hope to make this an ongoing program. Your donation will help us provide opportunities for inner-city youth to stay fit and experience physically engaging extra curricular experiences like this tennis clinic and like the rock climbing field trip we hosted for NYA. Please indicate SPORTS in your donation to support this cause.

For five years, we have provided scholarships and meal plans for students at African Bush Camps Foundation schools. Read about the work we've already done together and watch our video! Please indicate ABC Foundation in your donation.

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100% of your donation COVID RESPONSE: During the week of November 28th, 2019, our volunteers served meals to over 500 evacuees, first responders and Red Cross volunteers. We are partnering with the same chefs at FoodLove, to provide meals to medical support staff and senior veterans during Covid19 pandemic.