Youth Uplift Challenge
2016 - 2017
Over 115,000 students in 28 countries made 250,000+ hands for the Youth Uplift Challenge! For every hand you made and sent in, the Bezos Family Foundation donated $1.90—up to $500,000—to Save the Children’s programs empowering youth in Nicaragua and Indonesia to rise into a life they dream for themselves.
295,484 hands generated $400,000 for youth empowerment.
Over 115,000 students in 28 countries made 290,000+ hands for the Youth Uplift Challenge. For every hand you made and sent in, the Bezos Family Foundation donated $1.90—up to $500,000—to Save the Children’s programs empowering youth in Nicaragua and Indonesia to rise into a life they dream for themselves.
Why the Youth Uplift Challenge?
Motivation
400,000 million youth around the world live in poverty.
Around the world young people are growing up in extreme poverty. More than 400,000 million young people live on less than $1.90 a day. Growing up in poverty means these young people often don’t have access to good schools or safe places to learn.
Students reached out their hands and made a difference.
Young people around the world created nearly 300,000 paper hands which the Bezos Family Foundation matched with a donation to Save the Children to help young people in Nicaragua and Indonesia start their own small businesses. Hands were painted, collaged, knit, even 3D! Although each hand was unique, they connected us together and to young people around the world who are working hard for their dreams.
2,000 young people in Nicaragua and Indonesia received job training.
In Nicaragua and Indonesia, young people received job training, start-up funds, and mentorship to help them live into their dreams. One young woman started a business selling chicken eggs; another group of siblings started making and selling candy. In addition to supporting students in starting their own businesses, your support trained 40 teachers in Indonesia to provide financial literacy education to thousands of youth.
How to Participate
The ProcessLearn
Explore resources like lesson plans, art guides, and videos that help students explore who they are – their traits, experiences, and stories – and reflect on the shared humanity between individuals, cultures, and communities.
Create
Encourage students to express their vision for a more united world through their choice of literary, media, performing and visual arts, or STEM.
Share
Submit students’ creative works to Students Rebuild. Each submission or student engaged raises $5 to support organizations worldwide that foster connection and champion collaborative change, up to $1 million.
Get Started
New to Students Rebuild?
Quick Start GuideCheck out our Quick Start Guide, which walks you through how to participate step by step and lists all the resources available to you.
What's in it for you?
Aside from raising money through your creative works, every team or participant who submits artwork receives a downloadable Certificate of Participation. You can also request a detailed letter for service learning hours by emailing [email protected].
Mark your calendar!
All creative work must be submitted by May 31, 2017 11:59pm PDT. Ready to make a difference through creativity? Sign up or sign in today!
Youth Uplift Challenge Progress
$400,000
raised of $400,000 goal
We’ve reached our donation goal!
295,484
creative expressions
Every creative work generated raises awareness of the importance of empowering youth and building bridges! Submit now!
112,630
youth engaged
Choose a Medium
Creativity has the power to change the world, and it’s something that all of us can do. Explore the 5 mediums you can use for your Students Rebuild project.
Literary Arts
Short stories, essays, and poetry.
Performing Arts
Dance, theater, and music.
Media Arts
PSAs, films, and videos.
Visual Arts
Graphic design, drawings, paintings, photography, and memes.
STEM
Robotics, digital design, and games.
See what students are creating around the world
Use this map to find other teams participating in the project — the pins show where teams created their works of creative expression. Click the icons to learn how the programs you helped fund are making a difference.
The programs your art helps fund
For each Students Rebuild annual Project, we partner with high-impact organizations working on the ground to help strengthen communities worldwide—many of them household names. The funds we donate transform student work into immediate, on-the-ground progress for carefully vetted programs that are evaluated according to the outcomes they produce. In addition to extending our reach and helping our funding make more of a difference, our partners also inform the resources we provide to teachers and students.
- Engagement Partners
