In honor of 16 year old Greta Thunberg who galvanized people all over the world to take part in the climate strike, BCT Partners is dedicating this blog to all the amazing kids that are making a difference. Whether they are raising money for the homeless or distributing books written by black authors, these young people are truly exceptional. Are you ready to be inspired?
Austin is on a mission to help the homeless. When he was only four years old, Austin started asking questions about people living on the street and he told his dad that he wanted to do something to help. So, he donned a superman cape and he and his father started giving out food to those in need in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Austin would pass out meals and he would say, “Don’t forget to show love,” and “Pay it forward!” to everyone he served. His dedication started to get attention and he was eventually given the keys to the cities of both Prichard and Mobile, Alabama. In addition, he expanded his reach with some help from celebrities Steve Harvey and LeBron James. Austin now feeds people and their pets in over a dozen cities through his Show Love campaign!
Marley founded #1000BlackGirlBooks, a book drive that focuses specifically on books in which black girls are the main characters. When she launched her #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign in 2015, she had a goal to collect 1,000 books. However, in just a few months, more than 11,000 books were collected, and donated to various organizations around the world. Her campaign also called public attention to the lack of diversity in children's literature and created a resource guide featured on Grassroots Community Foundation. Marley has now written her own book called Marley Dias Gets it Done and So Can You. She also won the Smithsonian Magazine's American Ingenuity Award in the Youth category.
At the ripe old age of four, Mikaila, founded Me & the Bees Lemonade. She was encouraged by her parents to create a product for a children’s business competition called Acton Children’s Business Fair. Around that same time, she was stung twice by bees. Rather than avoid bees, she began to study them and their contribution to our ecosystem, and she became fascinated. So, she decided to use her grandmother’s recipe for Flaxseed Lemonade to not only keep her grandmother’s recipe alive, but also to help the bees. Her slogan soon became: “Buy a Bottle…Save a Bee” as she donates a portion of all proceeds to organizations such as The Texas Beekeepers Association and Heifer International. And she is now able to bring her product to people all over the country through Whole Foods and a number of restaurants, food trucks and natural food delivery companies. In addition, she hopes to educate people about how important bees are to our environment by providing information through her Facebook page and website.
So, are you inspired yet? You should be because these kids are proving that age is irrelevant when you are on a mission. There are so many other amazing kids that are doing their part to save the world that we couldn’t possibly cover all of them in one blog. However, check out the book published by the Good Planet Foundation that brings many more of these stories to light. Maybe it will motivate more adults to follow in the footsteps of these young leaders!
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