Causecast

by AARON HORWITZ, Contributing Writer

Here at Causecast, we’ve done more than a few stories recognizing some of the planet’s most philanthropic men and women—people who’ve thrown traditional 9 to 5 lifestyles to the wayside in a generous quest to achieve a greater good.

Where do these heroes come from? Were they out trying to save the world as youngsters too?

Today we’re going to highlight five brave young souls across the nation who, despite not yet obtaining a high school diploma, are already out there making a valid case to be the next Causecast MVP:

•Zach Bonner

This 11 year old out of Tampa, Florida began his philanthropic ways at age seven, pulling a little red wagon around his neighborhood to collect donations for hurricane victims. By the time he was done, he’d collected 27 truckloads worth of goods and established the Little Red Wagon Foundation to help children in distressed situations. In 2007 he came up with the idea to walk 300 miles from his home to the state capital in Tallahassee, with the intent of raising awareness for the 1.3 million homeless children in America. After that success, he hatched a more ambitious plan, and departed several months ago on a staggering 1,200 mile trip from his house to the US Capitol with a similar goal in mind. Last Thursday, Bonner reached his target destination.

•Avery Hairston

16-year-old Avery Hairston is the founder of RelightNY, dedicated specifically to swapping out short-lived, energy wasting light bulbs for more energy-efficient ones. His organization assembles teams that go out on the streets of New York City to donate less costly, longer-lasting bulbs to residents in low income housing. To date, RelightNY’s 54 teams have changed over 111,000 thousand bulbs, prevented 21.8 million pounds of CO2 emissions, and saved an estimated $5.5 million in energy costs. Hairston‘s work made him a Do Something Award Finalist in 2008.

•Pat Pedraja

Another Do Something Award alum and one of our youngest Causecast leaders, Pat Pedraja’s cause is bone marrow donor registration. Now aged 13, Pat contracted leukemia at 10, and while sick in the hospital, learned about how difficult it was to find bone marrow donors, particularly among minorities. Many patients in need of marrow needlessly die, having been unable to find a bone marrow match due to an extreme shortage of donors. Despite the fact that bone marrow donation was not a need of Pedraja’s, he was inspired to action, and along with his family, rented an RV and established Driving for Donors. To date, his organization has added over 10,000 donors to the National Bone Marrow Registry.

•Eric Mitchell and Boy Scout Troup 571

Eric, a graduating senior from Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, Washington, needed to fulfill a community service project to become an Eagle Scout this past spring. Not settling for any ordinary community service gig, he enlisted the help of his scout troupe to paint 350 storm drains in Pierce County, with the intent of raising awareness about the link between storm drains and water quality. Yard chemicals, car wash soap, animal waste and garbage can make their way into storm drains, which then drain into lakes and streams, badly polluting our water supply. Eric’s simple but effective “Dump No Waste – Drains to Stream” stencil is enough to make uninformed citizens think twice before dumping into drains.

•Ana Dodsen

Adopted at age three out of her native Peru, 16-year-old Ana Dodsen grew up privileged in the U.S. However, her Peruvian roots always seemed to call her, and at 11, her adopted parents took her back to visit the land she barely remembered. Devastated by the poverty she saw in Peruvian orphanages, Dodsen founded Peruvian Hearts, an organization that provides much needed support and supplies to needy children in Peru. Dodsen has spoken in front of the UN and her work has been featured on CNN.

Know a young person you’d like to praise and exemplify for their selfless humanitarian efforts? Tell us about them in the comments section below.

Photo by treesftf, flickr