Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com). Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it exclusively produces is in the public domain. March 6, 2009 Iowa Schoolgirl Founds Organization to Help Kids Make a Difference ------------------------------------------------------------------ http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=22B40D8:A6F02AD83191E1600757477870481145C030207A0BD70133& Random Kid raises money for projects around the world Kids have some good ideas about how to make a difference in the world, but often, they lack the inspiration or the guidance to make their ideas a reality. One creative and motivated teenager is providing that inspiration and guidance to hundreds of kids so they can make a difference. Talia Leman raised $10 million for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Her experience inspired her to found her own nonprofit When Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, Iowa schoolgirl Talia Leman was 10. But she collected $10 million for relief efforts by getting youngsters all around the country to join a fund-raising Halloween campaign. She called it "Trick-or-Treat for the Levee Catastrophe.""I trick-or-treated for coins along with candy that October in an effort to raise money for hurricane relief," she says. "And that ended up raising $10 million."After the success of that campaign, Leman realized that anyone - even a kid - could make a difference. She founded a nonprofit organization to help other kids get involved."We bring kids together from around the globe to solve real-world problems," she says. "So kids, school kids, youth groups, they currently write to me through my Web site, and I unify their fundraising efforts with people around the world with similar goals to find solutions for real-world problems."Lehman's organization helps children and teens work together to raise money for charitable causes around the world, such as AIDS research, clean water and schools Leman's organization is called Random Kid, and it has been raising funds for a wide range of projects."We've joined schools from eight states to fund water pumps in Africa that provide safe, clean water to 5,000 villagers," she says. At Green Valley Elementary School in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, sixth-graders sell bottles of water to raise money for the Random Kid Water Project. "We have a local company that donates the water for only 40 cents [a bottle]," he says, ! "but we sell it for more so we make a profit."Pennsylvania sixth-grade r Adam Bowers sells bottled water to raise money for the Random Kid Water Project Adam Bowers says about 80 of his classmates are coming up with other ideas to raise money for the project."We have different groups," he says. "One of them is advertising. Recently, we had someone get a billboard for us. So that's to get our name out. We pretty much tell everyone around us about this project."Several dozen Random Kid members from around the world formed their own youth United Nations, called For Each Other. "We talk to each other and learn about each other's cultures," she says. "In 2006, we raised $6,000 to fight AIDS in Africa. And in 2007, we raised $15,000 that was matched by an Asian bank to build a school in Cambodia."Five representatives from Random Kid attended the opening of a school in Cambodia that was funded by Random Kid and an Asian bank Allison Sant, 15, who represents the state of Ohio, was one of five Random Kids who went to Cambodia to celebrate the opening of this school."There are five classrooms," she explains. "They are big classrooms, and they have rows and rows of desks. In three years, there will be 500 students. There are currently 151. We raised enough money to have Internet, solar panels and computers installed. And we were able to hire a computer teacher and an English teacher for the school."She says visiting the school was a life-changing experience. The Random Kids who visited Cambodia called the experience "life-changing""I will never, ever be able to forget the experience and how much it impacted my life," she says. "What impacted me the most was seeing this school and how excited the kids were just to be able to go to school and say 'I love you' to us and give us hugs. [It was exciting] for us to be able to play Duck, Duck, Goose with them and see how excited they were just to learn, or to be able to have their school supplies. Their faces are like [engraved] in my mind."One of Random Kid's latest efforts will help children walk. Participants in the Great Strides project are raising money to provide leg braces to correct a condition known as club foot. About 10,000 kids all over the country have worked with Lehman's organization in the last three years"We're launching it in three schools - two in Iowa and one in New Jersey," she says. "The kids in the school will be carrying pedometers with the goal of walking a marathon [26.2 miles] before the end of the school year. They will get sponsors for every mile they walk. So every $260 that they raise will go toward making it possible for another child [who has the condition club foot] to walk. So this project will help kids in the United States and also in 30 countries. And Random Kid sends the pedometers for free."Random Kid founder Talia Leman says it's encouraging to see that young people are willing and able to help when they get the chance. Over the last three years, about 10,000 kids have stepped up to help. About 1,100 are currently involved in the group's ongoing projects. Last year, the Build-a-Bear Workshop Company named Leman a Huggable Hero. She says it's an honor for her group to be recognized and - perhaps more significantly - to get a cash award to help fund more Random Kid projects. Yet, she says, nothing is more rewarding than just being able to bring positive changes into someone else's life. Video: Random Kid Opens School in Cambodia Courtesy of Random Kid .