Simple Acts, Big Impact

Should every high schooler be required to learn their legal rights? Aiden, co-founder of Legal Ease, is fighting to make legal literacy a mandatory class for all high school students in Florida. Following our recent conversation with his co-founder Debasmita, Aiden shares his own story: what sparked his passion for this work and why he believes young people need to understand the law before they'r...

Youth aging out of foster care face a sharp risk of homelessness. Without reliable transportation, getting to jobs, school, and appointments becomes even harder. In this episode, host Natalie Silverstein talks with Manan from California's Bay Area. Manan created FC Home, a free app that connects homeless youth with transit passes for safe, reliable rides. Learn more at www.fchome.info

West Virginia high school senior London founded Civics Bridge Appalachia to connect rural voters with the elected officials and candidates who represent them. With election day next Tuesday, London reminds us that democracy, government by the people and for the people, works only when every community has access to those running for office. He shares why that access matters in small towns and how h...

The pandemic exposed a harsh digital divide — millions of students lacked the devices and connectivity to fully participate in school. Today's guest, Chris from Virginia, lived that gap firsthand and built ReTech for Kids to close it. Recruits volunteers to collect, refurbish, and distribute second-hand technology Partners with businesses and individuals worldwide Delivers devices directly to unde...

What do school lunches, food waste, and cultural identity have in common? For Cindy, they're the throughline of her nonprofit, the Full Fork Initiative. After noticing how much food her school cafeteria threw away — and how food insecurity often means losing access to culturally appropriate meals — she built a two-part solution: a food diversion program and a snack bag program. Learn more at thefu...

Zhenrui, founder of the nonprofit Artmind, brings creative expression to isolated seniors in Arizona care facilities. We talk about the healing power of art, building community for isolated seniors, and the passion driving Zhenrui's mission. Follow and learn more at @artmind.us

Advay, a Texas high school senior, is closing the AI and robotics education gap in underserved communities through his nonprofit, Open Robotics and AI. In this episode, we talk about how he built it, why AI literacy matters now, and what's next. Learn more at  openroboticsandai.com .

Public defenders are overloaded, and legal jargon can leave defendants confused about the charges against them. Debasmita saw this firsthand volunteering with the Rainy Day Fund — and co-founded Legal Ease to change it. This episode breaks down what public defense really looks like and how Legal Ease is closing the gap. To learn more and to sign up to volunteer, visit @legaleaseorg on Instagram.

Overripe bananas, soft avocados, wilting greens — most of it isn't trash, it's still good. Sid, founder of Waste2Taste in Houston, turned his passion for food recovery into a nonprofit and a cookbook, Still Good, teaching people how to rescue "wasted" food before it hits the bin. In this episode, we cover practical food-waste-reduction tips, how food recovery organizations work, and why so much ed...

What does teen-led community impact look like? For Alejandra, a Miami high school senior, it's Literary Speaking — a nonprofit offering free academic tutoring and mentorship to underserved students and adults. In this Season 5 premiere of Simple Acts, Big Impact, Alejandra breaks down how she built her program from the ground up, the challenges of leading as a teenager, and why mentorship matters....

For the last episode of season four, I'm honored to share a special conversation with Sarah Jakle, the founder of a nonpartisan nonprofit organization called DemocraShe, which offers online training to high school girls. Democrashe creates a vibrant community that uses a peer-led model to teach resiliency skills, leadership, and civic engagement. I hope this episode inspires all of the future lead...

A walkathon is a fun and relatively easy way to raise awareness and funds for a cause you care about. My guests today, Makenna and Stella, launched the Mayo Miles Walk to raise awareness around visual impairment, a condition that has affected both of their families. Their walk, happening in North Carolina next weekend, provides a unique and meaningful twist: walk-a-thon team members are blindfolde...

Young people, especially young girls of color, continue to struggle with mental health issues even six years after the pandemic. Access to services and support is spotty, and many tweens and teens feel isolated and unseen. My guest today, 14-year-old Mila, understood this struggle and wanted to help girls in her community access resources. She started MH Boxes, delivers care packages, made by Blac...

I think we can all agree that sometimes, a simple phone call from a friend can brighten your whole day. And for a lonely or isolated older adult, that phone call might be one of the only points of human connection they will have. My guest today, Nolan Z. from Massachusetts, was inspired to launch Golden Voice Outreach when he realized how meaningful phone calls with his grandmother became after sh...

We all know that books hold the key to language and literacy. My guest today, Sahana, a high school senior from Ohio, has always had a passion for words and reading and was a finalist in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She launched the Young Learners Foundation, an organization with the goal of advancing youth literacy with free books and programs, which has already donated over 18,000 books to...

My guest today, HS sophomore Evan Z., cares deeply about making the streets of his community safer for everyone - drivers, walkers and bicycle riders. He started NextGen Community Builders, an organization dedicated to empowering youth through traffic and transportation safety programs. Evan is involved in the highest levels of his town's government and has been recognized with a Community Achieve...

Origami is a traditional Japanese art of folding paper, typically without cutting or gluing, to create intricate, beautiful and colorful shapes. It can be a meditative practice, and is an art form often passed down from one generation to the next. My guest today, Juan R.F. shares the story of Origami for Good, an organization with the mission to spread joy, one fold at a time. Volunteers in chapte...

Over the four years of doing this podcast, I have had the privilege of learning about some incredible social impact projects that take a unique approach to solving a difficult problem, but my guest today has one of the most interesting stories I've heard.  Keshav, a high school junior from Houston Texas, started playing the bagpipes in 2nd grade. After making a connection between lung capacity and...

After the loss of her beloved grandmother, Jiya J. from Texas realized that she missed the warm connection she had with her grandmother, and reached out to local senior centers and nursing homes to find a way to volunteer to paint with the residents. Her nonprofit, Young and Old United, grew out of this personal passion project and has spread across the state of Texas, engaging over 100 student vo...

Reading opens doors and provides opportunities, and for young people who find themselves in the hospital, research shows that books can boost positive emotions and oxytocin levels, while lowering stress hormones. My guests today, Sanvi and Sumedha from the Chicago area, understood the many benefits of reading and launched The Bookmark Project, a book collection and distribution effort, to empower...

Today, as we kick off Earth Month, I am honored to share this conversation with Crystal and Ellie, two college students who became friends while doing Model UN in high school. They bonded over their shared concern for the environment, and launched LEAP, or Live Environmentally Active in the Present, a youth-led organization spreading awareness through education and a powerful publication called Th...

My guest today, Edie Y., is a college student, a future educator and a champion of the arts - for EVERYONE. Edie started We Are Artistic to support artists and art lovers, and to create a safe and inclusive space for people of all abilities to engage in creativity. Learn more at  www.weareartistic.net  and follow @weareartisticgroup

Period poverty continues to be a major issue for so many women and girls in the United States. My guests today, sisters Mia and Maya F. from Florida, started Enough for Everyone, to ensure that women living marginally in their community have access to the personal hygiene products they need to maintain their health and dignity. Learn more at  www.enoughforeveryone.org  or follow @enoughfor_everyon...

Sometimes the simplest efforts are the most impactful. Big-hearted high school senior Ryan T. launched Read Aloud Buddies along with his sister during the early days of the pandemic. The organization aims to match every child with an experienced high school or college student. The student volunteers read to their "buddy" improving language skills and literacy. Ryan also runs Little Acts of Kindnes...

My guest, Aaron H. from California, created the Indigenous Justice Coalition to support the many indigenous tribes in our country who have been denied their rights and benefits. Aaron felt a call to action, particularly on behalf of the Waccamaw tribe, which is indigenous to the Bay Area. He learned how to respond to grants, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of this work  and...