photo courtesy of Chantelle Adams
So you think you can’t change the world.
Well, Teagan Manning Adams might have something to say about that. This Grade 4 student is an inspiring young boy who’s going to Kenya to build a school with Free the Children. No, he’s not a child prodigy; he’s just a kid who wants others to have what he has: an education.
Teagan has shared his message in classrooms, to local PAC’s, the School Board, The Rotary Club, the Social Justice Film Society, and to whole elementary schools. He starts his presentation by sharing that his hobbies are playing guitar, building Lego, climbing mountains and “changing the world.”
Last summer he started an organization called The Giving Guys, a group whose mandate is to raise enough money to build a school in Kenya, where millions of children don’t go to school. Teagan wants to change this bleak scenario.
In June his mother (full disclosure: that’s me) gave her four children each $2 and challenged them to turn it into more money using their own creative ideas and talents, and then give that money to a charity. Teagan decided to set up a lemonade stand while his brother chose to perform a magic show. In addition to collecting bottles and returning them for money, they raised $1,800 that summer.
That figure has grown to $7400.00 now…so close to the $9000.00 needed for building a school for thousands of deserving kids! Once he reaches that goal, he has set his sights on the next school building location, Nicaragua.
“Your gift, plus your passion equals change,” Teagan says to his audiences, noting he and his mother hope to do something better.
Teagan wants to inspire other children to reach out and help. “Together we can do so much more,” states Teagan.
Many kids have been inspired by Teagan and his siblings and have started taking bottles in, giving a percent of their allowance, doing their own magic shows and finding other creative ways to contribute to The Giving Guys.
It is amazing to see the pride in these kid’s eyes as they do their part. They start to think outside their own little worlds of wants and see the greater needs around them. They know that they are being the agents for change the world needs. It’s so refreshing to see kids like Teagan taking the initiative to inspire others his age to act locally and think globally and to bring about change. Let’s hope his philanthropy rubs off.
Your challenge:
Give your children the challenge of using their talents and creativity to turn $2 into more and see where they take it. Every penny counts and I am sure you will be amazed at the power our kids have to use their gifts to change the world!
