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We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
604. 2025 Social Impact Trends That Matter: Fuel Young Generosity. (with Manuela Testolini)
00:36:15
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- [00:06]
Manuela Testellini
Rather than giving kids simply the tools to be leaders and the tools to create social impact, how do we take a step back and compel them into service? As we help them lean into their values, their strengths, what are their unique talents that they can bring to the table? Then it's really about helping them find their North Star versus ours.
- [00:27]
John
Welcome to We Are For Good Social impact trends that matter in 2025. In partnership with our friends at Idonate, we have hundreds of conversations each year, both on the podcast and offline. With incredible change makers around the world. This limited series, we're lifting the eight trends that have cut through to us over the past year. These ideas and shifts hold the power to transform your mission from the inside out. And so in these eight episodes, we're breaking down the trends one at a time and inviting a subject matter expert in to take us deeper and to put it into practice. All right, let's get started. Hey, Becky, what's happening?
- [01:04]
Becky
Oh, my gosh, John, I am so excited to talk about this trend. I've waited, like, four years to talk about this trend. The day is here.
- [01:11]
John
I know you've, like, stacked the deck and you've been hinting that this is coming for a long time, so I'm really excited that the day is finally here. We're back, friends. If you're listening to the social impact trends that matter in 2025, I gotta give a shout out to Idonate. Thank you for bringing this series to life. But, Becky, do you want to tee this up? I mean, this is one that you were fighting for for years now, and we're like, we gotta put a pin in this topic.
- [01:33]
Becky
Yeah, I. I just think that as we look at impact work, the qualities that we are looking for in our donors and our believers are those who have deep connection to what they do. They model incredible empathy. They are service oriented. Like, generosity is rooted in what and how we want them to show up. And who models that best. It's the kids. It's literally the kids that model this more inherently than adults. And kids who are rooted in empathy and generosity hold on to those rooted beliefs, like beyond childhood. And they absolutely embrace, John, so many of these values that we have rooted in. We are for good, that everyone matters, that they love being in community with each other. They model kindness and acceptance and civility and grace and integrity and. And they hold us to it. And I love that about kids when they call us out. But something magical really happens when we put those values into practice on a regular basis. So we are having A much bigger conversation about how is it the responsibility of all of us to fuel young generosity. And before I introduce our incomparable guest, I want to share a quote that I found that I just love so much. And it's by Carol Wiseman and she said, children have a unique ability to remind us that generosity, generosity is not measured by wealth, but by the heart's willingness to give. And that is what we're going to dive into today with our incredible guest. And she is a repeat guest and we absolutely love her. We are excited to have Manuela Testellini, she is the founder of In a Perfect World, back with us on the podcast. And for 20 years, Manuel has really worked to build these effective, solutions oriented approaches to empower the next generation. And so under her leadership, In a Perfect World has created and supported programs that provide education, mentoring, artistic expression to children who are really underserved or at risk youth around the world. And we're talking about places like Malawi and Senegal and Haiti and Nepal and Nicaragua among so many others, while also having a footprint here in the United States and LA and DC and beyond. So in addition to In A Perfect World work of building schools, they're providing grants to inner city classrooms in need, helping to physically facilitate all this youth driven momentum. And she's created this really cool, unique youth ambassador program where she trains young people to be the philanthropist and community leaders that we want integrated into our work. So we've brought in the powerhouse. Manuela, welcome back to the podcast. We're so excited you're here.
- [04:26]
Manuela Testellini
Thank you. So happy to see you guys.
- [04:28]
Becky
We have missed you. Yes, and I miss you guys too. And I want to just lay some, some space to say you're in la. We are just sending so much love to you and our LA friends just as you navigate what's happening all around you. And I just watch you as your children are leaning in and you're talking about hard things and I just think it's beautiful. So I just want you to feel that love from us, but from those listeners who may be meeting you for the first time, like, can you share a little bit more about the work you're doing at In A Perfect World and how you're centering kids and youth at the very heart of it.
- [05:07]
Manuela Testellini
Well, I mean, you teed me up so nicely with that introduction. But you know, as you mentioned, I've been doing this work for a long time and it's evolved over time because the needs and the interests of kids have changed. But really our origin story is about this one little kid that I met 20 years ago who had a desire that was not being met. And, you know, I would be working in these shelters and different places and meeting tons of kids. And I started to ask them this question in a perfect world, because I wanted to hear from them. And I realized we were hearing so much from the adults about the needs of the communities and the facilities I was at, but we weren't hearing from the kids so much. And so this is really where this was born. And, you know, the kids at the time would tell me the usual things. Where they wanted toys, a Game Boy back in the day, they want a trip to Disneyland. But one little boy said, in his perfect world, all he wanted was a blue crayon. And I thought, okay, well, I need him to think bigger. I want him to understand, like, I can help him make something happen, get something that he wants. And he really kept focusing on this blue crayon. And what I found out when I tracked down his mom. They were living in a domestic violence situation, and she and her son had left in the middle of the night, and she grabbed the things that she thought were most important to him. So the Tonka truck and the teddy bear and. And his box of crayons, and she left behind the blue crayon. And in that moment, you know, this mom who's in a. She's then, you know, in a face full of tears. And I'm in a face full of tears because we realized one that, you know, she believed that they were now safe and away from the trouble they were in, and that all his problems were solved. And this little boy was holding this in, that he had a void. And the problem with all of this is that no one had ever asked. And so I thought, like, wow, this could have been solved a long time ago. A kid's perfect world is not so out of reach if it is just about a blue crayon in that sense. And so it really propelled me towards this, like, how do we just engage kids in solutions? So whether they're in a shelter, whether at school, they're in a family, wherever they are, like, how do we leverage youth voice? And as I continue to ask that question, first of all, it can be challenging to get to draw out kids to talk about things that might be challenging like that. So I approached it from a place of art, and I thought, if I can give them artistic avenues to express to me what they would like to see change in their world. And so for a kid, their world could be their home life it could be their school, it could be their community, it could be the broader world. I started to draw these things out through simple things like let's build, let's, let's make a change the world banner, or let's create wishboxes and then see what the kids put in there, because then it opens an opportunity for dialogue. And it was a big void that wasn't happening. This is 20 years ago where, you know, old school, parenting, teaching, all that was just like, we're going to talk at you, we're going to tell you what's happening versus including them. And the more I did that, the more profound the messaging came back to me. You know, there was a little boy who was in another shelter who, when he was making his change the world banner, started to draw a house. And I made the silly assumption that he was drawing what he would want, which is a house for himself. And he corrected me when he stood up and said that his change the world banner said, I would like to buy homes for all the people that don't have them. And when I asked him, you know, Little Jaylen, who's 9 or 10 years old, why did you think about how to help somebody else get a home when you yourself don't have a home? And he said very simply, like, I already know how it feels what, you know, to not have a home. And I wouldn't want any other kid to feel that way. And so there I am in my face of tears again because I thought, like, kids are kind of wise and full of empathy that we're not tapping into. And so because a kid who's in a certain. You don't have to be in a position of power or wealth, to the, to your point earlier, to give. And so he. And his giving is really heart driven, empathy driven, because he has experienced it himself. So I explained to Jalen, you know, we can't buy homes for everyone, but what can we do? What would have made you feel better when you came to this shelter? And he said, I would have liked to somebody to give me a note, you know, welcome note, maybe some art supplies and a stuffy. And so he, we created Jalen's welcome welcome bags. So every kid that came to the shelter from then on would get this in receipt before, you know, upon getting there, you know that somebody else knows your name, you know that someone has thought about you. So you're not just being shuffled around in your circumstances, but you really feel welcome. And it, it really was so impactful to me that a kid in that Circumstance would think that broader like that. So that's propelled our mission all these years to really listen to the kids and see what is compelling them to act and be of service.
- [10:14]
John
Manuel, I mean, your stories gut us. I mean, as parents, I just think the dignity that you have for children to say that what you have to say, what you see in the world deeply matters. And I'm going to stop long enough to listen. Like we need more of that, you know, And I think that you've been doing this for so long, it's, it's fun on the other side to, to look back and be like what has been possible because you were brave enough to ask without wanting to teach or lead or take the next step. And so we were speaking, I were talking to somebody this last week and they said, you know, don't miss the chance to really listen and learn from the child. And I feel like that's what you're saying too. We're not empowering young generosity alone. We have so much to gain from just their wisdom. And I just hear that in your story and I love that you've centered this. And so my first question for you is just how do you know missions authentically do this? How do we invite kids, young people, into our philanthropy and social work, social impact work in just an authentic way that allows them to have their voice? What are some ideas?
- [11:18]
Manuela Testellini
Yeah, I think, you know, really meeting kids where they are as is a big deal because we can go, we can create a program and go impose this sort of idea of a program on all sets of kids, but it's going to resonate differently. And so I'd like to say we co create programming, so we ask kids, you know, what are the things you want to learn about? You know, what are, what are the things you're seeing in your community that you'd like to impact? But even taking a step back from that, when I talked about empathy earlier, I really feel like that's the driving force. So if we can, rather than giving kids simply the tools to be leaders and the tools to create social impact, how do we take a step back and compel them into service? Right? So because there are tons of service, well meaning service oriented organizations where kids rack up a certain number of hours or they get this and it's like, but what is the, what is the underlying driving force behind it? So for me and for our programming, we start with diving into who the kids are. Who are you as a person, because you're going to bring your unique impact to everything. Your unique Opinions, your views based on who you are. I mean, I grew up in such a different environment than I'm in. I grew up in Toronto, which is very multicultural. I spent my summers in a Third World country. All of that informs who I am and how I look at the world. And it's the same thing with the kids we work with. They come from all walks of life and they all have different stories to bring to the table. And I think as we help them lean into their values, their strengths, what are their unique talents that they can bring to the table, then it's really about helping them find their North Star versus ours. Like, let's. Let's help you, guide you towards that. And I always say I'm 100% a guide on the side and not a sage on the stage. Like, 100%, because I'm not here to tell you what the problems are in the world and how you should help and how many hours you should spend on it. And this is what you should do. I'm really here to say, like, guys, what are you. What is really on your heart? What do you see in your community? When the fires happened here in la, the teens called me to say, this is what we want to do. This is how we're going to roll this out. We're going to do a drive for the products, we're going to do a fundraiser, et cetera, et cetera. And now the discussion is, who do we want to help? Where do we find people? Versus, okay, we're going to do this for me, directing. So I think that's really where we want to lean in, because it's really about empathetic leadership versus just leadership and just service and just generosity. It's about really cultivating that. Because if you can compel kids, you don't have to push them. Like, they're driving everything because they're really. It's. It's really in them. It's. It's what they. What they want to be doing.
- [14:03]
Becky
Okay, my leg hair is going to grow, like 2 inches during this conversation because I keep getting goosebumps. I am. I am so just nodding like a bobblehead over here because I. I have had so much of a similar reaction just testing this with my own kids. And I think what you're saying about handing this agency over is one of the most powerful tools that we can all just apply. And it's got to start with this humility and this understanding that we all have something to learn from each other. We've done a lot of content on Gen Z, and you've been working with Gen Z, but you're also working with Gen Alpha. And I mean, think about these kids. We've been talking about this, and I say kids, like, with air quotes, because I want to recognize that Gen Z is, like, in their late 20s. You all are like adults now fully into adulthood. But also they have been connected digitally pretty much since they were born. Like, my daughter is 14. The iPad came out the year she was born. I mean, there is. There's just a different way that they know how to connect, the way that they find their people. So I want to know, when you empower, when you ask these questions, what kind of messaging have you found that resonates the most with younger generation when it comes to advocacy, getting activated, whether it's empowering them to start their own fundraising? What are those messages that really stick?
- [15:30]
Manuela Testellini
Yeah, I would say storytelling and really giving them something tangible. So if we're teaching about climate change, let's say if I talk to kids, I mean, start to. I would start to sound like Charlie Brown teacher almost immediately. Right. Like, if I climate change, and it's like earth's on fire. You know what I mean? It is so out of reach for them. If I talk about something like, how is climate change impacting their home, their school, their community, and drill it down so it's super, super specific. It becomes something that's more tangible for them to solve because everything else just feels like, oh, my gosh, it's like, too far gone. How do we even make a dent? The idea is if they can think about it, either how it's impacting them directly or it's impacting. They can see the big cause through the eyes of another child. So that's the other thing. So when we talk about immigration and welcoming newcomers, et cetera, we don't talk about it as a big. You know, there are millions of people, they're coming from all different places. We talk about Alfredo, who crossed the border and what was his journey like? And what might it have been like to be the new kid in school who didn't speak the language and to be away from his family. And what do you think you would pack in your backpack if you could only take things in your backpack? Like, that drills it down so much. And so it goes back to empathy because they're like, okay, I can connect. I can put myself in those shoes, and I can say, okay, if that was me, what would I want? How would I want to be served? And so it gives the kids again this super specific touch point to say, I understand what this would be like. I understand how I can help and how I would want to be helped in the situation. And then it again compels them to act. Because if you talk about it in too big of terms, it just gets lost. And so I think between, you know, as I said, drilling it down to what, how it impacts them directly or how it could impact them in the future directly. And just stories, the stories of other kids is really important, so wise.
- [17:35]
John
And it's like, this tracks as we get older too. It's like, tell me the story, tell me how this matters. Because I see my kids eyes glaze over when I start pontificating and trying to make it a real big teachable moment.
- [17:47]
Manuela Testellini
Yes, 100%. And I think also, you know, when I was talking earlier about, you know, immediate impact, because if, if what they're doing is seem so far down the road, like the results are not tangible necessarily, or they're just so far down the road, it's really hard. So, you know, early on in my career, I, I don't say I felt hopeless, but I felt like, oh my gosh, there's just so much to do. I was in Mumbai. I was in a slum in Mumbai. I was helping with some education program and I went to check on a girl who didn't show up for school. And when I went, I hadn't seen her in her environment. I had seen her in this classroom. And so she didn't show up for a couple days in a row. I went to the slum to look for her. And when I got there, I was so overwhelmed by the number of social issues in one place. So, like, you know, domestic violence, alcoholism, malnutrition, sanitation. I'm like, what on earth? Like, what's the plan? What is the plan? This is like too much. But then when I leaned into, okay, well, I'm here because this is education we're bringing. We're. We're breaking the cycle. First of all, we're going to break the cycle. We're going to educate this next group of this next generation to be well educated. They're going to be dialed in, they're going to be ready to serve, etc. That helps to make a difference because it's not about me solving these big issues. It's about me cultivating this next sort of army of people to do that. And I think, you know, when kids see that they have a tangible result and other kids are inspired by their work, it's just so Much better. I mean, my kids are much more inspired by the other kids that they see around them doing amazing things. So even when we talk about Black History Month or we talk about, you know, leaders and icons and civic, civic leaders, we talked about them as children. We're like, but what was Martin Luther King's origin story like, how did he become that? And who are the activists now? Who are, you know, the Malalas, the Greta Thunberg's, like, all these people. Because otherwise it's too far out of reach. And it doesn't give them a sense of possibility that their little impact, which is not little when it's multiplied and rippled, can have a bigger effect on the larger problem.
- [20:02]
John
So dang good. And just going to queue up the little people Big Dream series. There's been a lot of those reading in my house that takes you through the childhood. So many of the change makers. Yeah, I mean, would you talk about some of your resources and programs? I mean, y'all within a perfect world are just like a lighthouse to this greater sector and to us as parents too. And those that are working with young people. How do you, you know, what are tools that people can leverage? How can they lean into them and kind of point us to all the things.
- [20:31]
Manuela Testellini
We have an everyday kindness series, which I love because it's an easy kind of one off entry point for parents, for educators, for youth group leaders. It's something that we launched in response to the pandemic when everybody's like, what are we doing? And there was was a lot of hopelessness and everybody was isolated and at home. So we created these, like, what is something that is manageable for parents or educators to be able to accomplish and really leaning into again, empathy, gratitude, awareness and just getting kids involved. So that's free and accessible on our website at any time you can go and download those. And we're constantly adding new things there. But then we have our longer term programs, we have our dream catchers program, which is for the elementary set where they're learning about these giant causes again through the eyes and lens of one kid's story. And then we use art still to kind to cultivate their awareness, but also to give them an opportunity within that same lesson to be of service. So like your kids, Becky, who are interested in animals, if we're learning about doing a lesson about compassion for animals, we're going to make no sew blankets for the pets at the shelter and in that lesson, because this is going to be like you're going to learn about it, but we're not going to burden you with like, oh, my gosh, all these animals need homes. We're going to say, here's how you can be of service immediately. So that's very important. And it's. It's my. I love it. And then as the kids get older, they can be in the ambassador program, which starts to lean into even more so, which is something we dove into during, again during the pandemic when we realized these kids wanted to serve, but they really needed to just fortify themselves. And so our first series is called Inspire. What makes me me. And it's about them leaning into who they are, where they come from, who's their support squad, where are their strengths and talents, and really just having them lean into the awesomeness that is them. And then it starts to weave into, okay, and then what are the issues in my communities? What is my family facing? What are the things I want to tackle? And then it starts to build their leadership skills. And I think that the, again, the unique part of this is that we're sort of, you know, we're guiding them on this path so that they can come forward with their own unique version of social impact versus, okay, the culmination is you must do these things. You must do a beach cleanup, you must do whatever. But to really guide them towards something that is meaningful and unique and resonates with them personally. So those, those programs, you know, we'd love to partner with schools, with youth groups. Find us, please, because we're always taking on new partners and we're. It's so fun. It's really fun to see what the kids come up with. I mean, like, I get the pictures and the. And the videos or I go pop into a program and. And kids have really amazing things to say and just great perspectives on all of it.
- [23:17]
Becky
Okay, I'm going to tell you one thing I observe about you and love about you, and two, one thing I think you're so good at. One, your whole body, face, and everything changes when you talk about this, my friend. Like, you can tell that this is not just your zone of genius. It is your legacy, your conviction. And. And we've known you a couple years and just through the lovely interwebs, watching your children over the last three to four years integrate into this work that you've been doing like a decade before they even arrived has been so soul filling. But I also want to compliment you because you ask different questions, you listen differently. I think you're coming at this in a way that is so intuitive for the kids and less intuitive for the adults. And that is why it is working, working. And so for those people who may be listening saying, okay, I really want to integrate this into my life, or maybe I really want to get my nonprofit integrated with kids and their voices and their actions. Like, what counsel would you give them on where to start? Whether they're a parent, whether a non profit professional, they could be an auntie, whatever it is. What do you think?
- [24:32]
Manuela Testellini
I do think there is something, you know, just tagging on what you said there about how we talk to the kids. Because one of the most simple things I use, and this is my mom hat on now, is when my kids come to me with something, I start with, are you looking for solutions or support? Because it is my default, as I'm a straight up Virgo, to be like, I'm going to fix this. Whatever you've just said, it's fixed. Like, it's fine. No hurts. Yes.
- [24:56]
Becky
Let me.
- [24:57]
Manuela Testellini
Yeah. So my kids are used to saying, like, you know, so I had to check myself a long time ago because I could do it in the nonprofit space with our programming because I'm one step removed from the kids. But with it, with my own kids, I'm like, oh, I'm just gonna knock this out. But I had to realize, like, I have to apply all of this to my own children. And so leaning in and asking if kids are looking for solutions or support and then asking them for their ideas first, I mean, just be quiet and listen. I mean, is such a challenge. But I, I tell the kids that we work with all the time. It's really hard to deprogram the adults because we were conditioned a certain way. So forgive us totally. But the whole mission is to program you guys so that you don't have to be deprogrammed later. And so as people are looking to start, a couple of things I would say too, is that don't reinvent the wheel. There are tons of awesome organizations out there to partner with, to seek counsel from. We are really. We pride ourselves on being a convener of awesome other organizations. So find us and we will help connect you as well. I also think that it's important to find your cheerleader. So whether it's a teacher who understands this work, who leans into something like this, where they are, whether it's social, emotional, learning or service, where they can understand how the two intersect, is really important. But really finding that cheerleader and advocate within a system is important because it can be challenging to change the status quo. I'll just give you a quick example. I was at my daughter. So now I have my own focus group at home, right? Because I have a 13 year old.
- [26:34]
Becky
And they'll give you their opinions very bluntly.
- [26:38]
Manuela Testellini
Something interesting. So two things happened. One is we were talking about doing a youth summit to support the kids who are survivors of the fires in Altadena here. And so I said to her, we were having. I'm having a zoom call with my people, and my daughter's sitting up to the side studying for a history test. And then we just finally said, like, what do you think? What topics would you want at the youth summit? And she comes onto the screen and she says, I actually would like to hear from other young people who didn't grow up with the support that I have to do my projects, because I want to know how people do it when they don't have their people. I'm like, oh, this is building your squad. How do you build your squad? Right? So I'm like, this is good. But I thought like, oh, I literally have my focus group here. That's helpful. The other thing, though, like, we were at a project recently organized outside of an imperfect world. We, Lucia and I. Actually, both of my girls and I were volunteering, and it was to serve families whose children are terminally ill. This was just this past weekend. We're there. We have this awesome. We have this. I'm feeling like a super deep connection to this whole cause and everything. And I've educated my girls, you know, before we went like, this is what we're doing. But then as soon as it was over, it was almost like somebody flipped a switch. They just said, okay, everybody, record your service hours, and everybody gets, you know, credit for this. And I thought, oh, are we not doing a debrief? Are we not doing a. How do you guys feel about it?
- [27:59]
Becky
Welcome to the transaction, not the transformation. Yes.
- [28:02]
Manuela Testellini
I just say, all of me, I'm like, this. I'm like, this is not my project. This is not my project.
- [28:08]
John
Do you want support or do you want solutions?
- [28:14]
Manuela Testellini
I was like, oh, so. But my kids looked at me. As soon as this person started speaking, my kids looked at me because they knew I was thinking what I was thinking. And they're like, please don't say anything, mom, because you're gonna embarrass us. But I will be writing a nice supportive letter about, like, this is, you know, might be something to deepen the experience for the kids, because those. It did not resonate with those kids. It resonated with my Kids, but it didn't with those. And I think as people are moving into this space to look beyond transactions to your point, and look to solid connections, and it's more about quality over quantity. And just like, how do you meaningfully create these connections and moments of service?
- [28:52]
Becky
Brilliant.
- [28:53]
John
Not just about these little credit hours. I mean. Yeah, you're bringing us back to this, my friend. Okay, I have a question for you. I'm like, what brings you hope? I mean, you get to be around amazing young people. You're. What gives you hope for the future of generosity. And when you look out and you see kind of the. The role that young people are playing today and kind of how they're moving through this world right now, what's on the horizon?
- [29:20]
Manuela Testellini
You know, I have said, you know, we talk about Generation Alpha, like the glass generation, which they call them, because it's all screens. We think about those screens as a way, as disconnecting them.
- [29:36]
Becky
Right.
- [29:36]
Manuela Testellini
We think about it as disconnecting them from each other, from true connection, from all the things that we value. And I had to really shift my focus on that to have the kids lean into. How do you use these things as tools versus those things using you? And what gives me hope is that they are deeply connected. They're deeply. Because they are more informed. I mean, they are almost too informed. I mean, when we were kids, we didn't. We weren't hearing about. I was hearing about the Middle east because I have family there, but the general population was not, unless you were a kid watching, you know, the 11 o'clock news. So we are bombarded with so much, and it can be a catch 22. But I do think what gives me hope is that kids are seeing enough and they see that there is a way to mobilize around that. There's a way to use the connection of social media and just being on the phones and all of that to propel causes forward. And I think it gives us also a unique opportunity that, you know, serving isn't. This doesn't look the same as it did years ago.
- [30:45]
Becky
Exactly.
- [30:47]
Manuela Testellini
But I also think really one key is that because we lean into who kids are first, we understand that being a change maker means something completely different to all kids. You know, I have. There are kids who, like Lucia. We were somewhere recently. She's 13. I don't know why. They even gave her her lemonade and a plastic cup, but they gave it to her with a plastic cup and a paper straw. And she looked at it and she's like, well, what's the point of that? Why are you giving me. Why are you. This is, like, virtuous. Like, what. What is even happening here? It's, like, performative. They're giving me this truck. But she's the kid that will sit down and write about it. She'll write the. The restaurant manager and say, like, what are you doing? And she'll want to educate them. Not all kids would do that, but, you know, so if it's like, what. Are you the kid that's going to write? Are you the activist? Are you the advocate? Are you the philanthropist? Are you the volunteer? Are you the mentor? Are you. Who are you? And so I think helping with us, you know, us understanding that all kids and change makers themselves come in all different shapes and sizes gives me so much hope, because they're going to attack it from all different aspects, and it.
- [31:54]
Becky
Just undermines this belief that everyone has something to give. And I think what you've just said there was really beautiful because in my mind, kids understand currency far more than adults. And I'm gonna, like, put a bold in an underline under people in the nonprofit space. Kids understand currency. What we have been programmed to believe is that our currency and our value is tethered to what someone can financially give to us. And what kids are awakening is like, I have agency and currency everywhere. I have my voice. I have my circle of influence. I have who I'm connected to. I have what I know. Because to your point, again, it's being modeled at my house. I mean, I think there's a difference when your mom is saying things like, well, this is the impact of plastic on our. On our city and on our world, and we should look for this, and let's clean it up, and let's make a conscious effort not to grab it. And so I just think what you're saying is, is. Is really helping us expand our thinking about the opportunities that are here to be lifted. And I can assure you that restaurant owner, if he got that letter, wouldn't just toss it. It's like, oh, no. This kid took a moment to tell me. I'm actually going to think about it here for a hot minute.
- [33:16]
Manuela Testellini
So much more impactful that it came from a kid, Right?
- [33:20]
Becky
Exactly. I think. I think they'll pause because it means something deeper. So we. This has just been such a rich conversation, and I want you to round it out with a one good thing. What's. What's coming up for you to leave with our audience?
- [33:35]
Manuela Testellini
I mean, I think in the context of this discussion, it's really about just trust the young people. I know we write them off a lot like they're on their phones or whatever it is. Just trust them, but also meet them where they're at so that they are. So we're asking them to come as their full selves and we're going to help them be their full selves rather than telling them they should look and be something else.
- [33:58]
John
What a way to round this out. I mean, those listening are going to want to find you Connect with In a Perfect World. Where do y'all hang out online? What's the best way for people to connect into what y'all are doing?
- [34:10]
Manuela Testellini
Our website is iapw.org you can find us there, which you'll also see those everyday kindness lessons on there that are free to download. We also will have a Change Maker quiz for you to take shortly. So that'll be really fun so you can figure out what your changemaker architecture is. I love it. It's going to be so fun. And then we're on Instagram at Perfect World fdn, which you can find us there. We'd love to see you, but you can, you know you can find us. I'm on LinkedIn also and if you.
- [34:37]
Becky
Feel compelled by this, I'm going to throw this out there. If you make a gift in a Perfect World, I hope you understand that that is like a double gift. It's going to fund the movement, it's going to allow this work to expand. So find a way to plug in. I hope this has made you all think differently about how we can integrate kids and stay tun. We have so much more coming on this later this year because we really want to help you feel empowered and people like Manuel are going to be here to help you a warrior up and be ready for this moment. So thank you my friend for the way you show up in this world and thank you for the way you listen.
- [35:13]
Manuela Testellini
Thank you guys.
- [35:22]
Becky
Every week we are for Good podcast listeners, friends and community members reach out to us for both recommendations and introductions to people, products and services to help them take their nonprofit mission further. And you know what? We love it.
- [35:37]
John
Totally. This community is fueled by the support of Value Align partners who've invested in making this community and content accessible for all. And they just happen to be powered by really good humans too.
- [35:47]
Becky
So we want to give a shout out to we're for Good Partners, Donor Doc, RKD Group and Virtuous and we hope you'll check them out. We deeply believe in their progressive tech tools and offerings that are truly powering a more generous world.
- [36:02]
John
So reach out to them directly. And if you do mention we are for Good sent you, you'll get that red carpet treatment. Or head over to weareforgood.com refer to learn more or you can even click the link in today's episode description.