We are an energetic group of teenagers from the Upper Valley area of Vermont dedicated to making the world a better place.

Formed six years ago and now a non-profit corporation, we operate totally with volunteer labor.

We have chapters in Westhampton, Massachusetts and Little Rock, Arkansas

The Westhampton Chapter leaves in Feb. 2007 to reforest in Bosque Para Siempre. We look forward to hearing your stories and seeing your photos

How do we change the world?
We help people complete jobs that for a wide variety of reasons that they cannot accomplish by themselves as well as people in emergency situations. Some of our work is essential to people's survival and to the preservation of the environment. Both local and global, our projects are far too many to list and include projects such as yard and garden maintenance, creating a ten foot high garden fence for deer protection made of natural materials, rebuilding a dam to re-establish a goose pond, assisting with numerous spring cleaning housekeeping chores, renovating homes that are in substandard condition, providing meals for those in extraordinary circumstances, serving at community dinners, offering assistance for homeless shelters and community support centers, supporting Latin American women artisans and indigenous farmers through fair trade arrangements, and helping to preserve critical rainforest habitat in Costa Rica.

In November of 2006 The Change the World Kids, inspired the entire greater Woodstock community to make a $5,000 gift of an "ark" to Heifer International, and we are dedicating this gift to Nancy Nye - and all other individuals working to make the world a better place. In the ark are pairs of animals, pairs of flocks, trios of smaller animals, and pairs of beehives to help families around the world meet their dreams - sufficient food and a source of dependable income.

What are some of our long-term projects?
Inspired by our awareness of the important role renewable energy plays in the current and future world, we created "Save Energy For Free!" To minimize the use of clothes dryers, we construct clotheslines for free and track the amount of energy they conserve. Our focus is on encouraging sound energy conservation practices now to improve the world for future generations.

After raising over $12,000 in September, 2003 for The Bellbird Project in Monteverde, Costa Rica, we created a rain forest migratory corridor, Bosque Para Siempre (the Forever Forest) in conjunction with biologists and conservationists. We're working to establish an international movement to educate children all over the globe about critical migratory corridors and involve them in fundraising to permanently conserve an important corridor in Costa Rican tropical forest. In June, 2004 we paid for the first parcel of Bosque para Siempre and traveled to Costa Rica to begin re-foresting the corridor. There we planted hundreds of trees and established a tree nursery and an arboretum, as well as participated in the bellbird census. We also have produced an informative presentation that is available on DVD or video about Bosque para Siempre.Monkeying Around with The Change The World Kids is an activity book that uses games and puzzles to promote rainforest conservation and is available in local bookstores. Our members make presentations at local schools and conferences.

During September 2006, we hosted our third Para La Tierra weekend and raised money to purchase our third parcel of land in Costa Rica. We have raised more than $150,000 to support this consevation effort creating critical migratory routes for the bellbird over the past four years.

"Coffee for Conservation" is our project that supports conservation, education, and social programs in the Monteverde community and rain forest. We've established a relationship with the Monteverde Cooperative, and by selling the farmers' coffee, we help farms stay in the hands of local farmers, promote environmentally sound growing practices, and help preserve the habitat that sustains the unique biodiversity of the rainforest.

Our newest international effort is dedicated to helping kids our own age in the Eastern Province of Rwanda to overcome challenges that face many kids in Africa: poverty, education and disease. We call it "Teens Connecting Continents - Rwanda," and we've launched the program in collaboration with Partners in Health to support the rebuilding of a soccer stadium in Rwinkwavu and the growth of a youth soccer program, and to support quality education for these youth. Our dream has two parts: for this facility is for this new facility to become a youth center for recreation and an empowerment facility for health, and to enable these youth to attend excellent schools. This winter and spring, we are holding a series of awareness activities to educate people about the need to support and fight for basic human rights in East Africa, such as access to clean water, food, sanitation, education and medicines to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases. Providing Rwandan youth with a place of their own, a simple soccer field and basic equipment, and education, can make a difference for their health and the health of their community.

Mailing Address: The Change the World Kids, 1046 Atwood Lane, Woodstock, VT 05091