First Give and SuperKind: creating the next generation of ‘change makers’

The First Give programme empowers students to take action in support of causes that they care about in order to drive positive change in their communities. Social action is a pivotal moment in the programme as students plan social action activities to support their chosen charities. We define social action as “practical action taken to make a positive change in society” and during the programme students are encouraged to think about the different forms social action can take including raising awareness, campaigning, fundraising, and volunteering. As they progress through the programme, students are equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to plan and carry out their own innovative and impactful social action projects, considering how they can give their time, money, and skills to causes they care about. Here at First Give we are continually inspired by the passion and creativity shown by young people as they make a tangible difference to their local communities through their social action.

Students seek inspiration for their social action projects from a variety of different sources including conversations with their peers; meetings with representatives from the charities they have chosen to support; and the case-studies and news-stories published on our blog. This year we are also excited to announce our partnership with SuperKind  which is a free and easy-to-use platform showcasing real social action carried out by young people around the globe, and a fantastic source of inspiration for students participating in the First Give programme.

SuperKind is a not-for-profit organisation founded by parents who were inspired by the social action that they saw their own children taking. Just like us at First Give, their goal is to make it easy for all young people to make a difference to the causes that they care about. By bringing ‘active citizenship and philanthropy into the classroom’ they hope to create ‘the next generation of changemakers.’

The resources available on the SuperKind website are built around key components of the Ofsted framework including ‘character development and active citizenship.’ This aligns with our commitment at First Give to ensure our programmes complement multiple areas of the National Curriculum and Curriculum for Wales as well as contribute to the personal and character development of young people.

In collaborating with SuperKind, we hope to open opportunities for our partner schools to access the resources and tools they provide, whilst also expanding the reach of both organisations. SuperKind’s website includes the change-makers page, which hosts over 50 case studies of young people who have made a genuine difference to the causes they care about. We loved learning about the amazing work carried out by these young people including Anjali, who has campaigned about the effects of air pollution; Joshua, who set up his own food distribution foundation; and Frasier who wrote a book to raise awareness about the experience of refugees

The Take Action Toolkits offer brilliant step-by-step guides on how to plan and carry out a range of social action projects including creating a petition, staging a protest, or starting a club.

The SuperKind fundraising platform can be used by anyone to collect donations for fundraising activities that they carry out. It is also the world’s only cross-charity fundraising platform that can be used by anyone under the age of 16 and is fully GDPR compliant.

And if you are interested in developing your knowledge of different social issues further, then the additional resources page contains a variety of fantastic book, video, and website recommendations to explore.

We at First Give want to say a huge thank-you to SuperKind for partnering with us this year! We love working with organisations who support our mission of igniting a spark of social conscience within young people so that they can make a difference to the causes they care about!