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Youth Website Directory
Click below for youth websites related to:
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SOCIAL JUSTICE |
Stop the Hate
www.stopthehate.org
“You have a right to feel safe and to be protected from hate crimes and other violations of your civil rights.”
Stop the Hate is an anti-violence campaign created by students for students. Its website was produced by interns in the
Student Civil Rights Project, a program of the Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes established in 1998 to
address escalating incidents of harassment and violent hate crimes in Massachusetts schools. The site provides
information and tools for students, educators, law enforcement, and community organizations, and views
communication and partnerships as the best antidotes to prejudice. It also posts feature stories on exceptional
leaders from each of the four constituencies, online polls and discussion boards, and a searchable database
of local resources for victims.
Legal Kids
www.legalkids.com
“We are the children of divorce and separation. We want to respect and love our parents equally, without fear or guilt.”
Legalkids is the creation of a 14-year-old Canadian boy
on a mission to protect the rights of children of divorce. On his
website, Clayton describes his struggle to regain access to his father
after his parents’ divorce. He also posts diaries he kept during
a 19-day hunger strike before an Alberta court house and a 4,281-kilometer
(2,657-mile) bike trip from Calgary to Washington, DC and then Ottowa
to collect signatures on petitions for children’s rights. (The
Canadian petition was delivered to Prime Minister Jean Chretien in
fall 2001; the American petition remains on the website for signing,
as it could not be delivered to President Bush on the day—September
11, 2001—of Clayton’s arrival in Washington). The site also
details Clayton’s ongoing efforts to establish the Legalkids
Foundation.
PEACEIncorporated
www.peaceinc.org
“PEACEIncorporated is an organization of youth who are striving for excellence and working toward
solutions to issues that are opposed to the natural laws of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
PEACEIncorporated is an international network of youth
working to increase peace within schools, communities, and nations.
Founded by teens in 1998 to promote drug and alcohol abstinence, the
growing group shifted focus to its current campaign, Increase the
Peace. The website details other ongoing projects—from a compilation
of 101 Ways to Increase the Peace (with ideas from youth worldwide)
to organizing moments of silence in schools and a peace pledge (available
in 10 languages). The site also hosts discussion groups, a Poet’s
Corner, and a Posters for Peace project, and posts a monthly newsletter,
as well as regularly updated news stories about substance abuse and
gun violence.
Free the Children
www.freethechildren.org
“Free the Children is dedicated to eliminating the exploitation
of children around the world, by encouraging youth to volunteer
in, as well as to create, programs and activities that relieve the
plight of underprivileged children.”
Free the Children is an international children’s network with
two ambitious goals: to give young people a voice on issues that affect
them and to end child poverty, exploitation, and abuse. It began when
a 12-year-old Canadian youth read about a young boy from Pakistan
first sold into bondage as a carpet weaver, then murdered for speaking
out against child labor. It has grown into the world’s largest
network of children helping children--100,000 youth in 35 countries.
Its programs have distributed medical supplies worldwide; built schools
and rehabilitation centers; nurtured youth leaders; changed laws and
convinced international businesses to adopt codes of conduct regarding
child labor. The website also includes youth artwork, poetry, and
writing.
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ENVIRONMENT |
Let Kids Lead
www.letkidslead.org
“We got organized to talk about air pollution in our cities.
We can make a difference if you let us. With dedication, team effort,
and leadership, teens can be effective locally--and globally.”
Let Kids Lead is a youth initiative of the Academy for Educational
Development, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, to fight
air pollution in three cities. In Boston, students helped enact bus
idling ordinances to decrease exhaust levels. Kansas City youth, after
surveying the community about transportation options, convinced the
local planning commission to construct more walking paths and bike
trails. In Tampa, students formed Youth Environmental Associates to
raise public awareness about air pollution. The website features extensive
information about the three programs, including a discussion board,
profiles of participating teens, an audio tape, and publications.
The online Teacher’s Lounge offers curriculum resources for educators.
Youth for Environmental Sanity (YES!)
www.yesworld.org
“We believe that if the passion, creativity and commitment
of youth can be liberated for the common good, we can transform
our world.”
Founded by two teenagers in 1990 when Nancy Reagan was urging young
people to “just say no,” YES! empowers youth to join forces
for social and environmental justice. The nonprofit’s materials
(books, manuals, and video) and events (camps, workshops, and Leadership
Jams) support and train youth in 45 countries, helping YES! alumni
to organize gang truces, start recycling programs and socially responsible
businesses, and initiate community gardens and park clean-ups.
Kids For A Clean Environment
www.kidsface.org
“At 9 years old, I started the club for kids after seeing a
program on TV, Highway to Heaven, that made me think, ‘What
will the future world be like if we don’t help take care of
the environment today?’”
Started by a nine-year old in Nashville in 1989, Kids For A Clean
Environment (Kids F.A.C.E.) has grown from its original six members
to the world’s largest youth environmental organization:300,000
members, with more than 2,000 club chapters in 15 countries. It educates
children on environmental issues, encourages and facilitates youth
involvement, and recognizes successful efforts. The website features
information and action steps for habitat preservation, air quality,
and land and natural resource management.
The Tree Musketeers
www.treemusketeers.org
“Planting trees for peace is a way for youth everywhere to
speak with one very loud voice.”
Tree Musketeers began in 1987 when 13 eight-year-old Girl Scouts planted
a tree to help fight pollution in their hometown of El Segundo, California.
Joining forces with Kids F.A.C.E., another youth-led environmental
effort , they planted one million trees nationwide in November 2000.
The newest campaign, Count on Kids, aims to plant one million groves
of trees, by two million youth, during three million hours of service.
A downloadable Campaign Guide is available on the website, along with
the Trunkline newsletter and order forms for environmental greeting
cards created by children.
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HISTORY AND POLITICS |
Bland County History Archives
Rocky Gap High School
Rocky Gap, Virginia
www.bland.k12.va.us/bland/rocky/gap.html
“The word in Rocky Gap is History, OK? We will put together
a general history of our county. We will discuss our birth in the
beginning year of the Late Unpleasantness. We will speculate on
the mysterious origins of our name. All this and more will be done.
We assure you. It may take awhile. Just be patient and it will happen.”
Maintained by students at Rocky Gap High School, the Bland County
History Archives contain 80 cemetery catalogs, 320 interviews, 700
scanned photographs, plus maps and other artifacts. The archives began
in 1993 as an optional project in junior-year American history classes
aiming to preserve the stories of the area’s Appalachian residents.
Several years later, integrating computer technology with history
curriculum, the Local History and Technology class was started to
manage the archive website. American history students continue to
generate the growing online content (oral histories, photos, cemetery
catalogs). The Archives won Best School Resource Site in Virginia
for 1996 from the Virginia Society for Technology in Education.
Student Voices Project
Madison High School
San Antonio, Texas
www.neisd.net/madison/svp/svindex.htm
“Madison Student Voices students contacted candidates for their
opinions concerning overcrowding in schools. The answers from the
candidates follow.”
The Madison Student Voices Project website provides election information
on San Antonio’s mayoral race (held May 5, 2001). High schoolers
interviewed fellow students, faculty, and staff members, as well as
candidates, and posted the results online. Madison students also hosted
mayoral debates in their class, attended a candidate forum, and presented
their work publicly. The project is part of the national initiative—sponsored
by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania—that
encourages the civic engagement of young people through classroom
study of a local political campaign. (See the national Student Voices
project at http://student-voices.org).
Boston Latin High School/
Facing History and Ourselves
www.learntoquestion.com/
“Later I see the boy in the cafeteria talking to the girl who
called him a neo-Nazi. They are not really arguing, but it is a
very intense conversation. The course [on the Holocaust] is like
that. It raises difficult issues that don’t go away quickly.”
Students at Boston Latin High School collaborated with Facing History
and Ourselves, a nonprofit offering support and resources for examining
the Holocaust and human rights to create a year-long elective course,
a website competition (for scholarships), and projects in art, history,
and science. The site includes a student narrative; curriculum units
with assignments, projects, and student work; and useful links. The
Virtual Classroom posts students’ online discussions and interactive
lessons, as well as student website entries in the scholarship competition.
OzarkHistory.com
Flippin Public School
Flippin, Arkansas
www.ozarkhistory.com
“Welcome to OzarkHistory.com, a student created web site dedicated
to preserving the history of the Ozark region of north central Arkansas.”
Students at Flippin Public School created OzarkHistory.com to preserve
the history of the Ozark region of north central Arkansas. They researched
and posted online essays about local residents, early settlers and
Indians, and the history of area schools. Other online “exhibits”
feature photography and exposition on such topics as waterways and
transportation, caves and mines, hunting and fishing, cemeteries,
and cooking. The website is part of the South Shore Memory Project,
a collaboration by Flippin students and the Arkansas State University
at Mountain Home.
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EDUCATION REFORM |
Students for a Change
www.studentsforachange.net/
“Changing the law isn’t easy. And the bigger the issue,
the harder it is to change. People have real differences of opinion.
That’s the point of a crusade—to achieve consensus—and
students can lead the crusade.”
Students for a Change aims to create a statewide network of students
in Pennsylvania to take an active role in public education issues.
The website features examples of students successfully affecting legislation,
opportunities for youth action, and information and statistics on
relevant education issues. The site also posts practical advice on
how to work with the media, state legislators, and community leaders.
Students Against Testing
www.nomoretests.com
“Students Against Testing was created to be a strong force
against the score-obsessed education machine known as standardized
testing.”
Students Against Testing is a nationwide network of young people who
resist high stakes standardized testing and support real-life learning.
The website spells out the group’s 10 reasons for opposing standardized
testing and details action students and others can take. The site
also offers downloadable fact sheets and flyers, order forms for free
bumper stickers, and an extensive set of links to pertinent research,
articles, resources, and organizations.
SCAM (Student Coalition for Alternatives to the MCAS)
www.scam-mcas.org
“In order to change the [educational] assessment system in
Massachusetts, many people, including parents, students, educators,
and citizens, need to let the state know that they are deeply concerned
about the current system and would like to replace it.”
SCAM is a growing statewide organization of students committed to
raising awareness of problems with the Massachusetts Comprehensive
Assessment System and promoting alternatives to high stakes testing
in schools. The website details problems with the tests, alternative
assessment options, and ideas for student action, including consequences
of boycotting the tests. It also posts regional contact information,
links to other groups, and meeting schedules.
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SERVICE |
Suitcases for Kids
www.suitcasesforkids.org
“I thought it was horrible that the [foster] children had nothing
to carry their things in as they moved so many times. I wanted to
make them feel special by giving them something of their own to
keep.”
In 1995, a 10-year-old in North Carolina learned that the average
foster child changes families three to four times— and typically
uses plastic garbage bags to transport personal belongings from home
to home. Enlisting aid from Scout groups, 4-H, and area churches,
Suitcases for Kids’ young founder set out to collect luggage
for all 300 foster children in her home county. As news of the project
spread, the goal became to make donating spare luggage as commonplace
as recycling bottles and cans. Suitcases For Kids now has chapters
in every U.S. state and nine foreign countries. The website lists
agencies in need of donations, provides links to state and national
resources, and offers a downloadable Starter Kit with instructions
and sample materials.
Students for Change
www.studentsforchange.org
“After careful assessment and analysis our focus is to help
Paljorling [a Tibetan refugee settlement in Nepal] bridge the ‘digital
divide’ and give them the resources necessary to promote sustainable
economic growth in their community.”
Students For Change is a non-profit founded in 1998 to send collegiate
mentors and volunteer professionals to promote technology use in developing
nations. Volunteers spend several months in a host community providing
technology and small business management training. One of the first
completed projects was a website for a handicrafts business in a Tibetan
refugee settlement in Nepal (www.TibetanCarpetsOnline.com/).
Youth Guardian Services
www.youth-guard.org/
“Youth Guardian Services began with one teenager and his friend
wanting to make a difference in the lives of young people who are
bombarded with negative messages about youth, and the confusion
that often comes with the recognition of sexuality.”
Youth Guardian Services began when two teenagers formed an online
support group for young people struggling with issues of sexuality.
Starting with two email listservs for youth aged 13-17 and 17-21,
Youth Guardian Services incorporated as a nonprofit in 1997 and currently
supports over 800 youth daily—including straight youth with gay
or questioning friends and family, as well as young people living
with HIV. Future projects include an online directory of local gay-friendly
mental health professionals and a guide to help college-bound students
choose a college or university that will best meet their needs.
TEEN WEB Online
www.twonline.cjb.net/
“After Columbine I was deeply affected by what had occurred,
and I looked for a way to help teens! TEEN WEB turned out to be
the right way to go about doing it.”
Moved by the shootings at Columbine High School, a then 15-year-old
New York youth launched Teen Web, an online advice center to help
teens cope with the tragedy. The site became an online teen gathering
place, offering advice, chat rooms, and news from the worlds of sports
and entertainment. Following September 11, the now 18-year-old website
creator again turned to the Internet. Teen Web now offers advice for
teenagers who lost friends and family in the event, has links to Red
Cross relief efforts, and posts daily news stories about the war on
terrorism. The site’s anti-violence and anti-discrimination sections
include news, discussion boards, and links to like-minded organizations
and resources.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology
Fairfax County, Virginia
www.tjhsst.edu/ffair/contest2.htm
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“Students give small businesses a helping hand in creating
a home page at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.”
As part of Get on the Web Day, students and staff at Jefferson High
assisted small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Fairfax County
(VA) in constructing web pages. Receiving student help during the
2000 Web Day were: Full Gospel Hallelujah Church, West Springfield
High School PTSA, Capital Wind Symphony, Clayton’s Chemist, Juvenile
Diabetes Foundation, Mary Queen Cleaning Services, Tots and Teens,
and Rolls Royce Photos.
4-H Access the Future Coalition
www.4-H.org/access/index.html
The 4-H Access the Future Coalition works “to slam shut the
Digital Divide that separates our country’s technology haves
and have-nots.”
The Access the Future Coalition is a network of 4-H youth and adults
working to close the country’s Digital Divide. 4-H teens teach
seniors to access Medicare and other government websites, for instance,
or help their teachers improve their computer skills. Created by the
National 4-H Youth Technology Leadership Team, the website posts resources
and information, including: on-line tutorials, project ideas, tips
on funding and publicity, success stories, and forums for information
sharing.
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