Each one of us can be the change that makes a positive difference in this world. Choosing to participate can come in many forms, from small acts like treating others with respect or standing up for someone being bullied, to larger acts such as voting or volunteering for a cause that is important to you.

There are so many things you can do to make a difference. And you can start right now: When You Investigate Organizations...
Below are some organizations to help get you started as you think about participation. There are thousands of organizations around the world doing human rights and social justice work, and these lists offer only a small sample. Some of the organizations provide information, while others present the opportunity to see the ways people are choosing to participate. We are not endorsing those listed, nor advocating that you join or work with any of them. There are many ways to participate without being involved with any group or organization.

Any time you are considering joining or working with any organization, it is important to do careful research and ask key questions such as:
  • What is the reputation of this organization?
  • Has anyone you know worked with this organization, and if so, have they had a positive experience?
  • What are some of the strategies and approaches this organization uses? Do you agree with them?
  • Have you compared this organization to other organizations dealing with similar issues?
  • Does the organization's website clearly state its goals and mission?
  • What aspects of the organization's values and work do you agree or disagree with?
  • How is this organization funded and how much of the money goes directly to programs?
  • What specifically would you do for this organization? What role would you play?

Facing History and Ourselves Resources

Human Rights Organizations by Award Winner and Issue: Human Rights Organizations -- Other Issues: Human Rights Organizations -- General: *All links are listed in alphabetical order.


Facing History and Ourselves Human Rights-Related Resources
  • Facing History and Ourselves: Choosing to Participate. "Choosing to Participate is a multifaceted educational and civic initiative that challenges us to think deeply about what democracy means – and what it asks of each of us. An initiative of Facing History and Ourselves, Choosing to Participate has won nationwide praise for encouraging people of all ages to consider the consequences of their everyday choices and for inspiring them to make a difference in their own schools and communities." (http://www.choosingtoparticipate.org)

  • Facing History and Ourselves: Student Jessica S. In this video clip from the Facing History 2007 Los Angeles Benefit Dinner, Jessica talks about her experiences in the Facing History classroom and how it opened her worldview. She discusses her classmates and the Human Rights club they started together in their high school.

HIV/AIDS (Yinka Jegede-Ekpe)
  • CARE: HIV/AIDS. "Poverty is both a cause and consequence of HIV/AIDS. The impact of the disease is disproportionately high in the developing world, which is home to more than 95 percent of the estimated 40 million people infected with HIV/AIDS. In response to this global crisis, CARE strives to give people information and tools to protect themselves. We promote grassroots efforts to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS in poor communities, and help local organizations better respond to local needs." (http://www.care.org/campaigns/hiv.asp?source=&channel=)

  • Change.org: Stop AIDS in Africa. "Change.org is a social network for social activism, incorporating nonprofits, politicians, and people across the globe. Change.org aims to transform social activism by serving as the central platform that connects likeminded people, whatever their interests, and enables them to exchange information, share ideas, and collectively act to address the issues they care about." (http://www.change.org/changes/change_page/2)

  • Doctors Without Borders: HIV/AIDS. "Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been caring for people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries since the 1990s, and began offering antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in its programs in Cameroon, Thailand, and South Africa in 2000....MSF is currently providing ART to 100,500 patients in 32 countries: " (http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/hiv-aids/index.cfm)

  • Do Something: HIV/AIDS. "We hear about it almost everyday in some way or another, but how much do we really know about HIV/AIDS in our own backyard? As of the year 2000 (the latest year for which data is currently available) there were about 1 million people in the United States living with AIDS, one quarter of whom are unaware of their infection. About 40,000 people each year are newly infected with HIV and over half of them are under the age of 25. The only way to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS is to know the difference, understand how it is spread, and inform others about the importance of getting tested." (http://www.dosomething.org/node/20272)

  • Generation Why: HIV and AIDS. "There are 42 million people in the world right now living with HIV/AIDS, and 8,000 people dying of the disease every day. Around 95 per cent of these victims live in the developing world, and seven out of ten in sub-Saharan Africa. The spread of HIV/AIDS is accelerated by poverty, migration, conflict and gender inequality. If it is to be halted, it is essential that effective education is in place; that women and girls are given more economic rights, and better access to preventative measures, care and treatment; and that there is community support for HIV/AIDS sufferers." (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy/issues/hiv/)

  • GYCA (Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS) “GYCA is a youth-led, UNAIDS and UNFPA supported alliance of over 3000 young leaders and adult allies working on youth and HIV/AIDS in 150 countries world-wide. It was proposed by youth worldwide, including the youth attendees of the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok 2004 and XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona 2002. GYCA empowers young leaders with the skills, knowledge, resources and opportunities they need to scale up HIV/AIDS interventions amongst their peers.” (http://youthaidscoalition.org/pages.html?page=Background)

  • NetAid: HIV/AIDS. "The Global AIDS Pandemic is a leading challenge of our time. It affects over 40 million people worldwide, yet the full extent of the impact of HIV/AIDS is still not completely understood. Since HIV was first documented in 1981, over 25 million people have died of AIDS. In 2005, 4.1 million people were infected with HIV, roughly the same number of people living in the state of Colorado."(http://www.netaid.org/global_poverty/hivaids)

  • ONE. “ONE is Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life – united as ONE – to help make poverty history. As ONE, we are asking our leaders to do more to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE believes that allocating more of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the world's poorest countries.” (http://www.one.org/aids_poverty)

  • TakingITGlobal: HIV/AIDS. "TakingITGlobal.org is a global online community, providing youth with inspiration to make a difference, a source of information on issues, opportunities to take action, and a bridge to get involved locally, nationally and globally." Their website section on HIV/AIDS is very informative." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/themes/hivaids)

  • UNICEF Voices of Youth Campaign: HIV/AIDS."How can you help stop the spread of HIV? Almost 12 million young people are living with HIV today - and millions more are working to find a solution. Find out more.."(http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_aids.php)

  • youTHink (World Bank): AIDS. "Here you'll find information about global issues that matter to young people today. Explore the research, knowledge and experience gathered by World Bank experts on issues like poverty, development, and conflict." (http://youthink.worldbank.org/issues/aids/)

Women's Rights (Yinka Jegede-Ekpe)
  • Change.org: Empower Women. "Change.org is a social network for social activism, incorporating nonprofits, politicians, and people across the globe. Change.org aims to transform social activism by serving as the central platform that connects likeminded people, whatever their interests, and enables them to exchange information, share ideas, and collectively act to address the issues they care about." (http://www.change.org/changes/change_page/141)

  • Generation Why: Gender. "Of the 1.3 billion people worldwide in extreme poverty, 70 per cent of them are women or girls. Gender discrimination is a major cause of poverty and, in many poor countries, women still have great difficulties in getting a basic education, finding a job, or having fair control of household income." (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy/issues/gender/)

  • Idealist.org. "Over 45,000 nonprofit organizations from around the world use Idealist to list information about the work they do. This information includes their mission and how to contact them, volunteer opportunities, internships, resources, and services that they provide." (http://www.idealist.org/kt/)

  • TakingITGlobal: Women's Rights. "Welcome to the WAG - the Women's Art Gallery! Tour our gallery and explore women's issues in each room of this virtual environment. Every room has a theme - Language, Bodies, Global Inequalities, Feminism, Work, Resisting Violence - that contains artwork, photographs, and other objects revealing information on the subject." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/themes/women)

  • youTHink (World Bank): Gender. "Here you'll find information about global issues that matter to young people today. Explore the research, knowledge and experience gathered by World Bank experts on issues like poverty, development, and conflict." (http://youthink.worldbank.org/issues/gender/)

Conflict Resolution (Martin O'Brien)
  • Facing History video clip: Educating for Human Dignity--Learning to Participate. Educators from Iraq, Northern Ireland, South Africa and the United States discuss the challenges for education for human dignity in a globalized world at a Facing History and Ourselves and Harvard Law School conference. (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1031599238873654779)

  • Idealist.org. "Over 45,000 nonprofit organizations from around the world use Idealist to list information about the work they do. This information includes their mission and how to contact them, volunteer opportunities, internships, resources, and services that they provide." (http://www.idealist.org/kt/)

  • TakingITGlobal: Peace and Justice. "TakingITGlobal.org is a global online community, providing youth with inspiration to make a difference, a source of information on issues, opportunities to take action, and a bridge to get involved locally, nationally and globally." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/understanding/peaceandconflict)

  • TakingITGlobal: Intercultural Dialogue. (http://www.takingitglobal.org/understanding/diversity/dialogue)


Healthcare (Ernest Guevarra)
  • Doctors Without Borders. "Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been caring for people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries since the 1990s, and began offering antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in its programs in Cameroon, Thailand, and South Africa in 2000....MSF is currently providing ART to 100,500 patients in 32 countries: " (http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/home.cfm)

  • Generation Why: Health. "Good health is something that’s easy to take for granted. But when you consider that 6,000 children die of diarrhoea each day, or that 2.2 million people die every year from diseases caught from contaminated water, or that 40 million people in the world are infected with HIV, you start to realise that for many people in the world, illness is extremely serious." (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy/issues/health/)

  • Idealist.org. "Over 45,000 nonprofit organizations from around the world use Idealist to list information about the work they do. This information includes their mission and how to contact them, volunteer opportunities, internships, resources, and services that they provide." (http://www.idealist.org/kt/)

  • NetAid: Global Health. "Each day, 6,000 people die from HIV/AIDS. Every 30 seconds, an African child dies of malaria. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable. While the political will is beginning to coalesce to confront the ravages of HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, more public pressure needs to be applied to turn initial successes into long-term change." (http://www.netaid.org/act_now/global_health)

  • TakingITGlobal: Health and Wellness. "TakingITGlobal.org is a global online community, providing youth with inspiration to make a difference, a source of information on issues, opportunities to take action, and a bridge to get involved locally, nationally and globally." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/understanding/health)

  • youTHink (World Bank): Health. "Good health is an important foundation for economic growth and a thriving society. In the developing world, poor health produces a vicious cycle: the same conditions that create poverty put health at increased risk." (http://youthink.worldbank.org/issues/health/)

Justice and Discrimination (Vanita Gupta)
  • Facing History video clip: Student Raquel M.. Facing History student Raquel M. speaks at the 2006 New York Facing History Benefit Dinner about her experience as a student at the Facing History school in New York City. Raquel, who was one of the two students who interviewed Vanita Gupta for this website, reflects on her classroom experience, the profound impact the visit from Vanita had on her life, and her advocacy efforts regarding the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6639317519650670338)

  • Facing History video clip: Dr. Terrence Roberts. Dr. Roberts speaks at the 2007 New England Benefit Dinner about his experiences in 1957. When he was a 15 year old eleventh grader, Dr. Roberts and eight other African American students became known as the Little Rock Nine--the first Black students to go to a formerly segregated public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8943154966067027218)

  • ACLU—Stand Up!. "The mission of the ACLU is to preserve all of these protections and guarantees: *Your First Amendment rights-freedom of speech, association and assembly. Freedom of the press, and freedom of religion supported by the strict separation of church and state. *Your right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin. *Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake. *Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs." (http://www.aclu.org/standup/index.html)

  • Amnesty International KIDS. "AI Kids' Urgent Actions, which are often about young people, AIKids' Special Focus Cases, and AIKids' Holiday or Summer Card Actions provide unique hands-on human rights educational opportunities for the home or classroom. The monthly AIKids' Urgent Action offers teachers and parents a chance to introduce children to letter-writing as an empowering tool." (http://www.amnestyusa.org/aikids/)

  • CivilRights.org -- Student Activist Network. "A new student site that showcases critical student work in support of affirmative action and other important issues on campuses nationwide. The site will help students connect with one another in order to build a strong Student Activist Network. For students and driven by students, SAN encourages student activists to help shape content by submitting story ideas, news of activities on campus, and personal stories of activism." (http://www.civilrights.org/campaigns/student_activist/)

  • Do Something: Discrimination. "Are you discriminated against? Do you discriminate against other people? The answer to this question is probably yes. Your religion, race, height, nationality, disabilitiy, and even your gender are all factors that all people make quick judgements about when they meet someone new. Unfortunately, many of these judgements are based on biases and assumptions." (http://www.dosomething.org/causes/discrimination)

  • GenerationEngage. "GenerationEngage is built on three principles: Young people suffer not from a lack of interest, but from a lack of access; Our democracy should be a dialogue, not a monologue; The best investment we can make in the future of our democracy is in young leaders at the local level." (http://www.generationengage.org/index.html)

  • Generation Why: Democracy and Human Rights. "Oxfam's work on democracy and human rights concentrates on what is sometimes known as 'voice poverty'. This is when poor people are denied the right to influence the decisions that affect their lives. By tackling this subtle form of poverty, Oxfam helps the voices of the poor to reach policy makers." (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy/issues/democracy/)

  • Idealist.org. "Over 45,000 nonprofit organizations from around the world use Idealist to list information about the work they do. This information includes their mission and how to contact them, volunteer opportunities, internships, resources, and services that they provide." (http://www.idealist.org/kt/)

  • Mix It Up. "Mix It Up believes in the power of youth to create and sustain real change. We want to provide ideas and tools to help you break the walls of division in your school and community. Mix It Up is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program." (http://www.tolerance.org/teens/index.jsp)

  • TakingITGlobal: Social Justice and Human Rights. "TakingITGlobal.org is a global online community, providing youth with inspiration to make a difference, a source of information on issues, opportunities to take action, and a bridge to get involved locally, nationally and globally." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/understanding/socialjustice)


Youth (Arn Chorn Pond)
  • Change.org: Empower Youth. "Change.org is a social network for social activism, incorporating nonprofits, politicians, and people across the globe. Change.org aims to transform social activism by serving as the central platform that connects likeminded people, whatever their interests, and enables them to exchange information, share ideas, and collectively act to address the issues they care about." (http://www.change.org/changes/change_page/353)

  • CRIN for children. "This page is for you to learn about children's rights and issues relevant to children's rights, such as the environment, the internet, armed conflict, etc. Here you will find the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the international document explaining the rights of all children in the world, information about CRIN, and links to all sorts of games, quizzes and fun activities on children's rights issues." (http://www.crin.org/forchildren/index.asp)

  • Free the Children. "Free The Children is the world's largest network of children helping children through education. Through our organization's unique youth-driven approach, more than one million young people have been involved in our innovative programs in more than 45 countries." (http://www.freethechildren.com/)

  • Idealist.org. "Over 45,000 nonprofit organizations from around the world use Idealist to list information about the work they do. This information includes their mission and how to contact them, volunteer opportunities, internships, resources, and services that they provide." (http://www.idealist.org/kt/)

  • UNICEF Voices of Youth Campaign. "Voices of Youth is an Internet site created by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for young people who want to know more, do more and say more about the world. It's about linking children and adolescents in different countries to explore, speak out and take action on global issues that are important to them and to creating a world fit for children."(http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/rights/explore_rights.php)

Music and the Arts (Arn Chorn Pond)
  • Cambodian Living Arts. Cambodian Living Arts was founded by Arn Chorn Pond. "The mission of Cambodian Living Arts is to support the revival of Cambodian traditional art forms and to inspire contemporary artistic expression. We envision Cambodia in the year 2020 as a country experiencing a cultural renaissance so dynamic that the arts have become Cambodia’s international signature." (http://www.cambodianlivingarts.org/)

  • Darfur Drawn: The Conflict in Darfur Through Children’s Eyes. "On mission along the border of Chad and Darfur, Human Rights Watch researchers gave children notebooks and crayons to keep them occupied while they spoke with the children’s parents. Without any instruction or guidance, the children drew scenes from their experiences of the war in Darfur: the attacks by the Janjaweed, the bombings by Sudanese government forces, the shootings, the burning of entire villages, and the flight to Chad." (http://hrw.org/photos/2005/darfur/drawings/index.htm)

  • Music for Human Rights (Amnesty International-USA). "Music for Human Rights is your place at Amnesty International and on the web to learn about the issues and to take action to protect your rights and the rights of others. Find out what your favorite musicians are doing to spread the word and then join them in the fight for human rights." (http://www.amnestyusa.org/musicforhumanrights/index.html)

  • Rise Up Radio. Radio programs by youth, focused on youth activism. (http://riseupradio.org/index.php)

  • TakingITGlobal: Global Gallery. "TakingITGlobal's Global Gallery is a platform for artistic expression that aims to promote cross-cultural understanding worldwide." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/express/gallery/)

  • VH1 Save the Music Foundation. "The VH1 Save the Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in America's public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as a part of each child's complete education." (http://www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music/)

Environmental Issues
  • DO Something: Recycling. "The U.S. is #1! Unfortunately the U.S. is #1 in trash producing countries, producing about 1,609 pounds of trash per person per year and Canadians produce more garbage per person than almost any other country in the world. About 75% of what we throw away can be recycled, so why don't we start?" (http://www.dosomething.org/causes/recycling)

  • DO Something: Global Warming. "The U.S. is the world's leader when it comes to global warming--we are responsible for 25% of the worldwide carbon dioxide emissions today. Through various political campaigns and scientific debates, global warming has become a 'hot topic' for Americans. With continued global warming, our earth will face several detrimental effects including more floods and infectious diseases. Look ahead to the future--instead of waiting for this stuff to happen, why not act now to prevent them?"
    (http://www.dosomething.org/causes/global_warming)

  • Generation Why: Climate Change. Oxfam's website for youth. "Climate change is real and it's happening now. The international community has failed to seriously address climate change and this poses a major threat to the lives of people living in poverty." (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy/issues/climate_change/)

  • Global: Ideas: Bank. “The Global Ideas Bank aims to promote and disseminate good creative ideas to improve society. It further aims to encourage the public to generate these ideas, to participate in the problem-solving process.” (http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/home/)

  • Greenpeace USA Student Network. “The Greenpeace Student Network is an alliance of passionate leaders fighting environmental crimes with grassroots power. Armed with top organizing tools, expert guidance, and an innovative student training system, the Network gives you the chance to be a real force in a global movement for change.” (http://members.greenpeace.org/students/)

  • I Count. “If you care, count. It’s your voice, your choice. I Count will inspire people across the UK to take action. I Count is the campaign of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, the ever-growing coalition of more than 50 organisations, has over 700 years’ experience working for a safer, fairer world. Together we are millions of people - and counting.” (http://www.icount.org.uk/)

  • TakingITGlobal: Environment. "TakingITGlobal.org is a global online community, providing youth with inspiration to make a difference, a source of information on issues, opportunities to take action, and a bridge to get involved locally, nationally and globally." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/understanding/environment/)

  • US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Student Center. “The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment. Since 1970, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.” (http://www.epa.gov/students/)

  • World Changing. “WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.” (http://www.worldchanging.com/)

  • YouthCaN (Youth Communicating and Networking). “YouthCaN is a youth run organization that uses technology to inspire, connect and educate people worldwide about environmental issues. Through a network of conferences, activities and events we unite environmentally active youth to exchange ideas about the environment and empower others to make a difference in their own communities.” (http://youthcanworld.org/)

  • Youth Noise: Environment. "YOUTH NOISE is a web-based program created to motivate young people ages 13-18, to improve their lives and the lives of children and youth, worldwide, through volunteering, fundraising and speaking out."(http://www.youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=2233)

  • youTHink: Environment (World Bank). "The environment influences how people live and how societies develop. For that reason, people, progress, development and the environment are closely linked. The environment can also pose risks. Air pollution, waterborne diseases, toxic chemicals and natural disasters are some of the challenges the environment presents for mankind...Concern for a sound global environment is essential in fighting poverty, as the poorest people tend to live in the most vulnerable places." (http://youthink.worldbank.org/issues/environment/)

Genocide
  • Responding to Darfur: Facing History Resources. This collection of Facing History resources on the genocide in Darfur include video clips, links to organizations, and other content to bring into the classroom. (http://www.facinghistory.org/darfur)

  • Facing History video clip: Don Cheadle and John Prendergast on Darfur. Actor/activist Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) and journalist/activist John Prendergast speak at an event in San Francisco hosted by the Allstate Foundation and Facing History and Ourselves. They discuss their book, Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, as well as the ongoing problems in Sudan. (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4015895540758123309&hl=en)

  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum stimulates leaders and citizens to confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity, and strengthen democracy. A public-private partnership, federal support guarantees the Museum’s permanence, and donors nationwide make possible its educational activities and global outreach." The museum's website is an amazing resource. The Committee on Conscience (http://www.ushmm.org/conscience) is another resource to learn more about genocide and the prevention of genocide. (http://www.ushmm.org/)

  • Darfur Scorecard. "In 2004, Congress and President Bush declared the situation in Darfur to be genocide. The violence continues today. Members of Congress must turn their words into effective action to end the genocide in Darfur now! The Genocide Intervention Network's Darfur scorecard provides a quick summary of important anti-genocide measures and whether or not your elected official gave support, in both the Senate and House." (http://www.darfurscores.org/)

  • Genocide Intervention Network. "'I want to help protect civilians from genocide—but what can I do?' The Genocide Intervention Network envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities. Our mission is to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide." (http://www.genocideintervention.net/index.php). GI Net. "10 things you can do to stop genocide" (http://www.genocideintervention.net/advocate/tenthings.php)

  • Save Darfur. "The Save Darfur Coalition's mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of two million people in the Darfur region. We are an alliance of over 170 faith-based, advocacy and humanitarian organizations. The Coalition's member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur." (http://www.savedarfur.org/content)

  • STAND (Student Anti-Genocide Coalition). "STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, formerly known as Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, serves as umbrella organization for student groups active in promoting awareness advocating for an end to the current genocide in Darfur, Sudan and working to create a permanent anti-genocide student movement. It serves as a guide for student groups in high schools and colleges, helping them to develop their grassroots efforts for Darfur and anti-genocide activism, to unify their message and to coordinate efforts. STAND has become a student movement that encompasses over 600 college, university, and high school chapters across the United States and around the world." (http://www.standnow.org)


Hunger/Poverty
  • CARE Corps Teens. "CARE Corps Teens meets regularly throughout the school year for fun, interactive meetings, workshops and discussion groups. Together with your friends, you'll participate in fundraisers and other activities that help support CARE and spread the word about the work we're doing to fight global poverty. You'll also get some hands-on volunteer experience working on service projects in your community." (http://www.care.org/getinvolved/volunteer/teens/index.asp?)

  • Change.org: End Global Poverty and Change.org: End Global Hunger. "Change.org is a social network for social activism, incorporating nonprofits, politicians, and people across the globe. Change.org aims to transform social activism by serving as the central platform that connects likeminded people, whatever their interests, and enables them to exchange information, share ideas, and collectively act to address the issues they care about." (http://www.change.org/)

  • NetAid: World Hunger and NetAid: Global Poverty. "NetAid is a non-profit organization that educates, inspires and empowers young people to fight global poverty. Focusing our efforts on the U.S. and other wealthy countries, we're creating a movement of young people who are champions for the world's poor and engaged global citizens."(http://www.netaid.org/global_poverty/hunger)

  • ONE. “ONE is Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life – united as ONE – to help make poverty history. As ONE, we are asking our leaders to do more to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE believes that allocating more of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the world's poorest countries.” (http://www.one.org/)

General Information
  • Amnesty International USA -- Issues. "Amnesty International's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards." This page lists some of the main human rights issues and topics AI addresses. (http://www.amnestyusa.org/Our_Issues/page.do?id=1108051&n1=3)

  • Change.org. "Change.org is a social network for social activism, incorporating nonprofits, politicians, and people across the globe. Change.org aims to transform social activism by serving as the central platform that connects likeminded people, whatever their interests, and enables them to exchange information, share ideas, and collectively act to address the issues they care about." (http://www.change.org/)

  • Do Something. "Our website is a community where young people learn, listen, speak, vote, volunteer, ask, and take action to make the world a better place. Currently, only 23% of this generation actively volunteers. Our hope is to create a do something generation: a world where more than 51% of young people are involved with community action." (http://www.dosomething.org/)

  • Free the Children. "Free The Children is the world's largest network of children helping children through education. Through our organization's unique youth-driven approach, more than one million young people have been involved in our innovative programs in more than 45 countries." (http://www.freethechildren.com/)

  • GenerationEngage. "GenerationEngage is built on three principles: Young people suffer not from a lack of interest, but from a lack of access; Our democracy should be a dialogue, not a monologue; The best investment we can make in the future of our democracy is in young leaders at the local level." (http://www.generationengage.org/index.html)

  • Generation Why. Oxfam's website for youth: "Do what you love doing. Just change the world while you're doing it. Oxfam has loads of ways for you to get involved – from sporting challenges to club nights, and from volunteering at a festival to campaigning. And that's why we've put this site together – so you can get involved with the things that you love and help fight poverty while you're at it." (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy/index.htm)

  • Global Youth Action Network. "GYAN is a youth-led organization that unites the efforts of young people working to improve our world. GYAN works to facilitate youth participation and intergenerational partnership in global decision-making; support collaboration among diverse youth organizations; and to provide tools, resources, and recognition for positive youth action." (http://www.youthlink.org/gyanv5/index.htm)

  • Global Youth Connect. "GYC's mission is to build and support a community of youth who are actively promoting and protecting human rights, and to educate and inspire the next generation to work for peaceful change." (http://www.globalyouthconnect.org)

  • Idealist.org. "Over 45,000 nonprofit organizations from around the world use Idealist to list information about the work they do. This information includes their mission and how to contact them, volunteer opportunities, internships, resources, and services that they provide." (http://www.idealist.org/kt/)

  • iEARN. "Started in 1988, iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) enables teachers and youth worldwide to collaborate on projects that both enhance learning and make a difference in the world. Young people can join the full network (http://www.iearn.org) by way of a teacher, or get involved directly in projects like the PEARL World Youth News Service (http://www.pearl.iearn.org/pearlnews/) or YouthCaN http://www.youthcanworld.org/, a global network of young environmental activists." (http://www.iearn.org)

  • Interfaith Youth Core. "The Interfaith Youth Core aims to introduce a new relationship, one that is about mutual respect and religious pluralism. Instead of focusing a dialogue on political or theological differences, we build relationships on the values that we share, such as hospitality and caring for the Earth, and how we can live out those values together to contribute to the betterment of our community.” (http://www.ifyc.org/about_core.php)

  • NetAid. "NetAid is a non-profit organization that educates, inspires and empowers young people to fight global poverty. Focusing our efforts on the U.S. and other wealthy countries, we're creating a movement of young people who are champions for the world's poor and engaged global citizens."(http://www.netaid.org/)

  • TakingITGlobal. "TakingITGlobal.org is a global online community, providing youth with inspiration to make a difference, a source of information on issues, opportunities to take action, and a bridge to get involved locally, nationally and globally." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/) You may also want to check out their "guides to action." (http://www.takingitglobal.org/action/guide/Guide_to_Action.pdf)

  • think MTV. "think MTV seeks to inform and engage our audience to take action on the domestic and global issues they care about most. Whether it is education, sexual health, discrimination, the environment, or any relevant issue, young people have the power to make a difference and think MTV is the place to go to find out how to make it happen." (http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/)

  • UNICEF Voices of Youth Campaign. "Voices of Youth is an Internet site created by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for young people who want to know more, do more and say more about the world. It's about linking children and adolescents in different countries to explore, speak out and take action on global issues that are important to them and to creating a world fit for children."(http://www.unicef.org/voy/voy.html)

  • youTHink (World Bank). "Here you'll find information about global issues that matter to young people today. Explore the research, knowledge and experience gathered by World Bank experts on issues like poverty, development, and conflict." (http://youthink.worldbank.org/getinvolved/)

Volunteer Opportunities
  • Do Something. "Our website is a community where young people learn, listen, speak, vote, volunteer, ask, and take action to make the world a better place. Currently, only 23% of this generation actively volunteers. Our hope is to create a do something generation: a world where more than 51% of young people are involved with community action." (http://www.dosomething.org/volunteer)

  • Generation Why. Oxfam's website for youth: "Do what you love doing. Just change the world while you're doing it. Oxfam has loads of ways for you to get involved – from sporting challenges to club nights, and from volunteering at a festival to campaigning. And that's why we've put this site together – so you can get involved with the things that you love and help fight poverty while you're at it." (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy/index.htm)

  • Idealist.org. "Over 45,000 nonprofit organizations from around the world use Idealist to list information about the work they do. This information includes their mission and how to contact them, volunteer opportunities, internships, resources, and services that they provide." (http://www.idealist.org/kt/)

  • VolunteerMatch. "There are hundreds of ways to help out. With VolunteerMatch, it's never been easier to find a rewarding way to give back and make a difference. We make it easy for you to find a volunteer opportunity that fits your interests, skills and schedule." (http://www.volunteermatch.org/)

  • Youth Noise. "YOUTH NOISE is a web-based program created to motivate young people ages 13-18, to improve their lives and the lives of children and youth, worldwide, through volunteering, fundraising and speaking out." (http://www.youthnoise.com/)


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