Young Americans have the passion and energy to help people across the world, but don’t always have the resources. That’s where New Global Citizens, a Tempe, Ariz.-based non-profit steps in. New Global Citizens provides information about global problems to teenagers and lesson plans for teachers that show how to make complex issues accessible to their classes. The group’s lesson plans break down issues such as global hunger, epidemics, and gender inequality. NGC also connects young people with volunteer opportunities, and through its after school programs, supports teenagers in starting their own movements and fundraisers.
NGC has supported students holding bake sales or talent shows to raise money for A Ban Against Neglect, which helps impoverished mothers in Ghana, and Sustainable Resources Ltd., which completes infrastructure projects in developing countries.
When she was in high school, Stephanie Arzate of Avondale, Ariz. participated in an NGC afterschool program to raise money for the Afghan Institute of Learning, which provides education to women in Afghanistan. Later Arzate went to Georgetown to study for a planned career in the Foreign Service, and had the chance to meet that organization’s executive director. “I didn’t need to tell her more than my name and where I went to high school,” Arzate told Larisa Epatko of the PBS NewsHour. “She immediately hugged me and thanked me and my high school team for the money we raised.”
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