Ten years ago, when he was six years old and his brother was diagnosed with leukemia, Daniel founded Cancer Fighters to the Rescue, a toy drive to provide Christmas gifts to children in his local hospital. When Daniel visited his brother in the hospital, he recognized that many children were not able to return home for Christmas. Daniel asked his mom, “I want to start a toy drive and I need your help. I want to bring Christmas to the kids in the hospital.” The first year, Daniel wrote a letter to over 200 of his neighbors and delivered his request for toy donations door to door in the Colorado snow.  Three hundred toys were donated the first year. In the following years, Daniel continued Cancer Fighters to the Rescue even after losing his brother from leukemia in 2016, delivering toys to the hospital only four days after his brother passed away. Every year, Daniel writes a letter to his community requesting toy donations for the hospital and personally delivers the letter door to door. More than 5,000 toys are now donated annually.

Additionally, in 2017, Daniel founded Big D's Warriors, an adaptive baseball league, also in honor of his brother as “he loved baseball more than anyone.” Daniel's adaptive baseball league provides special education children the opportunity to play competitive sports. Daniel enlists his friends to be “buddies” to the players, builds teams, and runs a spring training camp to give players an opportunity to learn the game of baseball. Daniel (12th grade, Colorado) lives his motto: “kindness starts with you.”

Harry and Heath Bennett (6th and 10th grade, Massachusetts) not only have passion and ingenuity, but they have the one thing that makes them successful, both as businessmen and human beings - compassion. Harry and Heath Bennett are the founders of the nonprofit, Bennett Brothers Balm. When their friend Timmy was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in May of 2016, he was 11 years old and Harry and Heath knew right away that they wanted to help out. They learned that cancer patients' lips and skin can get dry and chapped from chemo treatments, so Harry thought that they should start a lip balm company to raise money for cancer research. They started making handmade lip and body balms and selling them online and at craft fairs, 5Ks, and cancer fundraisers. The money they raise goes to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where Timmy was being treated and supports her research in pediatric Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Harry and Heath are currently working with a number of nonprofits across the country who are carrying their products, and they have had their lip balm included in chemo care pouches for breast cancer patients at 3 local cancer centers. Harry and Heath believe that they can make a difference and they have never let their age stand in their way. They hope to inspire other young people to give back. Harry believes “this work is important because friends help friends, it's just what you do." And, as Heath lives out: "You are NEVER too young (or old!) to help others. It makes everyone feel good. Together we can make a difference in the world!"

Summer (12th grade, Maryland) created Teens vs. Trafficking with a threefold mission: (1) to raise awareness about child sex trafficking in the United States; (2) to connect teens around the United States to their Members of Congress to urge them to pass anti-child sex trafficking legislation; and (3) to encourage other governmental and industry action to help combat child sex trafficking. Aligned with this mission, Summer and other students engaged in a letter writing campaign to urge House members to vote for a bipartisan bill titled the  “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017” and made phone and personal visits to members of Congress. Teens vs. Trafficking also worked to ensure that Congress reauthorized federal anti-trafficking legislation that had expired. The resulting Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act authorized millions of dollars over four years for a government-wide effort to fight sex and labor trafficking at home and abroad. Now, one of Summer’s current priorities is supporting congressional passage of the “Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act” that creates new incentives for the technology industry to combat online child sexual exploitation. 

Summer believes “caring means protecting the vulnerable and putting their needs above my own.”

In 2015, when Alex was in fourth grade, he noticed that some children in school did not have winter clothing for recess. He returned home from school and told his mom that day, “I need to learn how to knit so I can make scarves and hats for children who need to stay warm.” His mom took him to the store for yarn and Alex watched a video on knitting, and that year, Alex donated 200 hats, gloves, and scarves to children in need. When he was 9 years old, Alex founded Scarves 4 Cozy Kids, a charity that makes and donates scarves, hats, and gloves to local children in need. He has made (with the help of other volunteers) and distributed over 7,500 hats, gloves and scarves. His boxes of winter items are located in 22 schools and have been donated to more than 20 organizations. In addition to winter items, Alex organizes two year round collections (soda pop tops for Ronald McDonald House and used eyeglasses for the Lions Club) and he partners with a new organization every month to assist other causes such as collecting used cell phones for seniors and victims of domestic violence, used blankets and towels for Heavenly Paws and K9 animal rescues, old wedding dresses for Angel Gowns, school supplies for schools in need, personal hygiene items for the Haven, used coats for the Oakland County Coat Drive, used clothing for Grace Centers of Hope, can foods and non-perishable foods for Oxford/Orion Fish food pantry, and used building materials for Habitat for Humanity. 

Alex (9th grade, Michigan) recognizes that people are willing to help by repurposing things that they already have in their home for someone in need. Alex understood from a young age that the definition of caring is “helping others without a second thought without getting anything in return.”

Meagan (12th grade, Ohio) founded Books For Bedtime when she was only 11 years old. Her original goal was to put books into the hands of children who needed them throughout Central Ohio. Since 2015, she has collected and given away over 100,000 books to children and families in need throughout Ohio, from Cincinnati to Cleveland, as well as throughout the United States. Meagan makes it her mission to speak to each and every child, and to assist them in choosing books that “speak to them.” 

As Meagan engaged with children through Books for Bedtime, she realized that others were inspired by her work. In response, Meagan also created Changemaker Folders for children to complete, to find their passion, and to find their way to change the world for the better. Meagan has given away 20,000 Changemaker Folders to students throughout the United States and internationally (India and Africa) and inspired other students to create their own initiatives. Meagan has also given inspirational speaking presentations to tens of thousands of students and adults over the past five years. Meagan believes that caring is “having empathy for people and their situations, and going beyond nodding in agreement by actually helping them.”