4th Annual Classy Awards

Often times, issues surrounding young people are treated as a problems to be solved. generationOn believes that kids and young adults are perfectly positioned to be problem solvers. We don’t ask young people to ‘change’- we encourage them to ‘be the change!

GenerationOn was launched in October 2010 and represents a coming together of some of the nation’s best and most passionate organizations dedicated to empowering children and young people through service, service learning and philanthropy education. We are a global youth service movement igniting the power of all youth to make their mark on the world. Our mission is to inspire, equip, and mobilize young people to take action that changes the world and themselves through service.

By partnering with teachers, parents, schools, community organizations and businesses, generationOn gives kids the opportunity to see firsthand the issues in their communities and the tools and resources they need to respond and become part of the solution. We provide the structure, and the support and then we believe in what’s possible.

And, better yet- we know that kids and young people can transform situations and be transformed through service. Consider the following:

During generationOn’s “Make Your Mark Week” held October 16 – 22 2011, more than 100,000 service pledges were made by kids, teens, parents, teachers and organizations from around the country. Of these:

• 26,181 pledges were made for the environment
• 23,731 pledges were made for hunger
• 20,473 pledges were made for homelessness
• 19,126 pledges were made for literacy
• 10,939 pledges were made for animals.

And, the giving continued into the 2011 holiday season. Partnering with Hasbro and Toys for Tots, generationOn’s Holiday Gift Campaign again garnered over 100,000 pledges of service with a call to action that was both simple and fun; spread the joy so Hasbro can spread the toys!”

And they answered:

• 71,534 class or school pledges
• 31,716 nonprofit program pledges
• 5,311 family pledges
• 3,159 group or friends pledges
• 1,911 individual pledges

Because of their dedication to service and helping, Hasbro donated 118,000 toys to the Toys for Tots program making the holiday season a lot merrier for many families.

To be sure, we are elated by what generationOn has achieved in such a short period of time, but much work remains. There are millions of young people around the world who can and should contribute their talents, their passion, their enthusiasm and their voices to make the world (and their world) a better place.