When the quarantine was first upon us, our Education team worked tirelessly to make sure that we could still host our PAVE program even if it meant converting it to a virtual format. We modified the structure of our course so that each of our students still got the full PAVE experience even if it was through a computer screen.

All of the participants learned about philanthropy and how they can actively help others whether by themselves or with a nonprofit. The students were able to practice their communication and leadership skills while learning how to network and participate in charitable activities. 

In our third session, we invited Vanessa Baum of The Family Place to speak to the kids about her organization and how kids can get involved. Our students were asking tons of questions and really showing off their nonprofit research skills. 

Lastly, every student developed a project where they would help combine their personal passions with existing community needs. Our students created a variety of projects including:

• A book drive for Reading Partners of North Texas
• A social media awareness campaign for new UNICEF projects
• A fundraiser for the Sastha Tamil Foundation
• A donation drive for 29 Acres

We are so proud of our PAVE graduates and can't wait to see them grow as leaders and philanthropists!

Editor's Note: This post was originally made on January 15, 2014. It was reuploaded to the Philanthropy Kids website in 2020 as digital platforms had changed.

When Philanthropy Kids acquired PAVE, we never expected to within 6 short months, our program would become a global initiative!

Over the Winter Holiday, Bob Hopkins led over 15 adult volunteers and 3 youth volunteers on a service trip to Mazatlan, Mexico where participants would help Bob put on a PAVE program for local kids as well as support local NGOs and charities through a variety of projects that he had organized.

Once all the participants made it to Mazatlan, our first project was to host a day-long PAVE program for elementary school kids at a nearby school. The kids were very eager to take what they learned and find new ways to help their friends, families, and other community members.

Our second project involved picking up trash in a village outside the city of Mazatlan and educating the community about a new waste management service that we had set up. This village had not had access to this type of infrastructure before, and it was really interesting to see these individials learn about specific sanitation measures that can keep them healthier.

The third project was to renovate an old school that was in danger of collapsing. Working with local NGOs, we rebuilt the school, refurnished it with new desks and chalkboards, and re-painted the exterior.

Our final project during our multi-day trip was going to a remote village where the citizens don't necessarily get three square meals a day, and we distributed Christmas Day dinner packages to every family. It was a really eye-opening experience that shed light on the prevalance and severity of global hunger.

This PAVE program was the first of it's kind. The participants not only got to engage in philanthropic activities through their own volunteering, but got to have a part in teaching the PAVE program to young kids. We're excited to have more international PAVE sessions because we know that love and compassion are universal languages, and philanthropy has no nationality.