Changemaker Challenge
Students faced a number of issues during this Challenge: a global pandemic, socially distant learning, racial injustice, the environment, and much more. That’s why we invited students to make awards for changemakers in their own backyard. Their awards also helped support changemakers around the world!
Get Your Students Engaged
Better Together
A changemaker is someone who takes creative action to solve a social problem.* Anyone can be a changemaker: Maybe a changemaker is a parent or grandparent, aunt, or uncle. They could be a neighbor or classmate that has made a difference. Their changemaker may be a teacher, community organizer, doctor, librarian, or friend that rises up to help. A changemaker could be someone you admire but haven’t met. It might even be you!
*Definition from Ashoka.org.
A Different Kind of Award
A blue ribbon for being kind. A gold medal for good neighbors. A silver star for speaking up. A badge of honor for brave leadership and activism. Instead of honoring a famous musician or athlete, we invited students to make awards for changemakers in their local communities and to support other changemakers all around the world.
Scale Change
First, students learned about changemakers. Next, students created awards using whatever materials available and shared their awards with us. For every award we received, the Bezos Family Foundation will donated $5 ($1,000,000 in total!) to programs supporting changemakers in the U.S. and around the world.
How It Works
Students Rebuild empowers young people ages 5-25 to take direct action and see firsthand how they
can make a difference. The project is adaptable and can be scaled from a single lesson to a full year. We
provide free resources to help you teach within whatever time and space you have.
1. Sign Up
Educators or youth leaders sign up their group or class for the project.
2. Explore
Use our free resources to teach students about the issue.
3. Create
Select a creative medium – visual art, writing, performance, digital media, or STEM – and have students express their ideas, thoughts, and solutions.
4. Share
Submit students’ work. Each creative work or student engaged unlocks a $5 donation to global charities, up to $1M.
5. Impact
Creative submissions help raise funds for local and global solutions.
Types Of Creative Work Accepted
Literary Arts (Short stories, essays, and poetry), Performing Arts (Dance, theater, and music), Media Arts (PSAs, films, and videos), Media Arts (PSAs, films, and videos), Visual Arts (Graphic design, drawings, paintings, photography, and memes), STEM (Robotics, digital design, and games)
Help Changemaker Challenge
Help us reach our goal of raising $1M for Global Nomads Group. These organizations are working on the ground to care for the air, land, and water around us.
$1,000,000
Raised of $1,000,000 goal
112,931
Creative expressions
84,164
Youth engaged
Learn more about the partner organizations these funds are helping support.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions before signing up?