First Book and Ashoka Announce 17 Youth Challenge Winners in Time for Change Nationwide Initiative

$5,000 grand prize winners and $1,000 grants spotlight student action to implement community-based solutions and embrace changemaking

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, First Book and Ashoka, leading organizations in education and social entrepreneurship, have announced the 17 winners of the Time for Change Youth Challenge. Two Grand Prize Winners will receive $5,000 grants to support the implementation of their innovative solutions and an additional 15 young changemakers from across the country will receive $1,000 grants for student-led solutions to improve their classrooms, schools, and communities. The Time for Change Youth Challenge is designed to spark transformative changemaking journeys in young people, with submissions ranging from kindergarten to 12^th grade students looking to bring their innovative solution to life or expand an existing student-led initiative.

The Time for Change Youth Challenge generated applications of local, student-led initiatives in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and will ultimately deliver prizes to 217 students in Title I-eligible, tribal, or military base schools who are taking action in their community. The Youth Challenge builds on the success of the Time for Change: Dream, Act, Change our World campaign, first launched by First Book and Ashoka in 2022, grounded in the belief that every young person, particularly those from low-income and historically excluded communities, grow up with the support and resources to thrive as lifelong, dynamic changemakers. The initiative has since expanded internationally.

"We are thrilled to celebrate these young leaders who are poised to tackle problems they identify in their community with innovative thinking and a vision for positive change," said Kyle Zimmer, President and CEO of First Book. "Changemaking is more than a moment of action. It is a mindset that empowers our youth to make a positive impact in their world, no matter how complex or precise a solution. These young people bring to life the powerful idea of collective, community-based action and inspire all of us with the dedication to spark change."

First Book, the largest online community of educators serving kids living in low-income communities, and Ashoka, the largest global network of leading social entrepreneurs, have dedicated more than $47,000 in grant money to fuel localized, community projects and help young people embrace their power and ability to effect change. The Youth Challenge spotlights the incredible initiative and collective power of young people, while providing educators with the resources to effectively introduce changemaking and inspire young people to work towards a common goal. Time for Change works directly with educators serving students in Title I or Title I-eligible schools to develop and distribute evidence-based best practices and informative changemaker stories that reflect the challenges experienced by educators and students across the country, along with their innovative student-led solutions.

"Once a young person has had a dream, built a team, and changed his or her world, he or she knows deep down that (s)he is a changemaker for life, with the most important power, the power to give," said Bill Drayton, Founder and CEO of Ashoka. "This power is critical in the new everything changing reality. Value now requires changemaking and not, as it has for millennia, from efficiency in repetition. These young people will have good lives and contribute a lot to society. Together with First Book, we welcome these young people into the world's growing global community of changemakers."

Time for Change seeks to nurture an environment where students believe they can be changemakers, are empowered to take initiative, and supported to realize their goals of positive impact. The Youth Challenge demonstrates the eagerness of young people to make lasting change in their schools and classrooms. Below are this year's prize winners.

Time for Change Youth Challenge Winners

Grand Prize Winners

Assistive Technology MakerSpace: Our Disabilities Can't Slow Us Down!
Sid's Changemakers - 5th, 6th, and 7th graders - in Brooklyn, New York, want to establish a Maker Space to create tools that support learners with Individualized Education Programs, creating items like sensory fidgets for self-regulation and adaptive writing tools for non-verbal students.

The Inkstone Project
Kethan and Ethan, 11th graders from Huntington, West Virginia, established The Inkstone Project, a program designed to foster intergenerational bonds through storytelling and outreach initiatives that address feelings of loneliness and isolation. 

Kindergarten – 7^th Grade Winners

Snack Shack for Super Cool Students
Peyton, a kindergartener from Toledo, Ohio, aims to install a cabinet at her school that's stocked with snacks and lunch items for students experiencing food insecurity. 

Let's Keep Baton Rouge Litter Free
River, a 2nd grader from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is hosting litter clean-ups around his school and in the community, with the goal of getting as many young people involved in cleaning up the city as possible.

Fresh & Fit: A Healthy Eating Revolution
A class of 2nd graders in Ms. Thomas's class in Bloomington, Minnesota, wants to raise awareness about the benefits of making healthy eating choices through engaging events and campaigns. 

Be a Hero, Keep Litters at Zero
A group of 4th graders in Ms. Williams's class in Malvern, Arkansas, are raising awareness about the importance of spaying and neutering stray dogs and cats in their community through creative events and programming.

We're Glad You're Here!
Alina, a 5th grader from Anchorage, Alaska, is redesigning tardy slips at her school by creating slips featuring art and welcoming, encouraging messages to decrease feelings of discomfort for young students who are late to school. 

NYO Games for Recess and Boom Whoopers
Paxxon and J-von, two 5th graders in Anchorage, Alaska, are reimagining their recess time by introducing cultural games and activities that are important to their Indigenous and Filipino heritages, respectively.

Cow, Chicken, Goat Food Forest
6th and 7th graders in Mr. Curtiss's classes in Casa Grande, Arizona, want to start a regenerative farm, complete with livestock, on their school campus to improve community health, increase profit for farmers, and heal the earth. 

Supporting Small Businesses
Yaretzi, a 7th grader from Los Angeles, California, is advocating for policy changes at her school, which currently does not allow students to sell items they make or to start their own small businesses; she argues that small businesses provide students with valuable skills like marketing, communication, finance, and more. 

The Big Transition: Social Emotional Transition to Middle School
7th graders in Ms. Beckham's class in Kannapolis, North Carolina, are supporting 5th graders who will be transitioning to middle school through community building activities. 

KNOW Suicide
A group of 7th graders in Ms. Chavez Romo's class in Fullerton, California, are working to create a school-wide movement to raise awareness about suicide among young people, to educate on prevention, and to provide support systems so that everyone has a place to turn to and no one feels alone. 

8^th-12^th Grade Winners

Lisowe's Lights Shine Bright Project
Amelia, an 8th grader from Bryant, Arkansas, founded and grew "Lisowe's Lights," an organization that has donated 30,000+ night lights to offer comfort to children entering the foster system and to raise awareness about the experience that these youth endure in being removed from their homes at night or in otherwise frightening situations.

Climate Cardinals
Robert, a 9th grader from Lititz, Pennsylvania, is tackling climate misinformation and education, specifically in non-English-speaking countries, through translating important climate news into different languages. 

Connected Hearts - Women and Girls Empowerment Book Club
Deliya, a 10th grader from Nolanville, Texas, is supporting girls aged 7-18 who are navigating low self-esteem, trust challenges, and feelings of isolation by building supportive, open communities that can foster important relationships. 

ReGen Designs: Turning Waste into a Wardrobe
Sarah, an 11th grader from Immokalee, Florida, is creating ReGen Designs, an upcycling program for clothes that will engage teenagers in creating upcycled accessories and clothes and spread awareness about the harms of fast fashion. 

Empowering Youth Boys Through Mental Wellness and Hygiene Care Packages
Donte, a 12th grader from Nolanville, Texas, is addressing hygiene poverty among boys aged 8-18 by distributing hygiene packs with items like toothbrushes, body wash, deodorant, and more. 

About First Book
Education transforms lives. First Book is building a world where every child has access to a quality education. We work to remove barriers to education and level the playing field for kids in need. At the heart of our work are the 600,000+ members of the First Book Network, the largest online community of individual educators, professionals and volunteers dedicated to supporting children living in low-income communities across North America. This Network is the key to creating lasting change. Through our research arm, First Book Research & Insights, we conduct studies that aggregate their voices to identify challenges, needs, and solutions. To address their needs, we provide free and low-cost books, resources and access to leading experts through the First Book Marketplace, which uses aggregated buying power to support their work. Founded in Washington D.C. in 1992 as a nonprofit social enterprise, First Book is dedicated to eliminating barriers to learning and inspiring young minds. Learn more at firstbook.org and visit our award-winning eCommerce website at fbmarketplace.org. 

About Ashoka
Ashoka is the largest global network of leading social entrepreneurs—individuals with new ideas to systemically address the world's biggest challenges and the entrepreneurial skill to transform those ideas into social impact. For over 40 years, Ashoka has supported more than 4,000 social entrepreneurs in more than 95 countries with solutions addressing society's most pressing issues. Ashoka's vision is a world in which Everyone is a Changemaker—a society that responds quickly and effectively to challenges, and where each person has the freedom, confidence, and societal support to address any social problem. For more information, visit ashoka.org.

Media Contact:
Staci Harris
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SOURCE First Book