Cards for Hospitalized Kids was founded by 17-year-old Jen Rubino who shares her story about her own hospital stay and inspiration to start the organization on the website:

Jen Rubino, Founder of Cards for Hospitalized Kids, Shares Her Story

Above: Cards for Hospitalized Kids founder Jen Rubino was interviewed by B96′s Rebecca Ortiz on December 8, 2011.

My motivation for creating Cards for Hospitalized Kids goes back to my own experience as a patient, which began when I was diagnosed with a chronic illness at age 11. Since my health problems began six years ago, I’ve undergone 15 surgeries and have had countless treatments and hospital visits.

My experience as a patient has shown me how difficult it is to be a hospitalized kid. Kids who are hospitalized often feel isolated and forgotten about. They also miss out on many of the little things in life that most children take for granted.

My experience as a patient has also shown me that cards can bring hope and joy into the lives of hospitalized kids, which is why I founded Cards for Hospitalized Kids.

As the founder of Cards for Hospitalized Kids, I am able to use my own experience as a patient in a way that allows me to help children across America who are facing what I’ve faced.

Lifting others up through Cards for Hospitalized Kids has allowed me to lift myself up as well and, chronic illness or not, I know it will be the same for everyone who gets involved with Cards for Hospitalized Kids.

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“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness…

Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Let’s remember the legacy and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. His vision was one of service, unity, leadership, faith and community. We can all play a part in making it more vivid today, through the words we choose to speak, the ways we choose to impact our community and in the love and kindness we show to others.

Listen to Dr. King in the videos below, talking about his dream and passion for service:

“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Still looking for the perfect gift for someone special? Why not support young entrepreneurs while giving back to a great cause, and getting an awesome gift, all at the same time?

For all of you jewelry lovers, check out Hayleigh’s Cherished Charms founded by twelve-year-old Hayleigh. When she was little and attended a school for hard of hearing and deaf children she noticed that a lot of kids tried to hide their hearing aids behind their hair. Hayleigh decided to design unique and creative charms for her hearing aids to help herself and other children be more confident. She even has a provisional patent on her creations and will have a full patent soon!

Hayleigh and her sisters and also make regular earrings because sometimes a mom or sister who doesn’t have hearing aids or cochlear implants wants to match their child / sister / brother who is wearing the charms. There are also charms for boys and for adults.

10% of the proceeds will go to furthering hearing research and education of the hard of hearing and deaf community. What an awesome way to give back!

Above are the earrings I purchased, the light blue Swarovski Elements charms. You can get your own and support this innovative young entrepreneur at www.hayleighscherishedcharms.com.

Stay tuned for our interview with Hayleigh coming up soon!

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Bullying is such an important topic, and it breaks my heart to see recent reports of young people who have been hurt and affected by it – words can have a bigger impact than we know. I was also affected by bullying when I was younger and I feel for those who can relate, and appreciate Megan and Liz for their inspiring efforts! Stay tuned for more information about Dreamer ENT’s Show Some Love Anti-Bullying Campaign. – Julene, Editor of DreamerENT.com

Youtube singing sensations Megan and Liz are twin sisters who took their passion for music and decided to share it with the world. The girls began posting Youtube covers a few years ago and began catching the attention of others; they were even surprised on the Oprah Winfrey Show and able to meet one of their inspirations Taylor Swift.

Recently Megan and Liz wrote a song called “Are You Happy Now?” to address the topic of bullying and how words and negative actions affect people so deeply. They got fans to submit photos for the music video and the compilation is really inspiring, watch the official video above and the fan submission video below.

You can visit StepUptoBullying.org to find out how you can take a stand against bullying too. Have you ever dealt with bullying or have seen it in your own school?

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These five teens honored at the TeenNick Halo Awards show that it doesn’t matter how young you are to make a positive difference in your world through service. Each of them were awarded with donations toward their causes presented by celebrities who have also been involved in charity work.

Read about each of the honorees, (including one of DreamerENT’s past interviewees, Adele Taylor of Adele’s Literacy Library) and how they took the initiative to address a problem or area they felt passionate about:

The Honorees

Adele Taylor, 16, Williamstown, NJ – An avid and enthusiastic reader, Adele Taylor, of Williamstown, N.J., grew up understanding the value of literacy. After learning that one in five adults can’t read, she decided to take action. In December 2008, at age 13, this exuberant young lady created the organization Adele’s Literacy Library, with the goal of promoting literacy among people of all ages. Adele is honored by Jason Derulo who supports the Make-A-Wish Foundation among other charitable efforts. Find out how you can help Adele as she also works to enrich the lives of youth in Africa with the love of education and reading…

James O’Dwyer, 19, Tuscaloosa, Ala. – James was a freshman at University of Alabama when the devastating EF4 tornado hit Tuscaloosa, leaving a six mile track of destruction across the region. He started Magnolia Disaster Relief, an aid program that targets small rural towns hit the hardest by tornadoes by delivering food, water, clothing, toys, furniture and fridges so affected people can start rebuilding their lives. James’s HALO match is Taylor Swift who, among her many philanthropic endeavors, raises money and awareness to benefit those affected by tornadoes and floods.

Emily-Anne Rigal, 17, Williamsburg, Va. – As a young overweight girl, Emily-Anne was bullied so harshly she was forced to switch schools. Recognizing how upsetting her experience with bullying had been, she decided to create WeStopHate.org, a teen-run YouTube channel and website, which helps combat bullying by motivating teens to share their own stories of triumph and give tips to others on how they too can prevail.

Shanoah Washington, 18, St. Petersburg, Fla. – Born in California, Shanoah’s home life was plagued with gang violence until her grandmother moved her to Florida and enrolled her at the local Boys & Girls Club, providing her with guidance to reach her full potential. She created Sista2Sista, a mentoring program which aims to motivate young girls through the development of self-esteem, honesty, self-discipline and positive thinking. Shanoah’s HALO match is Jessica Biel who works with Girl Up, a United Nations Foundation campaign that rallies girls in the U.S. to help give girls in developing countries a better future.

Kyle Weiss, 18, Danville, Calif. - A huge soccer fan, Kyle’s activism was sparked after speaking to Angolan fans at the 2006 World Cup and learning about the dire state of the country and lack of sports resources available to the youth of Africa. Kyle and his brother started FUNDaFIELD, an organization that fundraises to build soccer fields in developing countries in Africa. Kyle’s HALO match is David Beckham, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, who campaigns and fundraises to establish education and recreational programs involving soccer for children around the world.

The TeenNick Halo Awards, hosted by Nick Cannon, will air on Nick at Nite on Sunday, November, 6, 2011.

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Keke On Bullying and Loving Who You Are

“I have been a victim of bullying…but I have always just kept it moving no matter how people try to hurt me, however some people are not that strong, they need our help…” – Keke Palmer

Listen to this recent interview with Keke where she talks about the bullying campaign, her experiences and give some updates on her upcoming projects, including the new movie A Joyful Noise starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, and her album which is scheduled for a 2012 release.

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This fall, Adele has partnered with an organization, Under the Acacia and in October 2011 A.L.L. says G.O. (Adele’s Literacy Library says Global Outreach) will break ground for the Loita Learning City in Kenya, Africa! Jointly, there will be a learning center with laptops and a library!

This sounds like a great project; anyone can help by donating to the cause!

How To Support A.L.L. says G.O. (Adele’s Literacy Library says Global Outreach)

Checks can be made out to Adele’s Literacy Library and earmarked ALL says GO.
Checks can be mailed to:

Adele’s Literacy Library
P.O. Box 1272
Williamstown, New Jersey 08094

Below: Some of the children and teachers at the Loita Hills Academy which Adele will be sponsoring.

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As a teen one of the amazing programs that helped me start my organization for kids was Youth Venture. They supplied me with a grant, and much support to get my art enrichment program off the ground, and they do the same for young people around the country. Check out the videos below of young venturers form Youth Venture’s recent summit.

Youth Venture is an international community of young people who are powerful now, changemakers now. Youth Venture inspires and invests in teams of young people to create and launch their own sustainable, community-benefiting ventures. Youth Venture then connects them into a global movement of young changemakers who are together redefining the youth years as a time of leadership and positive social change. This is the foundation of an Everyone a Changemaker world – the key factor for success in every part of society. To learn more how you can get a grant to help your community visit www.GenV.net.

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The students at Canal Point Elementary have been doing awesome things in their budding journalist program, interviewing esteemed people like Oprah Winfrey and even President Barack Obama! KEC TV is an award winning television news program that is broadcasted to the 500 students at KEC/Canal Point Elementary. The news program is completely produced by a selected group of 4th and 5th grade students. Visit their Youtube channel to see more of their interviews.

Below check out their interviews with Raven Symone and Yolanda Adams at the 2011 Disney’s Dreamers Academy.

To find out more about the Disney’s Dreamers Academy and to apply visit www.disneysdreamersacademy.com; (applications for next year’s program are now available through October 31, 2011!).

Meet the 2011 Dreamers

The 2011 class of Disney’s Dreamers Academy truly is an extraordinary group of kids. These 100 young students come from all over the country, each representing a different path to the Disney’s Dreamers Academy, and each proving that with hard work and a little magic, your dreams really can come true. Discover the stories behind each member of this class and follow along on their journey as they aspire to make their dreams come true…



Continue reading to meet the Dreamers!

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