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Jake and Max Klein are the teenage founders of Kids That Do Good and KidsThatDoGood.com, an organization that brings together kids, families and schools with volunteer opportunities and causes. Portions of this interview previously appeared in Step Up Magazine.
WHY DID YOU START KIDS THAT DO GOOD?
When we were younger, we wanted to volunteer and help out and it was frustrating because a lot of charities had age restrictions that disqualified us. We started looking for ways that kids like us and our friends could do something to give back, and then we thought we should share that information, and that became KidsThatDoGood.com.
WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO OTHER KIDS WHO WANT TO START A 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATION?
Find something you really care about because it is a lot of work. Also ask adults for their help, you will need it. Remember they will be excited to help you because they will see you are trying to make a difference so ASK FOR HELP. Also invite other grownups to be part of what you are doing, there is so much to do and learn and having adults there to guide you is amazing. We are lucky enough to have told a few adults about our idea, they helped us make it a reality and now we have a bunch of adults helping us and it makes all the difference. (Jake)
WHAT RESOURCES WOULD YOU SUGGEST FOR KIDS WHO WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
MAX: The first thing we would suggest is check out our site Kids That Do Good as a place to find ways to be charitable. But don’t stop there. Find topics that matter to you and use the internet to research how you can get involved and make a difference. It’s always easier in a field or area that is important or impactful to you. There is so much information available you just have to take the time, search for it and ask lots of questions. Also, if you see other sites like ours started by kids, email them and ask them questions about how they started, what they are doing or what advice they would have for you. Your parents and their friends are also a great resource. Does one of your parents know someone who works in a field you are interested in? Maybe you want to help animals and they are friends with a veterinarian. Ask if you can sit and talk to that person about your ideas. I guess the theme to this is ASK QUESTIONS and DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT AN UNFORESEEN CHALLENGE YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH IN RUNNING KIDS THAT DO GOOD?
MAX: Time- we wish we had more time to dedicate just to the website and all our ideas on growing it. When we started we had all these things we wanted to do, but have had to roll them out little by little. We like to think big but finding the time to do everything we want to do is not easy when you are in in high school, on the tennis team, in clubs, and volunteering. But we know that all our small steps we take each day will add up to a big impact. It’s about helping others so even if that means helping one person at a time, we feel we’re accomplishing our goal.
AS KIDS, WHAT IS A BUSINESS LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED IN STARTING AN ORGANIZATION?
JAKE: We’ve learned a lot about managing our goals and expectations and the goals and expectations we place on others who are helping us. Of course we want everything to happen now and fast, but we need to understand that sometimes there is a process and we will get there, it just may take longer, and that’s totally cool. We are also in a specialized Marketing and Business Leadership Academy within our high school, so for us starting a business just made sense and doing good is part of who we were raised to be. What we didn’t realize is all the other stuff that goes along with it like staff, paperwork, time, etc. But we have amazing people helping and guiding us and without them we would not be able to be where we are. Business is hard, but when you do something you love its totally worth it.
