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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"39564","attributes":{"class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","alt":""}}]]The deadline for the 2012 Power of Children Awards has been extended to May 18, 2012. There's still time to nominate an extraordinary youth!
2005 Power of Children Awards winner Daniel Kent shares his story.
"Youth are tomorrow's leaders" - or so the adage goes. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis sees things differently - "youth are TODAY’S leaders." In 2005, the Power of Children Awards were created to identify youth making a difference in their communities.
Net Literacy (http://www.netliteracy.org) is a digital inclusion nonprofit founded by middle school students that originally began by teaching computer and Internet skills to senior citizens in 2003 as Senior Connects. Students comprise 50% of the board of directors, write all of the grants, and conduct all of the volunteering. Today, Net Literacy has an expanded mission and has engaged and empowered a team of 3500 social entrepreneurs that have increased computer access to over 170,000 individuals, donated more than 20,000 computers, and provide $1.4 million in annual services. Internet associations representing 270,000 Internet companies on six continents have endorsed our Digital Literacy best practices initiative (http://www.digitalliteracy.org).
As founder of Senior Connects , and a current member of the Net Literacy team, I was honored to be selected as one of the Power of Children Award Honorees during this program's inauguration. The Power of Children Award was very important to me because it represented the trust and confidence that community institutions like The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis have in young social entrepreneurs. This trust and confidence in me and the team of Net Literacy volunteers, when our nonprofit was very young, reinforced our collective belief that we could change the world. The Power of Children Awards is a program designed to show that youths are not just tomorrow’s leaders; we’re also today’s leaders.
It's seven years later and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis is still looking for youths that are today's leaders. Are you, or is someone you know in grades 6-11, making an extraordinary difference in the lives of others? Nominate them for the Power of Children awards. Visit http://www.childrensmuseum.org/poca for more details.
To learn more about Daniel’s work, watch his video. http://www.childrensmuseum.org/poca-2005
Photo: Daniel Kent, 2005 winner.
