John Schlimm - Stand Up!: 75 Young Activists Who Rock the World and How You Can, Too!

Stand Up!

75 Young Activists Who Rock the World

And How You Can, Too!

Edited and Introduced by

John Schlimm

Copyright 2013 by Publishing Syndicate LLC

Cover and book design by Publishing Syndicate

Cover art: Allison Carmichael

Published by

Publishing Syndicate

PO Box 607

Orangevale California 95662

www.PublishingSyndicate.com

www.Facebook.com/PublishingSyndicate

Twitter: @PublishingSynd

Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-9850602-9-9

Library of Congress Control Number 2013907711

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used for reviews.

To all the young people out there

wondering what is possible in this world

here is the answer...

Introduction

YOU inspire me!

It is your energy, your talents and your enthusiasm that motivate me. It is your limitless imagination, creativity and bright smile that encourage my own work as an activist. And it is your strength and courage in facing everything that is thrown at you as a young person in todays world that gives me the strength and courage to embrace compassion in everything I do.

When we embrace compassion in our lives, personally as well as at school and at work, we move the world ahead in a positive direction. When we stand up and take action, we move ourselves and those we are helping along a road that will eventually lead to places of which we have only ever dreamed.

The following stories, at their core, are about embracing compassion by using lifes many gifts and challenges to help others and the planet to move forward. Stand Up! will take you on awesome adventuresfrom Africas highest mountain peak to the rainforest; a ship at sea to a city full of puppets; digging in tasty school gardens to rocking the classroom in places like Africa, Pakistan, India, Peru, Colombia, Afghanistan and the U.S.; trick-or-treating with a mini Darth Vader to an iconic lemonade stand; building fresh water wells and soccer fields in developing nations to painting a unity mural and sleeping in a cardboard box in the snow; saving cheetahs, sea turtles and farm animals to honoring heroic soldiers; and so many other special missions of Olympic-sized proportions.

Within these pages, you will meet todays most dynamic young leaders, who started their work as young as three years old. They will entertain and inform you with stories about how they are forging the road to a better world, and how you can, too.

Stand Up! is a place where suffering, hardships, stereotypes, inequality and injustice are transformed into hope and new beginnings.

Your generation has already revolutionized what compassion in the world means: You do not see challenges, but only opportunities to help. You do not see whats impossible, but instead declare that anything is possible. You do not see a problem, but rather a call to action. Simply put, you are living, breathing compassion at its very best!

Your generation has already moved the world ahead in this way. Stand Up! is my gift to youa tribute to you and the bright future you represent for all of us.

As you read these stories and set off on your own adventures to save the worldone opened heart and mind at a timeI want you to always remember:

*You have many gifts to share, so discover what those gifts are and use them to stand up for what you believe in.

*You have the power to do anythingANYTHING!!!you set your mind to.

*You must put one foot in front of the other no matter what, and always move forward.

*You, my friend, are a superhero. And I am your biggest fan!

~~ John Schlimm

Contents

(what they say about Stand Up! )

Chapter 1: Giving the Gift of Awesome

by Brittany Bergquist, co-founder of Cell Phones for Soldiers

by Annie Wignall Foskett, founder of The Care Bags Foundation

by Jeffrey Shrensel, M.D., friend of Mischa Zimmermanfounder of Kids Helping Kids

by Ashlee Smith, founder of Ashlees Toy Closet

by Tanner Smith, founder of Tanners Totes

by Raymond Mohler, founder of Little Saint Nick Foundation

by Kameron Pace Tyson, founder of Soldier On

Chapter 2: Superpowers Activate!

by Susie Doyens, Sargent Shriver Global Messenger for Special Olympics

by Arielle Schacter, founder of bf4life-hearing

by Hiawatha Clemons III, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and fellow at The Mission Continues

by Claire Wineland, founder of Claires Place Foundation

by Josh Goldenberg, founder of The Joshua Project Foundation

Chapter 3: Winning Teams

by Lindsey Eaton, ambassador for Best Buddies International and advocate for the Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign

by Lexi Kelley, founder of Kids Helping Kids Connecticut

by Danielle Liebl and Kaitlyn Smith, Special Olympics youth leaders

by Carter Ries and Olivia Ries, founders of One More Generation

by Carrie Sandstrom, SADD National Student of the Year

by Giovanna Guarnieri, co-president of School Girls Unite Chapter

by Mariah Smiley, founder of Drops of Love

Chapter 4: The Adventure Seekers

by Tyler Armstrong, mountain climber and advocate for CureDuchenne

by Janine Licare, co-founder of Kids Saving the Rainforest

by Peter Larson, advocate for Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners The Sleep Out

by Nate Neff, co-founder of Charity@Sea

by Talia Y. Leman, founder of RandomKid

Chapter 5: Tasty Activism

by Kirsten Gerbatsch, FoodCorps service member

by Birke Baehr, advocate for local/organic food and regenerative farming

by Ryan Hreljac, founder of Ryans Well Foundation

by Abigail Phillips, FoodCorps fellow and service member

by Sabine Teyssier, co-founder of Teens Turning Green Chapter and co-founder of Project Lunch Club Chapter

by Patrick Scott, brother of Alex ScottAlexs Lemonade Stand Foundation

Chapter 6: Open Your Mind, Change the World

by Kyle Weiss, co-founder of FUNDaFIELD

by Cortez Alexander, advocate for Dreams For Kids

by Karen, Daniela and Stephanie Carvajalino, motivational speakers and entrepreneurs

by Maher Alhaj, activist, writer and artist

by Mariama Taifa-Seitu, animal and agriculture activist

by Natasha A. Abdin, founder of The Abdins Center for Empowerment

Chapter 7: Power to the People

by Dallas Jessup, founder of Just Yell Fire

by Daniel Kent, founder of Net Literacy

by Isabella Gelfand, member of Girls Learn International

by Neha Gupta, founder of Empower Orphans

by Abi Whitmore, Alicia Nikifarava, Aspen Bellefeuille, Joanie Ellis, Jordan Pittman and Marissa Shevins, with Roweena Naidoo

Chapter 8: ROCK Your Passion!

by Paul Shapiro, founder of Compassion Over Killing and vice president of Farm Animal Protection for The Humane Society of the United States

by Ashlee Kephart, founder of Kids For A Better World

by Jack Kim, founder and CEO of Benelab

by Kasey Dallman, reporter for Amazing Kids! Magazine

by Samantha Huffman, Unified Partner for Special Olympics and former member of the National Youth Activation Committee for Special Olympics Project UNIFY

by Syreeta Gates, founder of The SWT Life and Just BE Cause

Chapter 9: Heal the World

by Nada Abdallah, advocate for Arab American Family Services

by Ana Dodson, founder of Peruvian Hearts

by Hannah Katz, advocate for Kids Helping Kids Connecticut