Wow. Just wow.
I spent 2 hours today (along with Melissa Rowley) being a “Speed Catcher” at the Do Something Boot Camp in Los Angeles. The format is pretty simple: all day today, about 100 young people have undergone a crash course in community organizing, fundraising and pitching their causes. The purpose? To create the next generation of social activists or “social entrepreneurs” – which is activists that make a profit while fighting for change.
Do Something is an organization on a mission – COO Aria Finger spoke to the group here today and outlined the big idea: “We want to see 2 million young people to take action for social change in 2011.” She added: “We think there will be about 1.2 million this year, so we’ve got a way to go. But we think it can happen.”
If the group that gathered in LA today is any indication, I believe they can do it.
Today, I met a 23 year old who’d spent 3 years (from 15 to 18) in CA correctional facilities, and is determined to create better programs to help juveniles return to society, or maybe stay out of prison altogether.
… a 17 year old high school student who’s committed to bringing inspirational speakers, at both the peer and mentor level, to try to inspire kids to finish school.
…and a recent college graduate who is creating an empowerment program for young girls in honor of a friend of hers who was tragically killed just a few years ago.
The format is easy to understand. The Young Folks have spent all day learning and training. They get to spend the last 2 hours pitching the Old Folks (anyone over 25 counts as an “old folk” so don’t fear for your own mortality, okay?). In turn, the old folks give them critical feedback on their pitch, and help the kids sharpen their skills as they go out to change the world.
All well and good. There were about 50 of us and 100 of them, so each of the old crowd spent about 4 minutes per “Speed Pitch”. At the break, I had interviewed and given feedback to five of the youngsters and was feeling pretty self-satisfied. It’s a good feeling to be helping, right?
Then I met Jonas.
He wasn’t by himself, of course. You can’t just let a 7-year-old wander around amidst a couple hundred people. He was guided by the daughter of one of his Mom’s friends. A much older and wiser 15 or so.
Jonas was a little shy. I was his first interviewer. So instead of pitching, he just answered my questions:
Q: So, Jonas, why are you here”
A: I’m helping homeless kids. I help them with my Mom, and I wanted to get them stuff.
Q: What kind of stuff?
A: We get them toys, clothing, school supplies, food. Kids don’t even have toys to play with.
Q: How old are you, Jonas?
A: I’m 7. I started doing this when I was 6.
Q: Wow. Your Mom must be so proud of you… Well, how do you get the toys and stuff to give to kids?
A: Donations mostly. We raise money, too.
Q: And how do people find out about you?
A: We give out these cards (chaperon gives me a card).
Q: Cool! And how many kids have you helped like this so far?
A: About 15,000.
15,000.
I’m sure we both said other things. But I can’t tell you what. There was too much blood rushing in my ears at that point.
My team does work every day that helps some charity somewhere. Not to say I’m jaded about it, but I do hear from and meet a lot of inspiring people. But this 7-year-old boy took my breath away. Go take a look at his site, and help him out if you can.
As for me, I’m fired up about the future, and looking forward to the next wave of “Social Entrepreneurs”. WhatGives!? is covering the red carpet for the Do Something awards Monday evening. We’ll be interviewing celebs like Matt Damon and Edward Norton about their contributions to social good. That will be a blast, and I expect it’ll be inspiring too – it’s great to see folks using their natural gifts in the name of a good cause.
But not one of them will hold a candle to Jonas.
(Photo credit to Melissa Rowley. Thanks M!)
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Tags: Activism, Do Something, DoSomething.org, nonprofit, Social Activism, social good, Youth
What a kickass story to blog about! I agree. A lot of amazing stuff happens at these bootcamps. Even as a "young person" by Do Something's standards, I am still inspired by the 13-year-olds that I run into, who are trying to change the world. Rock on!
How awesome is Jonas? Only Uber Awesome! People who are compassionate and motivated to do something to better this world are GOOD people. But, kids who serve beyond their means and expectations are REMARKABLE. All the best to Jonas and his family.