A Magic Penny is committed to working with your family to help you get the most out of your volunteer experiences. We believe in the philosophy that it takes a village to raise the next generation of conscientious citizens, and so we encourage you to explore these other resources and organizations that are doing great work to help teach youth the value of giving back.
Ashoka Changemakers This organization describes themselves as a place to connect “with other social innovators, entrepreneurs, funders, connectors, thought leaders, communicators, citizen sector organizations, and citizens to accelerate lasting social change.” Youth can share a project, browse opportunities and other projects, as well as get feedback on their ideas for innovative social change.
DoSomething An organization of the young, by the young, for the young (though their impact can be on anyone). These 2.5 million members (ages 13 − 25) take on campaigns of their choosing and use their vast network and social media presence to enact social change. The tone and content is geared towards teens and young adults savvy at using trends and pop culture to connect with youth.
GenerationON There are great opportunities for leadership and service available through generationON. They offer project ideas, as well as guides for seeing your project through. There are also resources to become more educated about the issues you are interested in taking on. Their Kids Care Clubs are a way of brining together peers for service. Clubs are given tools and activities to help groups try out a variety of different service experiences.
Philanthroparent Philanthroparent is committed to raising the next generation of responsible citizens together with parents. It is a resource for those who are passionate about raising socially conscious kids. Through the website, blog and its social media outlets, you can find ideas for age-appropriate ways that children can address real-world issues, as well as teaching tools and activities that help families build a culture of civic mindedness within their daily lives. Philanthroparent connects families with organizations that believe in young people’s abilities to address the issues that are a part of their world.
The Philanthropy Project This website is like a kid-friendly version of CrowdRise or Change.org, offering an interactive online platform where kids generate their own social good initiatives and service campaigns. While they gain valuable experience in how to prepare and plan for a charitable event or drive, the focus is on how to take purposeful action. This platform gives your children a voice because they can create their own online campaigns to support the social issues and community needs they are inspired to take on.
Project Giving Kids This organization offers service opportunities with organizations in our local Los Angeles area. They partner with nonprofits willing to give kids age-appropriate volunteering activities. They feature an online platform that is akin to a kids’ version of Volunteer Match by helping youth find service opportunities that speak to their interests.
RandomKid RandomKid offers tools and support to help any kid follow through on their vision of making a difference. They list popular projects already designed by kids through their site that you can take part in, or they can help kickstart your child’s entirely new service idea. They even offer support staff that can even work as consultants on their project.
ServiceSpace The website states that “the ServiceSpace platform allows people to stay connected with others interested in service, participate in service opportunities through any of our dozen projects, organize their own local service event using our tools, and stay connected to inspirational content. Highly recommended is their project, Cubs Community– a resource for those interested in teaching compassion and service to youth. Their weekly newsletter is an easy, quick read that covers a service topic each week with book suggestions, related inspirational quotes and activity ideas. This resource is geared towards a parent audience.
What Kids Can Do WKCD showcases the great things kids are accomplishing through print, broadcasting and media outlets. They aggregate news stories about the positive impact kids are making in their communities. They also research, document, write grants and publish stories around youth service. Experience a grand vision of what kids are accomplishing from the WKCD news feed. Or get the word out about your child’s service experience by submitting a story for publication- a great way to celebrate and document their accomplishments.
Youth Service America This organization promotes youth as valuable stakeholders in our society. They aim to strengthen communities by increasing the number of children and young adults represented in meaningful service roles. Check out their project ideas for inspiration. There are kid-friendly guides and tip sheets to help them through every stage of service. Go even further and check out their grant and award opportunities for youth.
A Magic Penny 