America, meet your top 30 young rebels with a cause!

T-Mobile and Ashoka announce the 30 winning Changemaking Teams
T-Mobile Changemaker 100
Source: T-Mobile Changemaker 100

“We can’t stop jumping up and down with excitement and keep pinching ourselves to remind us that this isn’t a dream!”
Julia Hansen, leader of one of the 30 extraordinary solutions, Yellow Tulip Project

T-Mobile Article 1

Last month,  T-Mobile and Ashoka shared the top 100 Changemaker ideas from more than 300 young people across the United States who applied to the first-ever #TMoChangemaker Challenge.

Senior leadership from Ashoka and T-Mobile were involved in determining the top 30 winning youth solutions, with each team uniquely cultivating creativity, commitment, connections as they initiate steps to make a difference on a range of issues, from improving police and community relations to climate change, to reimagining children’s healthcare.

Shyla Kallhoff, from winning team ‘Common Ground’ shares that her team members are “so excited to have been chosen for the Changemaker lab and are overjoyed that the team at T-Mobile sees a future for us and believes in our project! This opportunity will allow us to gain the tools we need to make our dreams a reality!”

This August, T-Mobile and Ahsoka are bringing together these 30 innovative solutions at T-Mobile’s headquarters in Seattle. At the #TMoChangemaker Summit, experts in social entrepreneurship, business, and community change will support these young leaders to power-up, and scale up their innovations.

 

Changemaker messages to America’s youth

What messages do some of the winners have for other young people in America searching for change?

“Your youth is an asset, not a liability; you look at entrenched problems differently and can advance innovative solutions.” says Kiran Sridhar of Waste No Food, a top 30 changemaker solution announced this week.

Julia, co-leader the Yellow Tulip Project for mental health, shares that “We were so passionate about this topic [teen mental health] that we just dove in without a clear plan and no funding...We just dove in head first because we care so much. Every step of the way we kept asking ourselves “why not?” Why not try this or that? The worst that could happen is that someone would say no. The best is that people have actually responded to our idea and have jumped in to help us spread our message.”

 

Meet your young changemakers, America!

America, time to get to know these top 30 young changemakers of the United States who are actively re-authoring the future, today. Explore, connect and offer your support to the winning community solutions here. From the #TMoChangemaker portal, watch winners share what sparked them to change the status quo, and why they are tacking a range of issues—from LGBT rights, to climate change.

ArtPass (OR)
Reimagines how kids across the world perceive and experience being in a hospital.

Aware (WA)
Provides a more inclusive environment for students with special needs.

Badge Up (MA)
Facilitates conversation between urban youth and neighborhood police force.

Bay Area Solutions B.A.S. (CA)
Educates youth about using art to create meaningful change in their community. 

Bits N’ Bytes (CA, IL, IN, NJ, and NY)
Equips citizens with cyber security skills through multi-media education.

Common Ground (NE and MO)
Supports LGBTQ youth while strengthening their community of allies.

Coppercuties (WA)
Creates jewelry that spreads awareness about a variety of social causes.

Dios del Sol (God of the Sun) (PR)
Works with faith-based institutions in Puerto Rico to bring solar power to tens of thousands of people.

Dual School (DE)
Empowers students to launch passion projects.

Echo Effect (CA, ID, VA, WA)
Social media game where users earn points for taking a photo of a good deed.

E-JangRadio (CA, FL, Hong Kong, Senegal)
Teaches English via radio programs in Senegal, where people lack consistent internet access

HER (D.C., VA, Pakistan, and Morocco)
Builds libraries at underfunded girls’ schools in developing countries. 

Kids First Project (CA, OR, and D.C.)
Brings educational and recreational programs for homeless youth.

“Meating” the Need for Our Village (MI and NC)
Utilizes local farm donations to fight food insecurity in rural areas.

Operation Sustain (WA)
Makes the science of climate change accessible through an educational game.

Peerlift (CA, MA, and PA)
Provides an online platform for students to share college scholarships and internships with fellow students.

RISE (Refugee International Support Effort) (VA)
Provides hope to refugees through creative outlets and passion projects.

Service Day Toolkit (MN)
Engages residents to build community within a community.

Signal 365 (VA)
Focused on education on how to stay safe during natural disasters.

Sole2Soul (CA)
Reuses and repurposes shoes for low income communities and athletes.

South Texas Ideas (TX)
Encourages underprivileged Hispanic communities to pursue their interests.

Standing Tall (FL)
Closes the achievement gap through mentorship and civic engagement.

Student Political Action Coalition (MA, PA, TN)
Opens collegiate chapters that engage students in political issues and topics.

Tech-Savvy (NJ)
Provides inexpensive computer education and devices for children in low income families.

The Party Project (OR)
Creates birthday party supply kits for youth in low income families.

The Yellow Tulip Project (ME)
Shifts the stigma around mental health and creates hope for young people.

Threading Twine (TX)
Creates a platform for activist youth to publish their views and engage with each other. 

Urban BEET (WA and D.C.)
Distributes produce from urban farms to school food pantries. 

Vaayu (MA)
Reduces pollution with mosses that are formulated to purify the air. 

Waste No Food (CA, IL, and FL)
Model for collecting excess food and distributing it to hungry people.

 

Follow #TMoChangemaker to track the winners as they meet each other for the first time at T-Mobile headquarters in Seattle. Over 3 days, each team will get specialized support to help them scale their changemaker work, and some will even pitch to senior leadership of T-Mobile and Ashoka!