Pedal Power

 

photo: gabriel.jorby 

My most memorable childhood Christmas gift was probably an emerald-green 10-speed bike my parents had to special-order. It wasn't ready in time for Christmas, but the picture they pasted onto red construction paper was enough to set off fits of anticipation. I couldn't wait for the freedom and fun those wheels would provide.

But some kids have to wait a long time for their first bike -- or never get one at all. For those kids, Wilmette (Ill.) teen Nicole Basil started a bike-drive organization at the tender age of 8 called Pedal Power, now in its 6th year. Each fall she collects more than 100 outgrown bikes to give to Chicago Public Schools honor students in grades K through 8. A local bike shop donates tuneup services before the bikes find their new homes, and any seriously challenged two-wheelers are passed on to a school where special needs kids can learn bike repair skills. Let the good times roll!

Free the Children

As a 12-year-old in Canada, Craig Kielburger read about a child slave in Pakistan who escaped but was murdered after speaking out against child servitude. Moved to act, Kielburger rounded up 11 friends in his living room, with no money or well-heeled benefactors, to try and fight child labor.

Two decades later, Free the Children is the "world's largest network of kids helping kids," says Kielburger. Engaging 2 million volunteers a year -- almost all under 18 -- it's evolved into a diverse relief and development organization, as leaders have followed logical pathways of problem solving, Watch Kielburger's brother Marc, for instance, talk about why building schools isn't enough to get girls to school in Africa.

Kid volunteers are recruited through schools -- organizing bakes sales, car washes & other fundraisers -- and at celeb-studded "We Days" that gather stadiums full of young students. Some 2,400 a year end up getting so involved that they travel abroad on service projects.

But even something as simple as donating birthday money, a piggy bank's contents, or mere pocket change has an impact.  "That adds up to millions and millions of dollars ...for our projects," Kielburger told "60 Minutes" in November. It's a reminder that kids need not start a charity -- or even a fundraising project -- to help other kids.

"A penny is almost like a kid," he added. "People walk past pennies all the time and ignore them ... Can they really make a difference? But when you bring enough young people, enough kids together, then suddenly those kids can change the world."

Holiday Giving

image: afrobella.com

An easy way to get kids in the habit of giving back and reinforce the meaning of Christmas is to have them help pick charities for family donations. For multi-kid households, the process is simpler if you give them a few good options & ask them to vote on their favorites.

This year, why not put a kid-created charity on the list? Here are five good options, with the types of donations they accept:

Sheltering Books (books, money)
From Ewe to You (handknit items, knitting supplies, money)
Second-Chance Toys (toys)
Tennessee H.U.G.S. (shoes)
Little Red Wagon Foundation (money)

As impressive as it is when kids & teens start their own charities, contributions really keep those charities alive, so participating in family giving is every bit as meaningful as starting something new. Happy holidays, and happy giving!

All American

image: generationon.org

My nieces are all pretty different in personality and style, but at one time or another they've all played with American Girl dolls. So I know what a monster hit these toys are. Pricey outfits notwithstanding, the AG crew & their corresponding books have done girls at least one service: turning their attention to American history & reinforcing what they learn at school.

That point's not lost on Mary-Grace Reeves, a Pensacola (Fla.) 16-year-old named recently to the Parade All-American Service Team. The American Girl Book Club she started at 13 has reached more than 900 Gulf Coast girls in 3 years, building literacy and promoting community service. Cash shortages in Hurricane Ivan's aftermath pushed her to reach out to a diverse mix of funders and suppliers, from the local Kiwanis and friends-of-the-library clubs to restaurants, a local female attorney, even a landscaping company. Guest speakers from the U. of Florida, Daughters of the American Revolution, and others with history connections are invited to speak at each club meeting. "With the ability to read well," says Reeves at generationon.org, "one can do anything."

Almost Famous



image: uscsnow.org

As a survivor of a 5-boy sleepover this past weekend, looking ahead to two more this coming weekend, I've got PJ parties on the brain. So, luckily, do Guilford, Conn., sisters Addie (8) and Delaney (9) Kenney, who recruited 36 girls for an "almost sleepover" (the "almost" being a key concept when you're talking 3 dozen kids!) to help youngsters at an area shelter. Each girl brought a new pair of PJs for a peer at the shelter. Activities included making treats and crafts for seniors and holiday patients, plus the partiers collected $80 for charity. Addie and Delaney are taking their almost-sleepover concept nationwide this October for Make a Difference Day and, according to USA Weekend, have invited the Obama sisters to join in. Newman's Own awarded $10,000 in the Kenney girls' honor to the Life Haven shelter in New Haven.

Sew Kind

image: nonaknits.typepad.com

Tiny Baby-New-Years in Wake Forest, N.C., are waking up to the world in hand-knit hats, booties & blankets thanks to 10th grader Hannah Moyles, who provides warm clothing and blankets to "less fortunate" community members through her From Ewe to You charity. Her "Little Lambs" project supplies pediatric ward and newborn nursery patients with these handmade treasures. What a warm way to start 2011.

Toy Drive!

image: Disney/Pixar

The folks at teen-founded Second Chance Toys have been busy since I posted about them back in April-- securing 501(c)(3) status, passing the 50,000 mark in rescued-toy donations, and expanding into new geographical areas. You and your kids can help by bringing previously owned plastic toys (clean & in good condition, please) to a dropoff location this month or next. Want to spread this kid-friendly, eco-friendly effort to your community? Hit the ground running with the organization's starter kit. Woody & Buzz would be proud.

If the Shoe Fits

Imelda Marcos has nothing on Oliva Wright, 11. Through her Tennessee H.U.G.S. organization, the Hendersonville, Tenn., girl has collected an astounding 3,000+ pairs of shoes. But unlike Marcos, Olivia won't be modeling her collection. H.U.G.S. stands for Help Us Give Shoes, and these kicks all go to kids (and adults) in need, mostly in the Appalachians.

Organizing shoe drives and soliciting donations nationwide, Olivia not only collects the goods; she goes (pardon the pun) a step further by ensuring they get cleaned, sanitized & spruced up for their next owners -- a responsibility she takes personally. "Every pair of shoes that my mom and dad buy me is more appreciated now," she told ParentDish. "I still love cute shoes, but I love knowing that someone else will enjoy them after I do. I work to keep them clean and in good shape."

This ambitious kid hopes to have H.U.G.S. in every state within 5 years -- but won't stop there: "I plan to always lead H.U.G.S., all the way through high school, college, and then let my kids help me one day."

Tech Titan

A computer-obsessed 16-year-old may not sound all that unusual, but how about one who has channeled his passion into programs that protect the planet and help kids learn? That would be Alex Lin.

Not content just with the computer donation and refurbishment program he built in his hometown of Westerly, R.I., Alex created computer centers worldwide, providing 300 computers so far to students in the United States and abroad. Under his leadership, media centers have blossomed in Sri Lanka, Mexico, Cameroon, Kenya, and the Philippines, along with the U.S.

The adage "charity begins at home" isn't lost on him, either. Alex finds time somehow to help his 11-year-old sister, Cassandra, on a project that recycles used cooking oil into biofuel, which in turn is used to provide heating assistance to low-income families.

"Computers open an entire world of opportunities," Alex told ParentDish. Kudos to him for sharing that world with peers.

(photo: odemagazine.com)

Give Me Shelter

Like 16-year-old Mackenzie Bearup, I found refuge in books as a young kid, wandering for hours a day in the world of words. Unlike Mackenzie, a CNN Hero, I wasn't driven to this place by intense physical pain.

Six years ago, Mackenzie was dancing to "American Idol" when her knee seemed to explode with pain. By the next day, it had swollen to grapefruit size, and within a week it would collapse when she tried to walk.

Doctors diagnosed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, an incurable condition affecting anywhere from 200,000 to 1.2 million people. When meds and other treatments failed to ease Mackenzie's pain, she found that the only thing that distracted her from it was reading.

The experience inspired her to reach out to other kids who were suffering. She began collecting books for a residential treatment center, near her Georgia home, for severely abused children. With a goal of 300 books, she gathered 3,000 -- and a passion was born.

Mackenzie has gone on to collect more than 38,000 books to date for homeless and abused children in six states. With her mom's help, she launched a nonprofit organization, Sheltering Books, in 2009.

That's a story worth a book of its own.

(ps Thanks to Generation Cures, via Twitter, for the heads-up on Mackenzie)

Earth Angel

With Earth Day 2010 coming up next Thursday, April 22, many kids & families across the USA will join in neighborhood cleanups and other environmental projects. But there's a way for kids to help the planet and their disadvantaged peers in one fell swoop: Collect outgrown or underused toys for Second Chance Toys, founded by teen Sasha Lipton. The organization has donated more than 41,000 recycled toys so far and does two big drives annually, including one for Earth Week. Go here for ParentDish's feature on Sarah, or here to get involved. Sounds like an awesome school service project, too.

Heart and Sole

If anyone deserves a shoe sponsorship deal, it's Zach Bonner. The suburban Tampa 12-year-old has logged more miles on foot than a marathon champ and is now in the middle of a March Across America (13 million steps, he says, from Tampa to Los Angeles)--all to raise awareness and money for homeless kids.

When Hurricane Charlie hit Tampa in '04, Zach was only 7. But he took the initiative to wheel a red wagon door-to-door in his neighborhood (spared by the storm) to collect supplies for those hardest hit. He ended up with enough drinking water to fill 27 pickups, and inspiration to match.

With his mom's help, Zach set up the Little Red Wagon Foundation and began assembling backpacks for homeless kids, filled with supplies such as food, socks, and sewing kits. He's rallied teens to build awareness about their homeless peers by sleeping in cardboard boxes. He's donated supplies to underfunded schools. And he's taken 4 very long fundraising walks with his mom and big sister: Tampa to Tallahassee; Tallahassee to Atlanta; Atlanta to Washington, D.C. (this time carrying 1,000 letters about homeless children for President Obama); and the current March Across America, peppered with "projects along the route to help homeless kids."

Zach does all the legwork (figurative as well as literal!) for his foundation, says mom, from making calls and writing letters to organizing holiday parties for struggling families. Video clips reveal a poised, softly articulate but utterly "natural" seeeming youth who just happens to have found his calling early. "It's been my wish for a long time," he told Good Morning America after the second walk. "No more homeless kids, or kids who don't have the same opportunities as any other kid."

Want to join Zach for a bit of his walk, or just check on his progress? Visit the Zach Tracker or follow him on Twitter. I normally don't think 12-year-olds need to be tweeting, but this isn't a normal 12-year-old situation :-)

(photo: Time for Kids)

Rice & Beans, Beans & Rice

It's hard to imagine my 3 picky eaters chowing down rice and beans for 3 meals, let alone 25 dinners in a row. But that's just what 8-year-old Riley Goodfellow (pictured) did, along with a corps of kid (and adult) family members and friends, to provide clean water for children in the developing world.

On a family trip to Guatemala, Riley was saddened to learn that 5,000 kids a day die from lack of clean water and basic sanitation. To illustrate the magnitude of this tragedy, she spent days drawing 5,000 hash marks on paper. And she set a fundraising goal of $2,500 to build a well through charity: water.

Birthday and tooth fairy money went straight to The Riley Project, along with contributions from individuals, home businesses & local service clubs. Riley inspired a rash of creative giving from friends -- from a peer who collected bottles and cans for recycling and handed over the resulting cash to an adult friend who contributed prize money from her award-winning jelly. Her parents helped, too, by applying "earnings" for time she volunteered at local agencies to her campaign.

In November, Riley and her family committed to eating rice and beans every night during Advent -- and applying their grocery savings to the Riley Project. "You will not believe what happened on Christmas Day!" Riley blogged. "There was an envelope on the tree for me, and I opened it and it said that I had finished raising all of the money for the well! I was so happy because I had written at school that all I wanted to give for Christmas was a well and then my dream came true."

Ultimately, so much was raised when other families joined the Goodfellows in their dining adventure that Riley doubled her fundraising target and contributed enough for two wells. Most inspiring? "One day I'm going to live wherever my well is built," she blogged. "So I need to get used to rice and beans."

Kindness is In the Bag

At 7, Makenzie Snyder met two foster kids at the World Children's Summit and found out, among other things, that most foster children bundle their belongings in garbage bags when moving from home to home. That didn't seem right, so she decided to do something about it. Now 16, Makenzie has sent tens of thousands of duffle bags and suitcases to foster kids, often with stuffed animals inside to provide comfort and ease transitions. With help from countless contributors including Oprah and Rosie O'Donnell, she aims to reach all 530,000 children in the U.S. foster care system through the project, which she named Children to Children.