Simple Acts, Big Impact

It's not often that I am given the opportunity to share an episode to correspond with the launch of an important project! My guests today, Anna and Boston, are part of a team of people from Maine who, as part of Maine Youth Action, have created a platform called the Maine Youth Political Portal to help young people gain access to all resources they need to run for political office in Maine. The Po...

My guest today is Romy, a college sophomore who created a special program called MiSendero. MiSendero is an independent high school student-led organization focused on integrating and connecting English learner students to school activities by creating a format in which they can earn volunteer hours as Spanish tutors, join school clubs, become leaders within the organization, and participate in ac...

Aani and Gage are two friends from Arizona (now both freshmen in college) who bonded over their shared passion for playing musical instruments as well as volunteering with the elderly. Together they created Our Ode To You which allows musicians, singers and visual artists to share their passion for the creative arts with seniors living in nursing homes and memory care facilities. Follow to learn m...

Ayana B. is passionate about understanding the human heart, and raising awareness about cardiovascular health. She created Ligh on the Heart, a nonprofit dedicated to alleviating the struggles of marginalized communities facing poor cardiovascular treatment by providing research advice to high school students, granting insights from medical and research professionals, and pushing for advocacy thro...

Grace L. has a passion for research which was sparked when she was a curious 10 year old. She created a nonprofit called Research to Empower which seeks to inspire, support and empower aspiring young researchers, offering a master class, guidebook, resources and leadership opportunities to help students, particularly those from underrepresented communities, to achieve success. Learn more and acces...

Welcome back to Season 3 of Simple Acts, Big Impact: Celebrating Teen Changemakers. Today's episode is the perfect "back to school episode" about the importance of books, school supplies, and representation in storytelling. Rohan S. and his sister Anya are the founders of the Let's Learn Foundation which hosts book drives and provides school supplies for under resourced students in central Texas....

Kate and Rehaan are student leaders of Impact 100 NYC NextGen, a teen giving circle and service cohort that makes grants to local nonprofits in NYC, and volunteers together in the community. We discuss the power of collective giving and volunteering with our peers.   Learn more at www.impact100nyc.org or follow @impact100nycnextgen

Ashley N, is a highschool junior from Kentucky who started a nonprofit called Sargeant's Army which provides toiletry kits and outerwear for people experiencing homelessness and living marginally, especially our honored veterans. She's also a six time children's book author who donates 100% of the proceeds from her books back to her nonprofit. Learn more at www.sargeantsarmy.org Follow Ashley at @...

My guest today, Charlie J., loved building with Lego's growing up and believes that every child deserves access to play and learning tools. He created Pass the Bricks, an organization that collects, sanitizes, sorts and distributes lego kits to children in his community who might not be able to afford them. Learn more at www.passthebricks.org or follow @passthebricks

Lucy B from Nashville had an idea to make a homemade blanket for a friend as a birthday gift when she was only 8 years old. That thoughtful gift turned into an effort called Lucy's Love Blankets which provides handmade blankets for children going through an illness, a divorce in their family or the loss of a loved one - anyone needing a little extra love. Learn more at @lucysloveblankets

Today, in honor of Mother's Day this Sunday, I'm delighted to share a very special conversation with Alex H. Alex tells us the story of being raised by a single mother, and how he wanted to honor her hard work and sacrifice. He wrote and illustrated a graphic novel called HERO and created a project through which he interviews single mothers and gives them a platform to tell their stories. Learn mo...

On today's episode, New York teen Maya P. shares some of her many projects with us, including STEAM news, a global kids-for-kids newsletter that is dedicated to giving teens a voice and spreading important information about STEAM topics. She also created Fresh Opportunities which is a food rescue organizations that is working to fight food insecurity and hunger in her community.  Learn more at www...

Ryan H. is a young social entrepreneur from California with a passion for recycling. I know - kind of an unusual thing for a teen to be excited about, but Ryan is a special young man with a true entrepreneurial spirit. He started a recycling service called Ryan's Recycling, he partners with a city-wide service called Recycle From Home and he created Project 3R, a program that teaches kids about re...

In celebration of Earth Month and Earth Day next Monday, this conversation with Elijah R. from Australia will inspire you. Elijah is a Coral Watch ambassador who travels around Australia with his family raising awareness and sharing his passion for looking after the environment. Follow along on Elijah's adventures on IG and FB @elijahsworldqld Learn more about saving the Great Barrier Reef by foll...

This week is National Robotics Week, so I'm delighted to share this conversation with William B. a college student at Tulane University who created a nonprofit called RoboRecovery, which provides robotics kits and increases access to robotics education for under-resourced children in New Orleans. Learn more at www.roborecovery.org

Happy Earth Month! I'm excited to share this conversation with a truly unique young man from Ohio. Te"Lario W. is a teen with a passion for gardening (which is not something you hear every day). He founded The Garden Club Project in his community to help end hunger and encourage kids to eat healthier. The Garden Club Project grows, harvests and shares produce with the community, and encourages you...

In honor of Earth Month coming up in April, I spoke with Michelle S. who created two wonderful organizations, Community for Environmental Sustainability, which is a community garden, food distribution and nutrition education program, as well as Love a Sea Turtle, which is dedicated to youth leadership. Learn more at www.loveaseaturtle.com and follow at @loveaseaturtle and @greenvillecommunitygarde...

Have you ever tried to teach an older person how to use an app on their phone or another piece of technology? If so, you know how frustrating it can be - for both of you! Well, Spencer H. is a patient and kind young changemaker who took the time to do this with his own grandmother, and then decided to write a step-by-step instructional manual to help others. You can purchase NanaTech: A Tech Teena...

Nikita and Smera are highschool students in Massachusetts who realized that STEM instruction, which is so vitally important to every child, was simply out of reach for most. Instead of waiting around for adults to fix the problem they created GenXL, a nonprofit that provides free STEM lessons for more than 50,000 underresourced students all over the world, with the help of over 2000 volunteers. Le...

You can't turn on the news these days without hearing about the election coming up this Fall. The national and local elections are so important, and getting young people to engage in the electoral process is crucial. My guest today is a Ava Mateo, a young adult who is the Executive Director of 18byvote which is a non-partisan youth-led organization that helps 16, 17, and 18-year-olds understand ho...

On today's episode, we will all learn about a potentially devastating medical condition called clubfoot and the young man who was able to receive treatment to overcome it, and now wants to help others around the world receive the same treatment. With the help of a Curious Cardinals mentor, Josh A. created a website called Clubfoot Connect with allows him to fundraise, raise awareness, connect and...

Do you remember sitting alone in a playground and wishing someone would invite you to play? Well my guest today has had that experience and, after learning about "buddy benches" at camp, decided to do something about it. Sammie V. collects plastic bottle caps and recycles them to create "buddy benches" in her community (and around the world). The Sammie's Buddy Bench project helps the environment...

Happy Valentines Day. It's a perfect day to spread some love, friendship and joy, like my guest, Anbini G. - a high school senior from Seattle who started an organization called Love and Sweet Bakery which is "changing the world, one dessert at a time." With chapters all over the country, this effort allows youth to bake treats and donate them or sell them to raise money to help others in their co...

My guest today, Ethan H., has been featured on many national media platforms for his organization called Ethan's Heart: Bags4Blessings which he started when he was only 7 years old. Learn more at https://www.ethansheartbham.org/ and follow @ethansheartbham. This episode will inspire you because as Ethan says, "every day is a good day to help someone."

February is Random Acts of Kindness month so this episode featuring Mia P and her organization The Kind Mouse is a perfect way to kick it off. Kind Mouse helps children dealing with hunger and food insecurity in Mia's community of St. Petersburg Florida while encouraging the next generation of kind leaders with its "Mouse in Training" program. Follow and learn more at http://thekindmouse.org/ or o...