In honor of 16 year old Greta Thunberg who galvanized people all over the world to take part in the climate strike last week, FirstLantic, (home health care of Florida) is dedicating this blog to all the amazing kids that are making a difference. Whether they are demanding that governments do more to protect the environment or granting the wishes of nursing home residents, these young people are truly exceptional. Are you ready to be inspired?

 

Ruby Kate Chitsey is only 11 years old, but she has spent a lot of time in nursing homes. She often accompanies her mother, who is a nurse practitioner, to work. During her visits, she found that many of the residents were lonely and seldom received visitors or had the opportunity to go out on simple outings to restaurants or stores. So, Ruby decided to do something about it. Her mother helped her set up a GoFundMe page to fund Ruby’s “Three Wishes for Ruby’s Residents” and she has already raised $70,000. Her goal is simple – bring a little bit of happiness to those around her.

 

Malala Yousafzai is the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. Born in Pakistan to parents who strongly believed in the value of education, Malala became a tireless advocate for the rights of girls to attend school. Malala was just fifteen years old when she was shot by the Taliban for being an outspoken critic of their assault on education. In less than two years, they destroyed 400 schools in Pakistan alone. Although Malala was gravely injured from the shooting and had to undergo numerous operations, she survived and did not look back. On her sixteenth birthday, Malala visited New York and spoke at the United Nations. She also published her first book, called “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” As acknowledgement of her work, the European Parliament awarded Malala the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. She currently runs her own non-profit which is aimed at breaking down the barriers preventing more than 130 million girls around the world from going to school.

 

Austin Perine is on a mission to help the homeless. When he was only four years old, Austin started asking questions about the homeless and he told his dad that he wanted to do something to help. So, he donned a superman cape and he and his father started giving out food to those in need in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Austin would pass out meals and he would say, “Don’t forget to show love,” and “Pay it forward!” to everyone he served. His dedication started to get attention and he was eventually given the keys to the cities of both Prichard and Mobile, Alabama. In addition, he expanded his reach with some help from celebrities Steve Harvey and LeBron James. Austin now feeds people and their pets in over a dozen cities through his Show Love campaign!

 

Are you inspired yet? You should be because these kids are proving that age is irrelevant when you are on a mission. There are so many other amazing kids that are doing their part to save the world that we couldn’t possibly cover all of them in one blog. However, check out the book published by the Good Planet Foundation that brings many more of these stories to light. And just maybe it will motivate more adults to follow in their footsteps!