Teen Artists for Change

Youth Philanthropy

Independently United founder Kaityn Kenny presents Jim Stevens wtih a check for $700 - the proceeds from their debut "pop-up gallery" auction.

Independently United founder Kaityn Kenny presents Jim Stevens with a check for $700 – the proceeds from their debut “pop-up gallery” auction.

Independently United is a consortium of SouthCoast High School artists, sponsored by GiftsToGive, who exhibit at local “pop-up” galleries and auction their art to support local causes they believe in.

Some people talk about making a difference – these students found a most creative and sustainable way of modeling a new kind of youth philanthropy!

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Important to us
- Partner’s Insurance, Sponsors Volunteer Evenings! March 21, 5-7pm
  
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- Student to Student Tutoring
  
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Stories – Youth Philanthropy
- Gifts From the SKY
  
  SKY Campers
  
  An abundance of gifts came from the SKY (Summer Bible Camp) and found their way into the hands of hundreds of local kids in need, thanks to the children of St. Christopher and St. Theresa Parishes in Tiverton.
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- Theta Delta Chi walks the walk!
  
  On Saturday, we met brothers from Theta Delta Chi, at UMassDartmouth
  
  Peter Coyne, Theta Delta Chi Brother and Education Major had this to say – “I wasn’t sure what to expect when my fraternity, Theta Delta Chi, would be helping at GiftsToGive. Obviously I assumed we would be packaging toys and other things for children in need, but what I didn’t expect was the eye opening experience it turned out to be. Going on a tour of GiftsToGive was the first thing my fraternity did when we got there. I never knew some little old factory could contain tens of thousands of various items that are shipped to kids in need every day from this facility.
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- City On A Hill High School Students, Making A Difference
  
  Twenty-five students and staff from City On A Hill High School spent their morning with us. We worked on gift packages, books and toys. Rather than us telling the story, we asked student Sarah Bethoney for an essay on their group experience.
  
  Here is what Sarah had to say: “Coming to GiftsToGive was a great experience. Learning the process of how we can help the people in our community and seeing all the work that goes into it is a phenomenal thing to see. My peers and I came to GiftsToGive to volunteer by helping organize books, clothes and toys to go out to children.
  
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- “The Normandin Middle School Sorority” Defining Youth Philanthropy
  
  Kayla Smith, Flavia Miranda, Adrienne DePina, India Santiago, Sabine Charles, Anitra Alves, Alianah Grajales, Sofia Dias, Diana Jesus, Rylee Nogueira, Natasha Ferro and Martha Kay. (Not in order)
  
  Two amazing women; Natasha Ferro and Martha Kay have been mentoring groups of middle school girls, after school, since 2012 at the Normandin Middle School.
  
  CLICK to read their joint speech
  
  “The Sorority” morphed into a Youth Philanthropy Group this year and with the guidance of Natasha and Martha their young women focused on issues that concerned them. In the beginning of the school year, they brainstormed a list of needs within our community and settled on animal abuse, domestic violence, gang activity, and homelessness.
  
  This week they made a presentation to the Greater New Bedford Homeless Providers Network. Their speech was inspiring as was their work. Their speech defines the work they’ve done, please read it.
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- A story of great hope for this generation of children
  
  Cardinal Spellman Students
  
  This week we met sixteen students from Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton.
  
  Photos from our day are here
  
  We talked as a group about child poverty, the importance of education and graduating high school. We talked about giving, philanthropy, making a difference, social justice, big citizenship, the power of one, the power of a group and then we went to work. These sixteen students inspected, cleaned and processed enough great stuff to allow us to help three dozen local children in-need. How great is that?
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- The power of one multiplied by three!
  
  We talk a lot, about the power of one. Today we are talking about the power of three; Alexia, Kelvin and Victoria.
  
  On the first Saturday in April, it was blustery, rainy and promised snow! Saturdays are a busy day for us, there are usually over one-hundred student volunteers at the factory helping us inspect, process and organize tons of donations. In the middle of what we like to think of as controlled chaos, in come Alexia, Kelvin and Victoria with a ton of their own donations. They had collected all this wonderful stuff for local children in-need as a part of their SKILLS USA competition at Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School.
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- DeMello Elementary School – Student Council – A Force for Good!
  
  Joesph DeMello Elementary School
  4th and 5th grade Student Council
  
  On Monday, 70 members of Dartmouth’s Joseph DeMello School’s Student Council performed an afternoon of service..
  
  The group of 4th and 5th graders, who have held donation drives to benefit some of the 35,000 local children living in poverty, volunteered their time inspecting, sorting and processing a zillion pounds of donated clothing and toys. They also experienced the power of giving and service in the most tangible ways!
  
  When asked about her time at Gifts to Give, 5th grader Mia Paynton said – “I really enjoyed helping out today. I want to bring my sister and mom back to volunteer this summer. It is so important to help others.”
  
  Photos from our day are here.
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- Bishop Connolly Students Define Youth Philanthropy
  
  Matthew, Jonathan and Arthur
  
  When people talk to us about what is wrong with kids today; we smile and listen politely, then reply with a recent story about Matthew, Jonathan and Arthur.
  
  Read the local paper’s story here.
  
  Johnathan who is a sophomore at Bishop Connolly High School has been volunteering with us since he was in the 7th grade. Jonathan has set a record for helping Newport County Rhode Island families and is now recruiting fellow students to do the same.
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- Nate Helps Others for his Birthday
  
  When Nate invited friends to his birthday party, he asked them to bring gifts of new socks and underwear for boys and girls who didn’t have the things that they all had.
  
  Nate agreed with his mother that he already had enough “stuff” and decided instead to help kids who didn’t. His friends thought this was pretty cool too.
  
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- Meeting Lyla
  
  Last Saturday, we met a most remarkable girl, seven year-old philanthropist Lyla.
  
  We see thousands of children every year and most are special, some beyond words, some are extra special, some are even extraordinary and then there is Lyla. I say this because this seven year-old had processed and understood how lucky she was and felt she needed to act on her feelings.
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- What’s right with University Students? BSU students talk for themselves!
  
  We met a most remarkable young woman on Saturday, Jessie Barbosa. Photos from our day are here.
  
  Jessie is a student at Bridgewater State University. She organized a day of service with several groups on campus. We asked Jessie to write about their experience, she had this to say – “On Saturday a group of Bridgewater State University students from multiple backgrounds, majors, and ages volunteered their time and services to GiftsToGive in Acushnet. This community service was made possible by a collaboration between The Center of Multicultural Affairs, Men Integrated in Brotherhood and the Community Service Office, which all form part of Bridgewater State University’s clubs and organizations. The students arrived around 9:00am, registered and then received a short orientation, which allowed them to understand the organization’s mission and familiarize themselves with the building.
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- Bishop Stang Fresmen Class – Connecting to Giving and Service
  
  One of our annual traditions, is meeting the entire Bishop Stang Freshmen class at the factory.
  
  Photo archive HERE. (This year’s photos are a gift from students; Amelia Bailey and Emily Iovanna)
  
  We could talk all day, about what is right about young people, but we prefer they talk for themselves.
  
  Thank you to student Veronica Bernier for the following essay:
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News from GiftsToGive
- SAVE THE BEE
  
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- To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow!
  
  So …. here we are, in our new home in Acushnet. We’re scrambling to finish the retrofit of the new factory before the winter sets in Read More »
- Outside sign demo
  
  This was the demo for our new flat panel sign. 96 inches wide, 30 inches tall. We WILL NOT be scrolling messages, just one, stationary, message Read More »

Teen Artists for Change

Search this website

Important to us

Stories – Youth Philanthropy

News from GiftsToGive