Look at the bottom of this page for the definition of any words you don't know.

Could you be an entrepreneur (on-tr-pr-nyoor)?

Think you need special skills or abilities to help make the world a better place for people, animals, communities, and the environment? Think again! Ordinary kids just like you are making a difference in all kinds of ways by becoming entrepreneurs - they're starting businesses or projects that provide money, supplies, or an extra pair of hands for good causes. It doesn't matter whether you volunteer or start a money-making business. The skills you learn along the way will last a lifetime, and open up unlimited opportunities for you to help others!

What can I do to help?
First, you need to decide who or what you're going to help! What about....
• Elderly people in your community
• Children in foster care and shelters
• Birds and animals
• The hungry and homeless
• Sick and differently-abled people
• Victims of floods, famine, or war?

Next, think about ways you can help to make the situation better:
• Could you join an organization and volunteer your help?
• Could you get your friends and family to help you provide people-power to make a difference?
• Could you raise funds or gather donations of goods by starting your own business or project?

Need some inspiration? These kids show that nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it....

Helping People
• Ten-year-old Aubyn B. started Suitcases for Kids to provide foster children with suitcases to carry their belongings, instead of using garbage bags. In eight years she's helped kids in every US state and in over 47 other countries develop their own suitcase donation programs.

• In third grade, Brandon K. started collecting books for underprivileged kids and their families. His organization BookEnds has helped give 76,000 books to needy kids to help improve their reading skills.

Helping the Environment
• When she was 9, Melissa P. began Kids for A Cleaner Environment (Kids F.A.C.E.) that helps to plant trees, and create backyard wildlife habitats. It's now the world's largest youth environmental organization!

• As a toddler, Jean B. helped her parents pick up old soda cans from the roadside. By age 7, Jean had collected and sold over 1000 pounds of cans and helped to make roads, lakes, and trails cleaner and prettier in the process.

Helping Animals
• Stacey H., age 12, is the president of a non-profit charity called Pennies to Protect Police Dogs. She's raised over $140,000 and bought 180 bulletproof vests (at $700 each!) that will help to keep police dogs safe in dangerous situations.

• Janine A. and Aislin L. were 9 when they started Kids Saving the Rainforest in Costa Rica. They began with a roadside stand where they sold rocks they'd painted, then they opened a store to sell arts and crafts from local people to raise money to save the rainforest and protect endangered wildlife.

See how easy it is to find ways to help? Now that you're all fired up, it's time to start your own entrepreneurial project:

• First, play the Entrepreneurial Matching Game to see where your heart lies
• Ask a parent for permission, suggestions, and help.
• Make a business plan. Do you need money to get started? How will you raise funds or collect donations? Who will help you promote your idea (family, friends, church/4-H/scouting groups, businesses, the local newspaper or TV station)?
• Do you need any permits or business licenses in your area? Check with your local chamber of commerce.
• Keep records of money you receive from fund raising or sales, plus expenses and other contributions (hint, ask a parent for help!).
• Keep a diary: write down lessons you learn along the way, and how helping others makes you feel. Your diary may be very useful to help a friend get started one day.

Working hard to make the world a better place is one of the most rewarding things you'll ever do — and it's fun! Kidsregen.org salutes Kid Entrepreneurs everywhere!

 

Your Mission… Write to Kidsregen.org about your entrepreneurial ideas, or the ones you have already done.

 

Related Links Check out these great ideas of ways to help others! Test the market for your entrepreneurial idea. Learn more about kids making a difference. Join Kids F.A.C.E's exciting Earth Odyssey. Help Kids Saving the Rainforest. Lend a hand around the world!

GLOSSARY WORDS:
Entrepreneur
Someone who takes responsibility for starting a business or project that makes a product or provides a service.

Famine
An extreme lack of food usually caused by bad weather, pests spoiling crops, or by war.

Non-profit
An organization that is not in business to make profits. Money it does earn is used to pay bills so it can keep running.

Text, Sarah Eykyn
Illustrations, Yasushi Fujimoto, Tokiko Jinta, and Glenn Hughes