So those of you who have heard me speak know that I love to tell the story of Laura Stockman and the good work that she’s been doing in her community and writing about in her blog “Twenty-five Days to Make a Difference.” Laura is only 11, but her willingness to do community service of all kinds and to share those experiences with others sets her apart in many ways. Through her blog, she’s been able to connect with people from every part of the globe, and she’s even been asked to teach other kids in other classrooms how to go about changing their own places for the better. Because of her efforts, Laura has been invited to the Special Olympics in Idaho this year to be a part of its Global Youth Summit. It’s all good stuff and I think a great testament to how even younger kids (with the help of their parents and, hopefully, their teachers) can use social media to sincerely “make a difference.”

Now, Laura has embarked on expanding the idea even more. With her mom, Angela, and Jenny Luca from Melbourne, Laura has started “Working Together to Make a Difference” which is an attempt to connect kids and adults from around the world in the name of community service. Teachers are beginning to bring service learning into their classrooms, and they’re sharing their work for others to collaborate with or to learn from. Right now, there are 44 members from Australia, Canada and the US, and they are looking for other classrooms that will participate because they want to, because they truly want to change a part of their worlds.

No doubt, this is a time when there are more people out there needing our help, and if we are to raise a generation of kids to be stewards of the world rather than simply consumers of it, we need to teach them the importance of giving and helping. Soap boxy, I know, but this is such a great attempt by one young woman to really have an impact, and it could serve as such a great model for your own students to follow and to become involved in. I really urge you to get involved if you can.

Yesterday, Sheryl and I finished up the culminating session of our year-long work with a Western New York Powerful Learning Practice cohort, and while the teachers were once again pretty impressive in articulating and showcasing the shifts that have occurred in their professional practice and their classrooms, the highlight of the day was a presentation by Laura Stockman, the fifth grade blogger at 25 Days to Make A Difference. Laura is the daughter of Angela Stockman who was a member of our cohort, and as I’ve noted elsewhere, her service project blog in honor of her grandfather has gained national attention. She talked about how she started her quest to get donations for charities by finding sponsors for her daily good works, how surprised she is that over 30,000 people have visited her blog since last December, and how she’s been able to donate over $1,600, 50 pairs of pajamas, and over 400 books to charities in her area. It’s a great story and example, one that I’ve shared with Tess on a number of occasions.

But for some reason, the moment that jumped out at me was when she was talking about how she decided which charities to support. “I asked my readers,” she said. And I just felt like, “How cool is that?” Here is a fifth grader who is first and foremost making a difference in peoples’ lives (which is cool enough) but also who is connected to a community of others who are passionate to make a difference as well. (She dropped some names of some pretty well know philanthropists that had been in touch with her.) She gets it on a practical level that not only models what’s possible but that will no doubt serve as a support for whatever learning experiences she will have in her life.

And one other note. Today in a presentation to some New York City middle school principals, I talked about Laura in the context of how we begin to help our kids create their own digital footprints in positive ways, to be, in a word, “Googleable.” Even fifth graders. Here’s what comes up when you Google “‘Laura Stockman’ Buffalo.”

Pretty good start, I’d say.

UPDATE: Please read what Laura’s mom Angela has to say about the experience.