Student Ambassador: September Impact

New school year, same mission, bigger impact. Our collective work in September speaks for itself.

Student Ambassadors organized over 37 events across the country proving that when young people show up, change happens. Here’s what you made possible:

Invest in Kids, Invest in America Spotlight: Edwin O’Smith High School

Edwin O. Smith High School in Connecticut showed us what grassroots advocacy looks like in action. On September 27th, club officers attended the Celebrate Mansfield Festival.

They collected 111 petition signatures for our Invest in Kids, Invest in America campaign and raised $50 in donations for Save the Children, all while connecting with neighbors and building local support for federal child policies.

This is a great way we turn conversations into change.

Congratulations to each member who volunteered for the event: Hiruni, Trinity, Claire, Evelyn, Tobi, Jordan, Tessel, Grace, and Max!

Chapter Zero: Early Childhood Literacy in Texas

Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas launched into action this fall. After organizing a literacy workshop at a local library over the summer, they followed up with a campaign to support kids’ literacy in their area.

The team set up book donation boxes at coffee shops, libraries, and rec centers across their community, collecting 600+ books for kids who need them. They also hosted a bookmark-making party (because literacy kits deserve that personal touch), creating 70-80 handmade bookmarks. They are set to create over 100 literacy kits to distribute at events this fall.

High engagement, deep impact, big heart. That’s what this work is about.

Innovative Advocacy Highlight: Spring Valley High School

Spring Valley High School in South Carolina turned their school homecoming dance into an advocacy powerhouse. Students had the option to donate gently used children’s books to offset part of their ticket cost, but the real game-changer?

They organized nearly 370 handwritten postcards to lawmakers advocating for literacy initiatives in South Carolina. That’s 370 personal messages from young people demanding change.

The event also collected 250 books for the Orangeburg Rural Accelerator Initiative, one of our incredible coalition partners, and around 50 handmade bookmarks. A portion of ticket sales went directly to Save the Children.

Dancing and advocating? That’s the energy we need.