There’s an entire movement of youth for positive social change, and it’s been happening right under our noses.
We sat down with Colleen Wormsley from DoSomething.org to tell us more about the organization, which is a leader in teen-centric social impact projects around the United States.
What is DoSomething.org and why should readers know about it?
Colleen Wormsley: DoSomething.org is the largest organization for young people and social change. Readers should know about it because it’s a movement of 5 million young people taking action on important causes like homelessness, the environment, education, discrimination, and almost any other cause you can think of.
Why do you think so many young people are passionate about social change?
CW: I think a lot of young people hear about different issues going on in the news and see things happening in their community and they want to make a change, but don’t always know where to start. That’s where DoSomething.org comes in. We know they’re passionate and we give them specific ways they can make a real impact on a cause.
What is your favorite thing about the work you do and the positive impact it has on young people?
CW: Each DoSomething.org campaign asks young people to report back by sending in a photo to prove that they completed the action. The photos that we get from our members blow me away. They’re so creative! I love that I get to share their stories and inspire other young people to participate. I also love managing DoSomething.org’s celebrity partnerships. All of the talent we work with truly care about social change and it’s so exciting to see their fans rally around a good cause.
What advice would you give for other women who want to get involved (or get their kids involved) with DoSomething.org?
CW: It’s easy, go to DoSomething.org and sign up for a campaign right now! Need help deciding which one to choose? Look through your closet and find a pair of jeans you don’t wear anymore to donate to youth experiencing homelessness through our Teens for Jeans campaign.
Can you describe one of your proudest moments since starting your work?
CW: One of my proudest moments was working on a campaign in partnership with truth called GTFO. The campaign encourages young people to pick up cigarette butt litter to prevent it from harming wildlife or leaching toxic chemicals into the environment. It was our first year running the campaign and DoSomething.org members cleaned up over 3.7 MILLION cigarette butts and I was able to secure stories on Upworthy, USA Today College, and TeenVogue.com. It was so amazing to see that type of impact and one of our members collected 400,000 butts just in his community.
Also, DoSomething.org just hit five million members! That’s a huge accomplishment that the whole DoSomething.org team worked so hard to achieve.
comments