Our children can change the world, literally
“Kids these days…” That phrase is almost never followed by anything positive, unfortunately. It’s tossed out there to describe almost anything new and unfamiliar: kids are texting too often, spending all their time on the Internet, watching too much television, not reading books anymore, and playing too many video games. They’re driving too fast, never talking to their friends in person enough, and homework? Who finishes that? If you spent the last twenty years living in seclusion, the hand-wringing over Generation Z would be enough to send you right back inside your cave. Civilization, it appears, is on its last legs. Or is it?
Ashlee Smith was just six years old when her Nevada home was lost in a fire, destroying all of her toys and clothes. Two years later, when a terrible wildfire ripped through California, Smith organized a toy drive with the help of her firefighter father. Since then, Ashlee’s Toy Closet has distributed over 100,000 toys to children affected by natural disasters with the help of friends, family, and local businesses.
When Alec Loorz, of California, watched Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” for the first time, he was twelve years old. Understanding that he didn’t have to wait until he graduated from college and entered the “real world” to make a difference, he began presenting talks on climate change to schools and youth groups. His organization, Kids vs. Global Warming, seeks to educate youth on the science of global warming and empower them to make real and lasting change in their own communities. When Loorz turns sixteen, he will have already received more accolades than many adults for his hard work and passion; one can only imagine what he will have accomplished by the time most young adults are just leaving college.
To help feed the homeless in her South Carolina town, eleven year-old Katie Stagliano started her own vegetable garden and convinced her school to give up a plot of land to help her expand her efforts. Her non-profit, Katie’s Krops, is now offering grants to other teenagers across the United States who are interested in providing food to the hungry.
Kids aren’t just being philanthropic, either. All across the United States, more and more children understand that 21st century tools like the computer and the Internet allow them to realize their dreams and passions long before ever leaving school, connect with like-minded individuals, and mobilize. They are starting businesses and creating new and innovative products and services. What prompts these bright young minds to put down the television remote and do something worthwhile, though?
Three things, which are so often missing from a child’s life. Autonomy – no one forced Smith to give up her time to collect toys for victims of house fires. Purpose – Loorz understands the negative impact that we are making upon the Earth and recognizes ways in which we can lessen it. Mastery – what started as a hobby for Stagliano turned into a skill, one that she can use to help others.
Are you providing these opportunities for the children in your own lives, or have you already given up on their ability to change the world?
(Originally published in the Zanesville Times Recorder, January 2, 2011.)
