For most teenage girls, “Sweet 16” brings to mind an extravagant celebration of their sixteenth birthday. For 15-year-old Tori Pimentel, Sweet 16 is a way to give back to soldiers for serving our country.

Tori started Operation Sweet 16 as a way to raise money for soldiers who are in need of financial assistance. The money they receive is donated to Operation Once-In-A-Lifetime, which handles the distribution of the money for things like auto repair, medical bills, and necessary travel expenses for members of the armed forces.

Tori has a long history of wanting to help the less fortunate. When Tori was seven years old, she asked her parents to “make sure Santa gave any gifts he planned to bring her to children who needed them more than she did.” For her 10^th and 12^th birthday parties, she asked that people donate money to the Make-A-Wish foundation rather than bring presents.

Operation Sweet 16 operates, both by encouraging online donations, and by holding fundraising events. They partner with local businesses as well as business chains, such as the Southlake, Texas Chic-fil-A.

Operation Sweet 16 operates pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

The current fundraising goal of Sweet 16 is to raise $16,000 for troops and their families. So far, Tori has raised $7,098.92 of her goal (as of November 11, 2011).

The end date for this goal is Tori’s actual sixteenth birthday – March 16, 2012.

Operation Sweet 16 is also currently in the process of becoming its own 501(c)3 organization – which will grant it the status of a tax-exempt charitable organization.

Of the general population in rural areas of the U.S. 11.5% are veterans.

Of United States Armed Forces veterans aged 18 to 24, nearly 20% are below the poverty line.

It’s believed that most victims can’t emotionally deal with the social isolation which comes with being bullied.  Likewise, many bystanders don’t feel they can socially “afford” to help, lest they become associated with the victim, and become bullied themselves.   In her NY Times op-ed,  senior youth researcher at Microsoft Corporation, danah boyd further observed: “Owning up to victimhood requires <kids> to recognize themselves as a victim — or perpetrator — which requires a serious emotional, psychological, and social support, an infrastructure unavailable to many teenagers.”

What’s really interesting here, is the potential Generation Z bystanders have to offer that infrastructure of social support.  By way of example, students at Riverview High School (RHS) in New Brunswick, Canada put together a Facebook anti-bullying group page – which earned over 350 supporters in just an hour and a half.  Outraged at the bullying abuse suffered by one of their classmates, these GenZ kids organized a rally in just 24 hours which boasted over 250 attendees.

Common opinion right now is that we need to teach kids to move from an “innocent bystander” to an “active defender” as a bullying prevention measure – which is good because Generation Z adolescents and teens are characteristically not afraid to use their voice.  More to the point, at a recent KooDooZ Town Hall event entitled “The Power of Youth Voice – Solving The Problem of Cyberbullying” our teen panel unanimously articulated the importance of giving kids the lead on tackling the challenge of bullying, cyber-bullying and teen dating violence.  (See prezi presentation here)

There’s a gap between adult and youth perspective as to the “ownership” of this problem.  Kids see it distinctly as a youth issue, whereas adults feel they have to teach the kids how to cope.  While anti-bullying prevention programs provided in our schools are essential, they’re not enough to eradicate the problem entirely.  What will help though, is giving youth meaningful opportunities to engage with this issue themselves and take control.  Once this happens, I believe we will see 1) increased levels of youth engagement in the prevention of bullying abuse and 2) more young people prepared for their role as active defenders, capable of true social support.  (NOTE:  In the RHS student’s initiative to make their high school a bully-free zone, one student wrote: “It’s clear our school’s anti-bullying polices aren’t working as well as we’d like.  This is NOT a hate on anybody group, this is a change group.”)

Due to their interconnectedness with social technologies, school administrators and parents have to recognize that this new generation of thinkers has a unique ability to pivot, react and mobilize faster than do most adults.  Frustrated by in-action to overcome this challenge, I think we’ll start seeing more and more kids design their own bullying prevention and awareness campaigns.  Below are a few recent examples in North America alone:

THROUGH WRITING & MUSIC:

1. MAKINLEE BLACK 9-year old writer with a published work called “The Lonely Kid.” MaKinlee wrote this book to raise awareness of the bullying that occurs and hopes her efforts will help deter kids from bullying others.
2. KYLIE MORGAN 16-year old singer/song-writer dedicated a song: “It Matters What We Do” to Phoebe Prince who tragically took her life after being bullied by classmates. In the first 3 days of the song’s rough-cut, there were 76,000 views.  Kylie’s efforts to raise awareness to the issue of teen bullying earned her the opportunity to become a key-spokesperson for PACER’s Teens Against Bullying a non-profit dedicated to the same cause.
3. MICHAEL & MARIS 13-year old and 14-year old singers released a song: “The Same” and have donated half the song’s proceeds toPACER’s Teens Against Bullying.
4. TRISTAN MCINTOSH  11-year old singer whose song “You Can’t Take That Away From Me” speaks to kids about the importance of recognizing personality and character over popularity and appearance.
5. CODY SIMPSON 14-year old up and coming singer who has used his new celebrity status to speak out about bullying at his concerts. He has become the face of “Defeat the Label,” an anti-bullying organization.

THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA:

6. EMILY-ANNE 17-year old who founded her non-profit WeStopHate.com after being bullied by her peers in middle school with constant gossip and rumors. Additionally, Emily’s YouTube and Facebook page offer to support victims, and invite listeners who agree to the following: 1) don’t make fun of people who are different from you, 2) think positive – not negative thoughts – about yourself, and 3) pick friends who make you happy, not stressed.
7. SCARLETT AIKEN, REBECCA CHAPMAN, CHEYENNE RISNER At 16-years old these three friends founded “Now!NotNever,” a social media campaign with online tools to help victims of bullying.
8. JULIA KORDON 13-year old speaker/anti-bullying advocate who joined the fight against bullying last November by creating a Facebook page for a girl in North Dakota who committed suicide as a direct result of being bullied. She gained momentum to continue her efforts and created an organization called “The Bullying Ends Now.” Today she travels to schools to talk to students about bullying.
9. KATELYN SWANEY 15-year old combating cyber-bullying on Facebook. She came across a Facebook page categorizing people in her local town as “Nots.” She openly commented on her disapproval of the page and made comments of what she liked about each of the people declared a “Not.” She has also been in contact with Facebook to take down the page.
10. ASHLEY CRAIG 14-year old student in Wantage, NJ who started “Students Against Being Bullied” at her school. Her motivation to develop this group came from her personal experience with bullying and from a classmate who opened up to her about contemplating suicide as a result of being bullied. This program initiates a three-tier system including a texting system that serves as a report line, a peer support group, and a safe-haven classroom before school hours.

THROUGH LEADERSHIP & BY EXAMPLE:

11. TYLER PAGE 14-year old Tyler Page launched his non-profit, “Kids Helping Kids” to help others kids in need. Together with his mother, Tyler runs a leadership academy purposed to teach other students how to help one another. Most recently, the leadership academy has adopted Rachel’s Challenge as part of their curriculum which teaches social / emotional education that is both colorblind and culturally relevant.
12. PAIGE LOGAN High school student inspired to make a difference after personal experience being bullied in middle school. Now, she is one of fifteen members of the Illinois State Board of Education Student Advisory Council and continues to be an activist in the fight against bullying.
13. DAVID CYRUS a high school student who developed the idea for a group “United Students Against Bullying” whose motto is “I am here for protection, not rejection.” The group has sold logo wristbands to raise awareness among their peers and initiated a “Ranger Saver Program” for anonymous reports of bullying.
14. CARLY JO LAUGHERY Elementary school student organized a project to order and sell anti-bullying shirts that read, “I love love, I hate hate, Kids against bullying.”
15. MARCO MELGOZA 14-year old student who stood outside his school in protest of bullying. Marco earned the attention of Daniel Puder, an MMA star, and formed an alliance with him in order to confront the school board to take a stand on the issue.
16. LILLY BALDASSARE 14-year old appeared on “Dateline” to talk about her experience with bullying and how to stand up to other kids.

What opportunities are you giving GenZ kids to tackle the challenge of bullying?

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Interview Transcript

VOICE OVER

Homelessness is often called one of the great tragedies of contemporary society.  By and large, it’s also considered a humanitarian challenge that we have the potential and tools to overcome.

For those who don’t follow the issue closely, it may surprise you to learn that 1 out of every 3 homeless people are under the age of 18, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.  This translates to more than 1-million youth who experience homelessness each year in America.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness states “there are limited resources to help youth reconnect with their families, find safety from the streets, or provide the support needed to prepare for independent living.  Instead, youth are often left to fend for themselves, facing survival on the streets, recruitment by gangs, exposure to drugs, and sexual exploitation.  Thousands of youth who seek shelter are turned away each year.”

In April, 2011 Congress proposed a $121 million budget for their Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs and Congress is potentially looking to appropriate $135 million for fiscal year 2012.

Through this funding, KooDooZ founder, Lee Fox, was invited by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Centers (RHYTTAC) to develop a 6-hour workshop entitled:  Street Networks to Social Networks:  How New Media Can Bridge Kid To Community and Serve Runaway and Homeless Youth.  Lee’s clinic provides Homeless Services personnel with invaluable new ways to reach runaway and homeless youth through social media channels.   Her next clinic will take place in Seattle, on July 27^th, 2011.

My interview with Lee Fox on social media and homeless youth:

Q: What makes you an expert on homeless youth?

I’m not an expert on homeless youth, but I have spent the last 4 years working with kids from all walks of life.  More specifically, I consider my expertise to be broader.  My focus is on North America’s Generation Z.

Q: Explain:  who is Generation Z?

Today it’s kids roughly 16 years and younger whose world views have been shaped by such events as: Katrina, 911 and the recession.  And just like every other generation, GenZ is multi-faceted: sometimes described as altruistic, other times as self-absorbed.  But there is one thing that holds that generation together, and that’s social and new media.

                Q: So, your start-up, KooDooZ, is a social media for social good site.
Was it developed to serve vulnerable youth?

The quick answer is, no.  KooDooZ was conceived because I wanted something better for my own children online.  More specifically, I wanted to create an online space that would give them a call to action in the real world.  Essentially, intertwining virtual and virtuous spaces.  But during the KooDooZ entrepreneurial journey, I discovered that the organizations most receptive to my vision happened to be serve disadvantaged youth.  So even though my product was not developed for that population of children, (in fact it was more to serve them), the bi-product of speaking with anti-gang police coalitions, and my time with speaking with the kids at Boys & Girls Clubs and Police Activities Leagues afforded invaluable insights about underprivileged youth. 

Q: So what was your big take-away?

First and foremost: kids are kids.  Clearly a runaway or homeless youth faces different challenges than a “Leave It To Beaver” kid, but with the exception of youth who are battling addition or mental health issues, today’s youth, whether living on the streets, couch-surfing or in their homes – they all have the capacity to be digitally wired and online.  So I believe adults serving youth have to be able to connect with them in both places.

Q: But most runaway and homeless youth don’t want to be found, so what are they doing online?

They’re being kids.  They’re gaming.  They’re texting.  They’re hooking up.  They may not be using social technology exactly the way an everyday kids do — but just as the homeless have their street networks, there are online networks in which they hang out too.

Q: But how are they getting online?

Public libraries, schools, Starbucks, you name it.  In the past, digital divides were very specific.   We could draw a line in the sand around generations and socio-economic groups too.  But today, most public libraries across the nation have free internet access as well as computers for anyone to use.  Even families which can’t afford a home, find the resources for a cell phone – maybe a prepaid plan, to be sure.  But they’re still connected.  Homelessness does not equal offline.

Q: Let’s get back to you just said: “The homeless have their street networks and online networks too.”  What do you mean by that?

That old saying, “birds of a feather flock together” is just as true online as it is on the streets.  The trick of the trade for Homeless Services has always been to find the “street hang-outs” and then give the homeless information about how to get to a safe place.  So when I say “street networks to online (or social) networks,” that’s what I mean – find out where the homeless youth are online.

Q: So are you saying that this clustering together a characteristic of homeless youth?

Oh no, not at all.  I first learned of this fact from Nick Christakis, an acclaimed social scientist who wrote: “Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives” in which he documented the phenomenon of people with certain physical sizes self-selecting into groups online.  And then, more recently, dana boyd, a well known social media researcher, released a whitepaper which examines self-segregation online.

Q: And is there?

Sure.  You could almost call it “digital ghettos.”

Q: Go on…

Like that African-American and Latino teens tend to hang out more in MySpace while white and Asian teens hang out more in Facebook.  There are tiers — or ‘hoods —  within every space.  People within a self-selected population like to carve out and hang out in their own niche.

Q: Can you give a specific example of how homeless youth are self-selecting?

Sure.  Just a few months back there was an amazing finding by Eric Rice, who’s an assistant professor at USC School of Social Work.

He’s been studying social networking among homeless youth because he wanted to create interventions to combat risky sexual behaviors and drug-use within that population.

He figured – and rightly so – that social media was being used for “hook-ups.”  In other words, the kids could connect with drug-dealers, johns, gang members and so on at a much faster rate and easier rate.

But the ground-breaking part of his study, was that he also discovered that the social networks helped educate homeless youth about HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.  So if the kids discussed love online, they were less likely to engage in “exchange sex” (which is sex for drugs, housing, money or other favors).   And most significantly, the homeless youth were more likely to get tested for HIV and STIs if they saw a discussion about it from other members of their online community.

So in essence these social networks – just like street networks — are creating “trusted” spaces.  Part of my clinic discusses how Homeless Services staff can “listen” and when how to engage in these online conversations.  We go over social media tools and what works, generally speaking, by generation.

Q: Who opened your eyes to the plight of homelessness?

I’ve got a friend, Mark Horvath, whose name in the conversation of homelessness everyone should know.  Mark is a social media super-star, and was once homeless himself.  Between touring the country to interview and connect with the homeless, Mark also works as a case manager at a homeless shelter.

Q: What makes Mark a social media superstar?

Not too long ago, he launched WeAreVisible.com which teaches the homeless how to use social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.  He told me, “If we can just give a face to homelessness, they won’t be so invisible.”  And so by blogging and tweeting, and through video capture, Mark has helped the homeless share their experiences with the world, and open our eyes to the problem.

Q: And…

Sorry, but also, according to Mark, 100% of the sheltered homeless he meets are online and on Facebook.  “Online is still a human experience,” he says, “ it’s just online.”

Q: What was the feedback from the first clinic you ran?

Honestly, it was mixed.  Gen Y – which we all call the Millennials – are absolutely onboard with leveraging social technologies in their outreach.  But they’re still pretty fresh in their jobs, and not necessarily making the decisions for their agencies.

Most of the Boomer and GenX-er population are holding the reins of these organizations — and if they don’t value social media, I.E. they’ve never had a Facebook account and don’t Tweet — then nope… this isn’t going to necessarily translate.

Q: And in those cases?

The best I can do is point to the United Nations declaration that internet access is a basic human right.

From where I sit, that’s as big as saying social technology is the next defining step in the evolution of mankind.  And it really is changing how we all think and interact.

Q: Give me three take-aways from your clinic?

#1 Online can not replace real-world interactions.  If you’re serving youth (homeless or otherwise), you need to engage in both spaces, online and real-world.

#2 Social media engages a very wide audience.  Decide which conversations you want to be a part of, and which they don’t.

Q: Explain that point

One organization at my last clinic was newly attempting to help LGBT youth, but was weary of broadcasting this fact because of the conservative and religious leanings of that org’s donor-base.

See, Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Transgender youth make up a disproportionate number of homeless youth.  While 3% of heterosexual teens experience homelessness, as much as 1 in 4 gay teens and 15% of bi teens are homeless.  Because social media broadcasts like a TV station, organizations have to draw the line with social media policies as to which conversations they are comfortable joining, and which they are not.

Donors and clients are both out there.  Both can get “turned off” from what’s said.

 Q: And your last point?

#3 Experiment, adjust and stay agile.  It is unnerving that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution to social media engagement.  Take a long hard look at what your peers (or the competition) is doing.  Share with them, validate them and they will return the favor.  Ask your clients – especially GenZ — what they like and what they don’t.  They’ll tell you.  Don’t worry about making mistakes.  Everyone knows there’s a human behind the machine.

Lee, thank you.

Likewise.

Twelve year old Elliot Mast has been using his love of baseball to make a difference in the lives of sick children.

He got the idea to help his local Children’s Hospital after seeing a commercial about major league baseball player, Curtis Granderson, whose Grand Kids Foundation provides education and baseball opportunities to inner city youth.  As a means of fundraising for his Scoring For Schools initiative, Granderson asked his fans to pledge money for home runs, runs scored and extra base hits.

Elliot became inspired to do the same thing and decided to dedicate his baseball season to the kids at a local Children’s Hospital.  A member of the KooDooZ youth advisory board, Danielle Beauregard, interviews Elliot:

Elliot is no rookie player.  Last year he raised more than $5,000 dollars by playing ball!  Elliot plays pitcher, catcher and first basemen for two travel teams and logs on average 65 games a season.  This 12-year-old breaks records whether on the mound or on the plate-striking out more than 100 batters and hitting .500 last season.  That’s a lot of money batted in when he’s pledged to donate $2 for every base hit, $5 for every strikeout he pitches and $10 for every home run he hits.  If doing his best isn’t motivation enough, his best season thus far was last year when he dedicated it to the kids in the hospital.

All monies raised benefit the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation’s Give to Children and Child Life Programs, which aids ill children and their families while staying at the hospital and makes sure the child’s stay is fun and, according to Elliot, “not too scary.”  In the doctor-free zone, Child Life provides games, toys, video games, books and hosts events so the “kids can be kids and not just patients.”

Having been a patient himself, Elliot knows how important it is to have programs like the Child Life Program. Elliot was born with a club foot, and after being told he would never walk, Elliot underwent serious foot surgeries and procedures at the Pittsburg Children’s Hospital to correct his deformity.  Now that Elliot is better, he wants to give back to the hospital that helped him get on his feet and especially to the kids who are patients there.

In addition to raising money through his baseball performance, Elliot recruited the Altoona Curve, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A affiliate to host a fundraiser for Children’s Hospital.  He sent letters to businesses seeking sponsorship and collected silent auction items and sold raffle tickets. That night he raised $800.  Elliot also encourages kids everywhere to donate crafts and become a pen pal to a patient at the hospital.

Elliot has received a lot of support from his community and even from major league relief pitcher Jason Grilli, who used his business website, Wild Pitch Marketing, to promote Elliot’s mission.  In addition to Elliot’s blog, he uses all forms of social media to promote his efforts.  He has a facebook profile, uses twitter and posts videos on youtube to network and share his mission to help kids in the hospital.   In the future he wants to design and sell t-shirts to help raise money.  He’s always thinking of ways to fundraise for the Child Life program.

In the United States, about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, imagine how much money could be raised if all of us “pitched in and got involved,” by taking Elliot’s challenge this baseball season!

A true “un-conference” in its’ design and layout, Charles Lee — CEO and Founder of Ideation Consultancy– is committed to cultivating the best conversations in social innovation.  Look at the line-up of speakers and you’ll see a long list of people who have made radical impact on the world.  But the gem here is that the speakers are purposed to spark conversation, while the participants are meant to carry the dialogue. 

Through this approach, the conference enables attendees to consider the implementation ideas of our peers against or own organizational problem-solving practices. 

ideate. innovate. inspire. implement. invest.

“Innovation is changing from top-down genius to bottom-up social evolution driven by young people’s need to connect.”
~ Graham Brown mobileYouth

My presentation, this year, will focus on the pressing need I see for more non-profits to invest in cradle-to-career humanitarian impact opportunities (not just education) for kids — starting in early childhood and extending all the way thru college. 

The complexity of humanitarian issues do not have to forfeit youth involvement.  Young people feel they should have a say in the future and the world we will be living in, and not only suffer the consequences of previous generations.

No more slactivism, no more ageism.  More non-profits have to learn what their corporate counterparts already know:  empower youth to impact your brand destiny, for they are powerful allies to have, with global reach.

Social media and mobile phones have accelerated the global reach of us all, but with smart phones and computers in the hands of kids as young as 7 years old, the awareness and compassion to what’s happening in this world has heightened at a much earlier age for the connected generation.

More to the point, if mobileYouth is correct in their predictions, then within 5 years there will be more mobile-owning youth living in rural villages than people in the entire United States. 

The conversation I would like to spark at !deation is:  Why public and private sectors should build better dialogue with the grassroots of youth who are not facing humanitarian strife.

Anyone seeking to attend !deation can register for their “early bird” discount rates here, on or before March 11th, 2011.