Last night I attended the Dosomething Awards at the world famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY and they were AWESOME. Do Something is an incredible organization that honors young change-makers and inspires other young people to DO SOMETHING. My favorite part (and I think this is what sets them apart MOST from other organizations) is their tech-savvy, hip, youth directed approach. Growing up, I found it so difficult to find ways to get involved in causes I believed in. It was easy to join the travel soccer team (which I did), and easy to act in a play group theater (which I did), but so difficult to do the things I truly wanted to do. Many organizations had age limits or only let younger teens volunteer with parent chaperons. I spent months searching the net for organizations that would let my twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen year old self volunteer. Now, for kids itching to make the world a better place, the Do Something website offers tons of ways for kids to get involved:
- Animal Welfare
- Disaster Response And Relief
- Discrimination
- Education
- Environment
- Health And Fitness
- HIV And Sexuality
- International Human Rights
- Poverty
- Violence And Bullying
- War, Peace And Politics
Now . . . back to the awards! There were five incredible inspiring finalists, and you should check them all out. I mean, you should really, really, really check them all out. The winner, Maggie Doyne, BLEW ME AWAY. Maybe it’s because she’s living my dream and I see myself launching a similar project soon (more on that later), or maybe it’s because of her genuine personality, but she caught my attention immediately. Maggie took a gap year after highschool with the program LeapNow and while trekking through Asia she realized her potential to reach the war-torn orphans of Nepal. After her parents wired her her lifesavings ($5,000 from babysitting), Maggie bought a piece of land and built an orphanage. She is now the proud mother to over twenty kids, and she has sent countless more to school. Check out her journal for more information and ways to get involved!!
I have also been following the story of a girl named Katie in Uganda. My mom has been following her story (via blog entries) religiously for the past year, and has encouraged me (for months) to start reading it. But every time I tried to read it I would end up closing my computer crying. I would then enter my depressed, “why am I not there?” state. Now, I am planning to return in the fall/winter (someway, somehow, most likely to study Post-Conflict Transformation in Uganda/Rwanda), and I can again read about others. Anyway, back to Katie!! Go here. Please. Just do it. I want to write more about her but I’m pressed for time and in the off chance anyone arrives at my blog before I get a chance to finish this post, I want to point you to these two girls.
And go here to read about the other finalists!
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