I live with a teen. When she speaks, it can be difficult not to listen. She speaks frequently and loudly about topics that interest her — her friends, her music, her cell phone. I listen, but do I truly hear and act on what she is saying? Probably not often enough. Perhaps if those topics of interest were a bit more expansive…
That’s why I’m intrigued with Best Buy’s @15, a philanthropic endeavor that lets teens use their voices to make the world better. Last month, 500 teens directed $250,000 to four nonprofit organizations. In this sixth round of teen-directed giving, teens earned points by participating in online activities. They then donated points to the organization(s) they felt most closely connected to.
Last quarter, dollars were divided as follows:
- truth: $77,500 (31%): providing facts about tobacco products and the tobacco industry; letting teens make their own informed decisions.
- America SCORES: $65,000 (26%): helping kids translate the values of sports into other aspects in their lives.
- Room to Read: $62,500 (25%): establishing libraries, creating books in local languages, constructing schools and educating girls in Asia and Africa.
- YMCA: $45,000 (18%): responding to critical social needs.
A new quarter is now underway, and it is time for teens to earn points for the next $250,000 giveaway. From August to October, teens earn points by participating on at15.com. Then during a period in late October, they can donate their earned points to any or all of this quarter’s nonprofits. Finally, a quarter of a million dollars will be divided between the organizations based on their percentage of donated points.
The organizations competing for dollars this quarter are:
- Admission Possible: helping teens from low-income backgrounds work with peers and a full-time coach to earn college admission.
- j.k. livin foundation: helping teens lead active lives and make healthy choices so they can become great men and women.
- The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Líderes Initiative: elevating the influence of Latino youth as leaders in the U.S.
- TakingITGlobal (TIG): an online community that is helping young people transform their dreams into action.
I’m going to encourage my teen to log on, sign up and tell her friends to do the same, explaining that come October her voice will be very loud and that I (and a lot of other people) will be listening, hearing and acting on what her and her friends have said.
- Susan Stehling, MCF
