Today's youth are increasingly aware of global issues and are more connected to those issues through technology, writes The Wichita Eagle, and Web sites such as Disney's Club Penguin are teaching young people how to move from "awareness to action." Read more.

Inspired by Hoops for Hope, the charitable brainchild of Arizona teen Austin Gutwein, four students at Memorial-Spaulding Elementary School in Newton, Mass., launched a free-throw fundraising campaign to help support AIDS relief efforts in Zambia, reports the Newton TAB. Read more.

Today's youth are increasingly aware of global issues and are more connected to those issues through technology, writes The Wichita Eagle, and Web sites such as Disney's Club Penguin are teaching young people how to move from "awareness to action." Read more.

By raising one nickel, dime, or quarter at a time, students are turning their "drops in a bucket" into clean water for Kenyan villages, and in the process they're learning that small donations can amount to big change for the health and education of children in developing countries, reports the Star Tribune. Read more.

As a former foster child, Annica Trotter understands all to well what it takes to successfully transition from the foster system to adulthood, writes USA Today, and she puts her firsthand experience to use in the Aging Out Initiative to guide other youth as they move toward independence. Read more.

Children as young as three years old understand the concept of generosity, and by encouraging young children to donate a portion (usually 10 percent) of their allowance to a cause of their choice, they learn the importance of -- and a lifelong appreciation for --the value of giving, reports The Ledger. Read more.

In an opinion column in the New York Daily News, former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell, who grew up in the South Bronx and remembers the influence of his teachers, calls on all Americans to complete their mission of raising children with the Five Promises: "caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education, and opportunities to help others." Read more.

As summer interns tasked with soliciting proposals and awarding $50,000 worth of grant money to area youth programs, teens in the North Hills region of Pittsburgh, Pa., are learning the value of helping others, which ideally will inspire them to carry philanthropic ideals into adulthood, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Read more.

Nearly 1,000 mentoring hours per student have turned around behavior and attendance problems at Bethune Middle Academy, reports The Shreveport Times, where a women's group donated more than $100,000, volunteered its time, and opened a resource center. Read more.

The Songs of Love Foundation composes and records 250 custom songs a month for youth fighting serious illnesses, reports USA Today, with vocal contributions from such celebrities as Michael Bolton and Nancy Sinatra. Read more.

In the hopes that all teenagers will be able to enjoy the high school rite of passage that is prom night, Hollywood actress Sharon Stone, with sister Kelly, hosted a charity prom that raised $150,000 and "secured more than 2,000 dresses and shoes," many by top designers, writes the Los Angeles Times. Read more.

"Doing good can become a habit," writes Caroline Kennedy in Time magazine. And that is exactly what the City Year Young Heroes program hopes to achieve by introducing middle-school students to social issues and providing opportunities for community service. Read more.

Rap stars and credit scores may sound like an odd mix, but the Hip Hop Summit Action Network is attracting cash-strapped 18- to 30-somethings seeking financial empowerment from sources other than conventional advisers, writes USA Today. Read more.

Growing from a temporary space on a city street to a 6,500-square-foot concert center, art gallery, and recording studio in the Seattle Center, the new donor-funded Vera Project now offers aspiring teenage musicians a permanent home, reports The Seattle Times. Read more.

The 100 best communities for 2007 -- selected from among more than 750 communities, representing localities large and small, urban and rural -- show how going the extra mile can make a tremendous difference in the lives of America's youth. Read more.

This standards-based interdisciplinary curriculum, recently awarded Best of the Web by TeachersCount.org, uses popular song lyrics to engage students, stimulate critical thinking, and raise awareness of important environmental, historic, social, and political issues. Visit learningfromlyrics.org.

Are you part of a community collaboration making strides in reducing the high school dropout rate?  You may be eligible for the Pew Foundation's 2007 Civic Change Award -- and a $2,500 cash prize. Learn more.

The lives, beliefs, and aspirations of Generation Next -- the technologically advanced young Americans who have grown up with computers, cell phones, and Internet access -- are compared with those of Generation X, baby boomers, and seniors in a report drawing from data conducted by the Pew Research Center. Read more.

Forget what you thought you knew about 16- to 25-year-olds.  Journalist Judy Woodruff traveled across the country to gauge the beliefs, strengths, and concerns that galvanize "Generation Next."  The PBS documentary begins airing today.  Find local listings.

Some 15 million children are lacking access to much-needed afterschool programs. According to a report conducted by the Afterschool Alliance, afterschool programs are serving a "high-need population, serving more children than expected, and struggling to maintain their funding." The report, "Uncertain Times: Funding Insecurity Puts Afterschool Programs at Risk," concludes that "many afterschool programs are fully subscribed," but that "long-term sustainability" is necessary to reach the many youth and families who require such assistance.

In the excellent new blog, www.sharingwitness.org, Save the Children's president and CEO, Charles MacCormack, asks: "With the well-being of children invoked by politicians of all stripes throughout the campaign season, will they be remembered when the polls close?... No single vote is likely to tip the balance of an election, nor a single donation likely to change the world. But these moments of participation are critically important because they make us all stakeholders." Read "The Challenge of Nov. 8."

Consider this: An 11-year-old girl's trick-or-treat fundraising program raised millions of dollars for Hurricane Katrina relief; a 16-year-old boy works to protect endangered sea turtles. These two young people and eight other inspiring youth were recently recognized for making "a significant positive difference to people and our planet." Recipients of the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes each receive $2,000, which they can use for college or to continue their important service work.

Even before the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans school system had plenty of problems.  Reportedly, 107 schools were below the state education average.  However, since the storm, dedicated individuals have stepped up to rebuild the school system as part of larger efforts to restore the city.  On the SharingWitness website, Bill Shore of Share Our Strength tells how principal Mardelle Early has gone to extraordinary lengths to rebuild her elementary school of 372 students.  "At Mardelle's school we found one class after another of attentive children in uniforms, enjoying small class sizes and taking advantage of a plentiful supply of Gateway computers. To pull it off, Mardelle had to be more than an educator. 'I had to learn to be a CEO, and a general contractor, a politician, and a fundraiser, and how to assemble computers.'" Shore says people like Mardelle bring energy, spirit, and hope that "can't be donated, ordered, or legislated. It also cannot be defeated."  Read more.

The political, civic, social, and economic influence of "millennials," Americans 16 to 25, is on the rise.  According to USA Today, this generation, "also known as Generation Y and Echo Boomers, has been pressed for its vote, sought for its purchasing power, and watched closely by sociologists and historians for insight into the way its members will shape the future."   But what is the future of this generation?  Experts point to the devastation of the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina as decisive events that will have a lasting impact on the worldview of this generation, encouraging them to become active participants in society.  According to a new survey, 61 percent of young people feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world, and another study notes that from 2002 to 2005, volunteering by college students increased by 20 percent.

School fundraisers getting a little ho-hum?  Just say no to that candy box or gift wrap roll, and consider something more creative -- ArtStamps. Through this newly launched service, kids pick favorite drawings, which are then transposed onto real 39-cent postage stamps along with their first names and ages.  A sheet of 20 stamps retails for $20, with $3 going to the student's school.  ArtStamps hopes to combine a forum for kids to learn the value of philanthropy with one where they feel good about their artistic achievements.  In this AP story, 11-year old Hannah Clark doesn't mince words about her stamp, a dragon design.  "It's the best thing I've ever drawn, actually."

Build-A-Bear Workshop, the store where children and parents create custom-designed teddy bears, recently launched a bear called "Champ, A Champion Fur Kids," a portion of whose proceeds will support children's health causes. The idea for the bear came after Nikki Giampolo, who later lost her battle with a rare bone cancer at age 15, suggested that the company support children's cancer research.  As onPhilanthropy.com reports, the idea makes business sense.  Maxine Clark, the founder of Build-A-Bear, notes that "more and more companies are starting to see the connection between doing good and having a prosperous business."