Change the World Kids

Founded in 2003, Change the World Kids is an independent teen-run organization based in Woodstock, Vermont in the Upper Valley area of Vermont and New Hampshire. Members are of middle and high school age, frequently remaining in the group until they graduate after their senior year of high school and become CTWKAlums. The organization is governed and run by the CTWK membership, and has a CTWK Board of Trustees to provide support. Members meet weekly in Woodstock, VT at a donated meeting space to plan the group’s activities and direct action.

CTWK provides thousands of hours of direct help to local individuals each year, working without charge to address incredibly diverse needs. In addition, issue oriented projects, both regional and international, are initiated and sustained by Members of the group to address issues of concern. Local initiatives include a food justice program to address the needs of the food insecure and promote health, and a free firewood program to benefit heat insecure families. The organization promotes an ecologically and socially responsible lifestyle. Its largest environmental effort, Bosque para Siempre, is in its fifteenth year and addresses the interconnectedness of the biodiversity of our planet. Its primary goal is to reforest and conserve a biological corridor in Costa Rica that is critical to the survival of migrating songbirds from the United States and native rainforest species. The project’s scope includes annual work trips, an annual weekend of events to fundraise to sustain their tree nursery (the largest in the Monteverde, CR, area) and purchase, conserve, and reforest habitat, perform cutting-edge research on reforestation techniques in the tropics, and the development of educational materials.

The group and individual members have received numerous awards and been featured in major media and books. These include a PBS special “Saving Songbirds”, a full-page spread in People Magazine, Weekly Reader, the Global Citizen Award for Groups, a chapter in the book Do Good Well, Associated Press articles, and the Barron Prize for Young Heroes, Brower Youth Award, and AXA US World News & Report awards.Guest contributors to the group’s magazine have included Dr. Jan Goodall, Alice Waters, Bill McKibben, and Dr. Vandana Shiva.