Soles for Kids: AfG Youth Giving Back

Children living in poverty lack many of life's most basic necessities, including a good pair of shoes. Three Allowance for Good youth chose to tackle this issue and give more children across the world the comfort of a good pair of shoes.

Charlie, Danny, and Tim participated in Allowance for Good's Fall 2015 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

After their participation in the ELP program, Charlie, Danny, and Tim decided to start their own project - a shoe drive for Soles for Kids. Soles for Kids is an incredible charity that collects used, not abused, shoes and soccer balls to distribute to children worldwide. They have distributed shoes to children in need in Africa, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the United States.

The three AfG youth organized a shoe donation drive at York High School during a basketball game, where they collected 72 pairs of shoes. They also raised $75 to put towards shipping costs.

All the shoes they collected were given to Soles for Kids and sent to children in Tanzania. These young men acted as agents of change in their community, and their efforts will have significant effects far from their homes. Allowance for Good is proud to see them serving as global citizens and making a difference in the lives of many children.

If interested in running your own shoe drive, you can find more information about donating to Soles for Kids here.

Creating Local Change through Community Foundations

By: Ben

Ben is participating in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

"I am a Catalyst for Good because...everyone deserves to be treated with respect." - Ben

What is a community foundation? What did you learn about the DuPage Foundation from Barb Szczepaniak? What did you learn about DuPage County that surprised you? How did the activity help you understand the grant making process? How can you help your community thrive? 

I learned from Barb Szczepaniak that a community foundation organizes and gives out grants to organizations aimed to help the less fortunate. Barb taught us many things about how her committee gets together and decides how much to donate to certain organizations who reached out for money, and how much of their demand they are willing to pay. I was very surprised to learn that the federal poverty level is 20,000 a year but a typical family needs a bare minimum of 63,000 a year to just get by. And I learned that that is where Barb aims to help out, the gap in between.

The activity made me understand how difficult the grant making process could be for those deciding where the money goes to. I learned that by donating to the community foundation I can make a difference by giving the people in the grant process able to give more money to more organizations in need of financial support. By doing this I can focus on helping, and focusing on making change in my own community.

Striving towards an Education for All

By: Luke

Luke is participating in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

"I am a Catalyst for Good because...all people have the right to food and education." - Luke

My name is Luke and I’m in Allowance for Good program, I have learned what are the human rights and that they were developed by the United Nations. What struck me was that the United Nations had to develop the human rights because some countries didn’t provide basic needs for their people. There are kids in Africa that don’t have water and food. Another example is certain countries don’t educate their girls and there are extremist who bomb schools to prevent girls from going to school. The extremists don’t want girls to learn because they will learn how to make a stand against the radical ideas.

I’m passionate about my sports and fortunate to compete in baseball and lacrosse. I don’t have to worry about basic needs and my school being bombed. I want all kids to grow up not worrying about their next meal, having water and be able to walk to school without being afraid of being hurt.

Allowance for Good has inspired Matt and I to start a project for Nicaragua. The project will raise money for kids in the country that don’t have a proper education. Many of the children fail to reach the 6th grade and one third never have the chance to enroll in elementary school. If you are interesting in donating to this cause, you can email my mom at randarbarber@gmail.com.

A Small Amount, A Big Impact

By: Blair

Blair is participating in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

I learned this week in our financial literacy lesson that the extra money we spend on eating out, buying toys, and living through our daily lives adds up to a lot of money. Money that goes a long way in other people’s lives across the world. I realized this week that most people who live comfortably in our world with little to no financial problems don’t know how much of an impact even a dollar can do. People all over the world live in so much poverty that even a dollar could help them get enough food for their family. If we as a society realize how much extra money we spend on items we don’t even need and instead donate them to these hungry and starving kids, the impact would probably be as big as having almost every kid in poverty go to bed every night with a full belly. I encourage every person in the world to stop and think about if you really need this pointless item you are about to buy, and the impact it would have on others if you donated the money to charity instead of buying the item.  

"I am a catalyst for good because...I will improve the basic education around the world" - Blair

ELP Elmhurst class brainstorming.

ELP Elmhurst class teacher  Jeanne leads discussion.

Making Everyone Feel Part of the Community

By: Matthew

Matthew Miller is an 8th grader at Sandburg Middle School. He is participating in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

I have volunteered at my local PADS shelter at my synagogue, Access Sports for 3 years, and a summer camp called Service Squad, which involved a different service project each day. I have also volunteered at Feed My Starving Children a number of times. 

ELP Elmhurst class led by Jeanne.

"I am a catalyst for good because... all children have a right to primary education." - Matt Miller

My passion is working/playing with children in our community that have disabilities. I feel it is somewhat our duty to make them feel like they are one of us. Access Sports (out of Elmhurst) gives these kids the opportunity to play, and the opportunity for those who want to help, to help. You can sign up for one sport over one season, and each week you choose a kid to work with. You start off by working on skills, and then at the end there is a game. I have done this for 3 years now, and I plan to do it for much longer. These kids love to play, and it makes them feel a part of the community. There is a kid in my grade with Down Syndrome, that some of my friends and I love to work with and play with. We would switch off in gym class to play with him, and the smile on his face makes all of our days. The feeling of making someone feel special or just happy can make you feel the same way. 

In the future, I plan on volunteering at a Special Ed class and helping out there for a while, and also help out as much as I can around my community. A cause that I support is that all the kids, with disabilities or not, should all feel like they are worth the same amount in their community.