Trick-or-treat like Selena

via AOL Music

Back from her recent trip to Ghana, Selena Gomez is at it again. The Disney star, already UNICEF’s youngest ambassador, will be the spokesperson for their Trick-or-Treat campaign this year. Selena was the spokesperson last year too! The campaign encourages kids to make a difference on Halloween by carrying those famous orange boxes to collect money as they trick-or-treat. Over the 58 years of the program, UNICEF has collected $140 million. The money helps bring water, education, and medicine to children in need around the world.

Check out the YouTube video Selena posted, urging kids to join the campaign and raise money for UNICEF.

To get your UNICEF orange box this Halloween, click here! Don’t plan on trick-or-treating, or want to do even more? Organize a candlelight vigil recognizing global poverty.

The Smith kids do good

via Time

Actor/producer/singer/writer Will Smith must be one proud parent. Not only have his kids appeared in his movies – Jaden, 11, starred in The Pursuit of Happyness, and Willow, 8, was in I Am Legend – but both kids can add youth ambassador to their list of accomplishments. Jaden and Willow have teamed up with Project Zambi to help out kids in Africa. Started by the game company Hasbro, Project Zambi is a global initiative that raises awareness about the estimated 15 million African children who have been left orphaned by AIDS.

About 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS around the world, and 27.7 million of them are in Africa. South Africa also has one of the biggest numbers of children under 15 living with HIV/AIDS – somewhere between 180,000 and 280,000. Jaden says that he and his sister teamed up with Project Zambi “to encourage kids everywhere to lend a hand and join us in spreading the word.” Adds Willow: “Project Zambi is about kids and for kids, and it’s so important that we all learn to take care of each other.” We couldn’t agree with them more! Check out the Project Zambi website to see how you can help out Jaden and Willow, and be sure to read about the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on society.

Jessica smiles big

via AP
Jessica Simpson had something to smile about this weekend when she was honored at Operation Smile’s 8th Annual Smile Gala. Jessica is the International Youth Ambassador for the organization, which works around the world giving free facial reconstruction surgery to young people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Jessica and her dad have been to Kenya to visit an Operation Smile medical mission, and she’s also spoken to members of Congress about the organization.

Facial deformities like cleft lips and cleft palates can cause problems eating, drinking, and speaking, and getting them fixed also boosts a child’s self esteem. Read up on facial deformities on Operation Smile’s website and then write an article for your local paper to educate other people on this issue.

Brangelina at it again

via Babble.com
They’re one of the biggest superstar couples in the world, but Brangelina still go out of their way to do good. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie spent their weekend in Syria visiting with refugees displaced by the on-going violence in Iraq. Angelina, who’s a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, called for the international community not to forget these refugees, some of whom she met with in their homes so they could share their stories. Many of the families who have fled to Syria have run out of money, meaning they now have to rely on the help of the government and humanitarian agencies, like the UN Refugee Agency. Angelina also met with the president of Syria, who told her that the country is providing health care to refugees and encouraging their children to still go to school.

The UN says more than 4.2 million Iraqis have left their homes since 2003, when the conflicts in the country began. The UN Refugee Agency knows of about 215,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria, meaning the actual number is probably higher. Want to be like Brangelina? Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, then organize an awareness campaign about why they’re important to us all.

http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/actionguide/start-awareness-campaign-a...

Give your time, get free Disney tix!

via Disney

We’ve already covered the amazing work being done by the Disney Friends for Change Program, which encourages kids to pledge time to volunteer in their communities. But volunteering is about to get a lot more rewarding with the launch of “give a day, get a Disney day,” where your day of volunteering can nab you free admission to Disneyworld or Disneyland. That’s right, free admission!

Starting January 1st, you can go on disneyparks.com to find volunteer opportunities in your area, and then participate in a day of service. A lot of the opportunities will even be projects the whole family can sign up for. One day of service will earn you free admission to a Disney park - just make sure you register through the Disney website. We think this sounds like a great deal, but if you feel the itch to volunteer before January 1st, check out our giant database of volunteer opportunities, or browse through the volunteer projects being run by other kids. And check out the official Friends for Change music video below.

Livestrong still going strong

via The Insider

Lance Armstrong became a household name thanks to his bike-riding skills, but he’s also famous for beating cancer and turning the ordeal in to a mega-charity – Livestrong bracelets anyone? Today is Livestrong Day, which marks the anniversary of Lance’s cancer diagnosis. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness about the fight against cancer– over 28 million people around the world are living with cancer. Every year, the disease causes more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.

If someone you know is fighting cancer, use today to make sure you’re giving them the love and support they need. Even if you don’t know someone with the disease, you should still educate yourself about cancer and then visit the Livestrong website to sign a world cancer declaration.

Steve-O's latest stunt

via PETA

Steve-O wants you to cut class! Well, not exactly - the animal-loving Wildboy, who recently went vegan, is teaming up with PETA on a new campaign, telling kids to “cut class, not frogs.” The campaign is to educate kids about why dissection doesn’t belong in the classroom. Steve-O’s also urging educators to provide animal-free alternatives to dissection.

Every year, more than 6 million animals are killed for dissections in American classrooms, even though there are a lot of ways to learn about biology without cutting open animals. In some states, students even have the legal right to refuse to dissect, but many don’t know this and are afraid they’ll end up with an F if they speak up. Want to join Steve-O in the fight to end dissection in classrooms? Get started by reading up on animal-free education and how you can bring it to your school. Then start an awareness campaign to educate others on this issue.

Shakira gets schooled

via Straits Times

Hip-shaking superstar Shakira has just opened her sixth – yes sixth! – school for underprivileged children. Over ten years ago, the singer started her Fundacion Pies Descalzos (that’s The Barefoot Foundation to all you non-Spanish speakers), and since then they’ve been running education and nutrition programs to improve the lives of children in her native Columbia.

Columbia has been struggling with decades of violent internal conflicts and has the second greatest number of displaced people in the world, meaning that many children don’t have access to the educational opportunities they deserve. Shakira’s hoping that her schools will improve both the kids’ lives and the future of her country. Want to do something too? Educate yourself on why education is a problem for so many kids, and then organize a school supply drive for local kids in need.

America the beautiful

via Business Week

Actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Lowe want you to get outside and enjoy America’s greatest resource: our national parks. Along with Dominic Scott Kay – best remembered for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – they’re encouraging kids and their families to take a vacation right here at home.

The stars are helping launch a new environmental program run by the National Park Trust called Where’s Buddy Bison Been? To participate, you can order a Buddy Bison stuffed animal online, and then take photos of you and your fam enjoying the great outdoors with Buddy in tow. You can then upload the photos along with stories of your adventures to the National Parks website. The program comes at the same time as a new PBS documentary by Ken Burns called National Parks: America’s Best Idea. But you don’t have to travel anywhere to get involved – read up on the importance of recycling and check out the Parks Trust website to find out more about the Buddy Bison program and our national parks.

Adam's fans do good

via Rainbow Philippines

Adam Lambert has big news - $229,000 to be exact. That’s the amount raised by fans of the American Idol runner-up, and it’ll all be put to use in arts classrooms, thanks to the online education charity DonorsChoose.org. The donation drive was actually a competition between Adam’s different fan groups, and in just a month almost 2,000 fans raised the cash. The winning fan group also earned a special chat session with Adam himself, who announced the start of the donation drive on CGG. The money raised will fund projects in music and arts-based classrooms that were submitted by the teachers themselves, meaning the money will go where it’s truly needed.

Is your school’s music and art program in need of funding too? Tell us about it and you could win a grant to help out a program or start one at your school. Lucky enough to have a good arts program at your school? Then study up on why arts in education is so important.