Well, all we know that there are many things to do to make the world better, there isn´t? Many children saw that and decided to act. Internet brought to these children a tool to talk about their ideas, get support and contacts to help people on many different ways.

It´s good to see that because we see it´s possible. Something can be done on our school, on our neighborhood… It´s a way of learning and there are few things that can bring more pleasure than help someone.

What is a nonprofit or charitable organization?

Nonprofit organizations exist in one form or another in almost every community in the world. They are also known as charities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), voluntary organizations and community based organizations (CBOs).

"Non" "Profit"?

A nonprofit organization is a group of people working together to help their local and/or global community, its people or its environment. Whereas businesses develop products to make money, the ultimate aim of a nonprofit organization is not to make money (they are 'non' 'profit'), but to help their community. To support themselves, nonprofit organizations rely on contributions from people, businesses and foundations.

On these sites below you will find some great samples on children that plays on make the world better. There are organizations to help homeless people, to help kids inside momentaneous living difficults, to make computer equipment available to schools… These sites were collected by idealist.org, a great organization on social initiatives. If you know of an organization that should be here but isn't, please let them know.

If you have an idea about how to help your community and want to find resources to help you get started, click here.

Organizations started by kids

A Place to Call Home

Teenager Kristen Thomas of Sterling, Colorado started A Place to Call Home after she was touched by the plight of the homeless she saw on a trip to Denver, Colorado, with her Dad. She and her friends Jenna and Danielle collect donations of toys, toiletries, baby food, and bibles that they then put together as care packages to distribute among the homeless in the Denver area.

Care Bags Foundation

Annie Wignall of Newton, Iowa, is the founder and director of the Care Bags Foundation, an organization she started when she was eleven years old. Care Bags provides essential, fun, safe and age appropriate things (games, toothbrushes, books, etc.) to kids during difficult times in their lives. Care bags go to over 800 disadvantaged, abused and displaced kids every year and are distributed by twenty agencies serving over eighty towns in Iowa as well as going to other states for disaster relief and to needy kids all over the world via Airline Ambassadors. Using the Care Bags Starter Kit, other young people have adopted Annie's program and are implementing it in their own communities.

Carolyn's Compassionate Children

Carolyn Rubenstein founded Carolyn's Compassionate Children in 1999 when she was thirteen years old. Carolyn's Compassionate Children is a support organization linking critically ill childen and children with life challenges with volunteer teens in schools through letter writing. The organization has since expanded to include organizing annual school supply, holiday letter and gift drives and giving out college scholarships.

Free Bytes, Inc.

Twelve year-old Charlie Shufeldt of Atlanta, Georgia and his two friends Owen Boger and Josh Silfen, founded Free Bytes to make computer equipment available to educational and charitable organizations. Free Bytes accepts computer equipment that corporations and individuals no longer need. High school students and youth groups then volunteer to rehabilitate the equipment according to the needs of nonprofit organizations that cannot afford to buy computers.

Free the Children

After reading an article about a 12-year-old Indian boy who was murdered for speaking out against child labor in his country, Craig Kielburger of Toronto, Canada, decided to start an organization where kids could help increase awareness of child labor and child poverty around the world. Free the Children has branches in twenty countries.

Grandma's Gifts

Inspired by the memory of her Grandmother who lived in Appalachian Ohio, 9 year-old Emily Douglas established a non-profit organization called Grandma’s Gifts. Since 1992, Emily has raised over half a million dollars worth of food, clothing, toys, books and educational field trips for schools, children and organizations in the area. Emily hopes that Grandma Gifts will raise awareness of economic hardship in the Appalachian Ohio region, bridge the cultural gap between Appalachia and the rest of America and show other young people how service to the community can be a fun and worthwhile endeavor.

Kids For A Clean Environment (F.A.C.E.)

Kids F.A.C.E. is an international children's environmental organization started in 1989 by 9-year-old Melissa Poe of Nashville, Tennessee. The club was established to provide a way for children to be involved in the protection of nature and connect them with other children who shared their concerns about global environmental issues. Kids F.A.C.E. currently has 300,000 members worldwide.

Kids for Peace

In 1996, students at the Darvell School in England were studying the conflict in Northern Ireland and wanted to do something to help promote peace. With this in mind, and with help from their teachers, they organized a trip to Ireland, visiting youth clubs at schools and performing songs and dances to celebrate joy and life and bring hope where people are saddened by conflict and grief. Kids for Peace has performed in Britain, Ireland and throughout Europe. They have also participated in a walkathon for Kosovo, raised funds for flood victims, and held a benefit concert for India earthquake survivors.

Kids Helping Kids in Crisis, Inc.

Bartlomiej Szczech and Sean Colon started Kids Helping Kids in Crisis while they were in high school in Montclair, New Jersey. Their mission is to raise money and collect supplies for medical care for children living in war-torn or natural-disaster-struck countries.

Kids Konnected

Eleven year old Jon Wagner-Holtz started Kids Konnected in 1993 after his mother was treated for breast cancer. Jon started Kids Konnected because he couldn't find any programs that could help him find other kids to talk to who knew what it was like to have a sick parent. Kids Konnected started in California and now has programs across the United States. The organization offers a 24 hour hotline, an email newsletter, monthly meetings, resources and summer camps.

PEACEIncorporated

Started in 1998 by 15-year-old Lewel Scherer, 16-year-old Gretchen Elder and 17-year-old Mark Anthony Collins, PEACE Incorporated has grown into an international volunteer organization of youth who are actively working to "increase peace" within schools, families, communities and nations. The youth members of PEACEIncorporated are working to create inclusive projects of peace that can be implemented by youth in communities everywhere. The organization focuses on the major issues faced by youth based on information provided by young people themselves.

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