Act Locally
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Welcome! Whether you're a community leader, a seasoned advocate, a young person looking to turn your concern into action or somewhere in between, you'll find guides, tools and ideas to help you make a difference.
For more resources, inspiring stories and online tools, please visit the homepage of our Action Center.
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- The ABCs of Advocacy. Read our guide to strengthening communities through advocacy.
- Budging the School Budget. A SparkAction guide to influencing school district budgets, with real-world examples.
- The Federal Budget Process in Congress: 2009. What's it got to do with your hometown? Find out!
Volunteer Opportunities
Diana Rugh Johnson, an attorney and child welfare law specialist in Atlanta, Georgia, has represented parents accused of child abuse because of a hospital misdiagnosis. In this interview, she explains how these medical misdiagnosis happen and what parents can do to protect their families.
Youth leader Alex Wirth reflects on his experiences - good and bad - with youth engagement initiatives.
Students representing a cross-sector of Chicago presented 56 activism projects.
An amazing time-lapse map that shows how the American racial population will dramatically change over the next two decades.
Episode 1 of "Larkin Street Stories" explores the lives of homeless LGBTQ youth in San Francisco.
With new boss Dennis Walcott, the city school system gets a new chance to improve relations with parents and teachers. But there'll be no second chance for Robeson High in Bed-Stuy. What does that mean for students? Helen Zelon of CityLimits.org reports from Brooklyn, NY.
This colorful infographic gives dry statistics about teen drug use.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vislack emphasizes the importance of education.
Rock the Vote partners with organizations such as Splashlife in order to help rebuild and restore communities hit hard by tornadoes in the southeast of the country.
Tools to Improve Communities
December 16, 2011
Produced by: 
Weekly Reader
This report announces the results of paired nation-wide surveys asking adults and children their opinion of America's ability to resolve its problems. The results show that although children and adults agree on the top two issues facing the U.S. today (economy/jobs and health care), they feel very differently about our prospects for solving the country's problems.
December 6, 2011
Produced by: 
Forum for Youth Investment
The Department of Education's new guidance on FERPA makes significant str
November 29, 2011
Produced by: 
MTV Act
In honor of National Entrepreneur Month, the White House held an event for young business minds. MTVact was there, and reflect on some of the great advice they learned.
November 17, 2011
Produced by: 
Campaign for Youth Justice
Take a look into the unseen world of young children serving decades behind bars in America's adult prison system.
On November 20th at 10 pm EST, MSNBC will premiere "Young Kids, Hard Time," a one-hour documentary narrated by Rick Springfield that throws back the veil on the reality of young kids serving long sentences in adult prisons.
November 10, 2011
Produced by: 
Feeding America
Feeding America launched this awesome toolit, full of guidelines, best practices, tools, videos and sucess stories to help fight against hunger in your community. Check out the plethora of new resources in the link below.
November 10, 2011
Produced by: 
MTV Act
Latin for "mode of operation." It's the way you do things, how you work. Can it make the world a better place? Youth Service America (YSA) is joining forces with Monique Coleman (the UN's current Youth Champion and High School Musical actress) to get to the bottom of what drives youth engagement in this country.
October 25, 2011
Produced by: 
Children's Health Fund
In a new video, Paul Simon and Dr. Irwin Redlener, co-founders of the Children's Health Fund, along with other pediatricians urge the Congressional super committee to protect funding to children's health care.
October 19, 2011
Produced by: 
We Are One
On October 19, Vice President Biden will join union members and other activists to rally on Capitol Hill in support of a bill that would create or protect nearly 400,000 education jobs while preventing the layoffs of thousands of police officers and firefighters. Can you join the vice president and activists at2 p.m.
October 18, 2011
Produced by: 
Foundation for Child Development
This interactive PreK-3rd map recognizes states, school districts, schools, and education and advocacy organizations across the United States that are “on the path” to creating a well-aligned, high-quality primary education system by their efforts to implement PreK-3rd, and they want to know about your work.
October 13, 2011
Produced by: 
TED, TED
In honor of Universal Children’s Day, TED, the national phenomenon of conferences that focus on short talks with big ideas, is launching TEDYouth.