Here’s a great story to share with your kids.  Meet Simone Bernstein from St Louis, Missouri.  An active volunteer in her community since age 12, Simone was frustrated with the scarcity of information for kids her age who wanted to give back. There were no website and resources geared specifically toward kids and their families.   So Simone decided to do something about it and created St. Louis Volunteen – a simple and user friendly website for youth ages 10-17 and families to easily find volunteer opportunities.  The website lets users search by volunteer category, age, and school requirements.  Since it began, more than 1500 students have found volunteer opportunities through the website and volunteer fair.

Simone has already been honored by the Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame that recognizes everyday people who are committed to making a positive impact in their communities.  Simone is one of 10 standout Finalists.  You can show your support of what she is doing by voting for her online by May 13.  Go to the Energizer Keep Going® Hall of Fame website or the Energizer Bunny’s Facebook page.  If Simone receives the most votes, she will win a $10,000 cash prize and an additional $5,000 donation to the charity of her choice.  Inspire your kids with Simone’s story, and cast your vote!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

When we learn about organizations with that WOW factor, we like to let you know.  Citizen Effect is one of those groups!  Like us, they believe that any one of any age  can make a difference — particularly kids.  As they put it, everyone can be a “Citizen Philanthropist.”  Citizen Effect helps fit philanthropy into your every day lives and makes it fun by helping you match what you like to do with who you like to do it with and what you care about.  If you need a starting point, their website guides you through a few key questions:

• What region are you interested in helping?
• What would you like to improve on in others’ lives?
• What is a big part of your life?’

So, lets say your kid loves soccer, drawing, or chess!  He or she can recruit the team, class, club, or friends to hold a bake sale (as one example) and donate the money to a number of extremely worthwhile Citizen Effect Projects such as providing clean water to a community in India, supporting a nonvoilence programs in New York, establishing foster homes in South Africa, fighting AIDS in Rwanda, and many others.  Citizen Effect gets that when kids are into something, they give it their all.  So why not encourage them to find their inner philanthropist and go for it?   Citizen Effect is helping to pave the way for the next generation of  change makers.  And we say, “Wow!” 

© YesKidzCan, 2011

Who out there hasn’t had one of those moments when you hear a piece of music and it brings back vivid memories of a moment in time.  Music can be even more special if we are the ones creating it by playing an instrument.  The powerful nature of music is amplified by well-documented benefits showing that music helps children be self expressive, build confidence, master a skill as well as improve academic performance, concentration, and team building.  Sadly, there are many kids who don’t have access to musical instruments.  Fortunately, Music & Arts (a division of the Guitar Center and the nation’s largest school music retailer) is looking to change this.

From April through June 2011,  Music & Arts is launchng a community service campaign in the Greater Baltimore and D.C. metropolitan area called Pass the Music On to inspire kids to be community service leaders of their generation by getting band and orchestra instruments into the hands of kids who need them. 

Kids ages 8-18 in 200 public elementary, middle, and high schools are encouraged to 1) donate band or orchestra instruments that Music & Arts will repair and redistribute to local area schools in need; and 2) make an online donation with 100% going to school music programs.  YesKidzCan! is proud to be part of this campaign along with Music4More and the Yamaha Corporation of America.

To learn more about fun ways to involve your school and community, visit the Pass the Music On website.  Be part of this campaign, and let your good be heard!

© YesKidzCan, 2011

Earth Day serves as a needed reminder to be more aware about taking care of our world, being environmentally conscious, and adopting green behaviors.  You and your kids can boost your knowledge by watching some great educational movies and television programming. (Thanks to Family Circle for the great information):

• Born to Be Wild 3D:  An IMAX move about people who rescue and raisie orphaned elephants.
• Planet Earth:  Check out this Discovery Channel serires on different habitats.
• An Inconvenient Truth: For slightly older kids, Al Gore’s film about global warming.
• Oceans: DisneyNature’s extraordinatory visual about the world’s five oceans and the animals that live in them.  

So get some popcorn and snuggle together for some family entertainment.  It’s an easy way to make Earth Day fun and educational.

© YesKidzCan, 2011

You must forgive one shameless, self-promoting piece about ourselves.  It’s just that we are very proud of what we do and to be recognized for it is — well — a welcome reinforcement.  So here goes!

YesKidzCan! was named among the best in family-friendly media, products, and services and received the Silver Mom’s Choice Award for Online Resources. This Awards Program recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents, and others for their efforts in creating quality materials for children and families and helps educators and families navigate the vast array of products and services to make informed decisions.

Don’t worry!  You won’t have to listen to an endless acceptance speech.  But we do want to say that even though we launched only 15 months ago, we are most appreciative of the support you have shown us which has helped distinguished YesKidzCan! as a valuable (and now award-winning) resource. 

© YesKidzCan, 2011

When our kids do something great, we naturally tell them or show them how proud we are.  Recognition is an important part of teaching our kids about community service.  Of course, we hope that when our kids give back, they feel good about their actions on their own.  But have you noticed when we say ”atta boy” or “atta girl” to provide that extra pat on the back, our kid’s response is something like, “You are just saying that because you are my mom or dad!’

One way to try to get around this never-ending back and forth of words is to provide a more objective recognition.  Surprise your kid with a “You Did Good” Certificate of Achievement. You can download and print it out for free.  There is room on the certificate for you to sign it, and if it helps in any way, the certificate also has our signatures  — the co-founders of YesKidzCan!  We may not be rock stars, but we do know kids and philanthropy!  You could also consider giving them a cool t-shirt, binder, or mousepad with fun messages about giving back. (100% of the profits go to support children’s causes, by the way. You can tell your kids that, too!)

Check out more ideas for recognizing the good in your kids, and let us know other ways you’ve gotten responses beyond the eyeroll and heavy sigh!  We would love to know about them professionally . . . and as parents, too!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Superman does not always appear in a red cape with an “S” on his chest.  He can also take the form of a seven-year-old boy in a jump suit and racing helmet.  Ricky Springer is a dirt track go-kart racing fanatic.  He also combats a chronic illness called Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorder.  In 2009 at the age of seven, Ricky founded Racing for a Cause to make a difference for others who are suffering from these kinds of disorders and who often struggle for a proper diagnosis and treatment.

This little superman wanted to create an awareness and fundraising campaign to support the American Partnership of Eosinophilic Disorders.  Since Racing for the Cause began, about 2.6 million people have been educated about this chronic illness involving a type of white blood cell that can accumulate in the body and cause inflammation and damage.  People with this type of disorder require long-term treatment.

Ricky travels throughout the Eastern United States, making appearances with his go-kart to educate others.  Racers around the country have joined Ricky and helped establish the Racing for a Cause Team which promotes the campaign by running with the Racing for a Cause logo on their cars.

Just goes to show that even a young boy can leap buildings in a single bound and inspire the rest of us – no matter what our age – to find our inner super hero!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Social entrepreneurism is a cool field.  The idea of creating a business that is dedicated to solving a societal problem is what our world needs.  Many adults are familiar with social entrepreneurial companies like Newman’s Own or TOMS Shoes.  Big hearts.  Big sales.  And big contributions to worthwhile causes. So why not make sure that some of the world’s most exuberant, imaginative, and risk-taking minds (who also happen to love cool stuff) get exposed to this innovative area?  I’m talking about our kids!

Kids are already undertaking social entrepreneurial activities.  Think of the kids who sell lemonade and donate the money to an important cause. We ask, “Why not make an effort to teach kids how to be social entrepreneurs?”  There are so many good reasons to do this.  It shows kids another way to tap into their passion and creative thinking.  It introduces them to business planning, economics and communithy service — all at the same time.  And, it shows them that even young kids can use the power of entrepreneurism to make a difference.  

At YesKidzCan!, we decided to pursue the idea with gusto and created a series of easy and age-appropriate Learning Tools that kids in grades 3-5 and adults can work on together to learn about social entrepreneurism.  In fun ways, our Learning Tools help kids match their interests and talents with causes they want to support.  In addition, these resources reinforce simplied yet valuable business lessons from goal setting and product planning to marketing and evaluation.  Our Learning Tools vary to meet the diverse needs of how kids like to learn and include an e-Workbook, a fact sheet, case studies, crossword and word search puzzles, and more.  Our tools are great for the classroom, an after-school activity, or weekend or holiday time.

So get some inspirational stuff going in your home, school, or club house!  Help kids see that they have what it takes to make a differerence — one person, one neighborhood, or one community at a time — by leaning more about how to create their own social enterpreneurial venture! 

© YesKidzCan, 2011

YesKidzCan! is launching the first awards program to support kid social entrepreneurs — kids who takes the passion they feel about a cause and undertake a business-like activity that earns money (or provides other resources) to support that cause.

Apply for an Award . . . See the Benefits

Beginning in April, our Social KidPreneurz Awards Program invites kids in grades 3-5 (with an adult’s assistance) to apply for a $100 award to undertake a simple entrepreneurial activity to benefit society.  Many  kids already do social entrepreneurial activities.  Think of  the kids who open lemonade stands and donate the profits to a cause.  These are our youngest social entrepreneurs.  By exposing kids to this innovative field when they are young, we’re helping them to imagine more ways to solve problems.  We want kids to believe they can use the power of entrepreneurism to change the world for the better.

To apply for an award, an adult sponsor (parent, teacher, community/faith leader) with the interested kid simply download our Awards Application, answer  the 10 questions, and mail it to YesKidzCan! by June 1, 2011.  We will select 50 award recipients and notifiy them by June 15.  You can also tap into our easy, age-appropriate, and free Learning Tools  to get  more information about social entrepreneurism.

Work Together . . . Inspire Each Other

We know you are busy, but kids will need the support of an enthusiastic adult to do this kind of activity.  You will both reap the benefits including:

• Fostering kids’ imagination to create a project (large or small) that matches their interests with their passion for a cause;
• Providing kids with rich learning experiences in areas such as business planning, economics, and community service;
• Having a fun summer learning project or an after school, faith, or club activity; and
• Seeing how your kids value your participation and how they can inspire you throughout the process!

Help us build a foundation for tomorrow’s changes makers.  Apply for a $100 award with your kids today!

© YesKidzCan, 2011