iCAREweCARE is a student-run non-profit that leverages the power of social media for social good. We help high school and college students connect with friends who CARE about the same causes, provides them with meaningful opportunities in their local community, and makes social change a social effort.

I founded iCAREweCARE to help mobilize high school and college students, allow them engage in global issues, and help each student make a difference. I believe that our generation has an opportunity to change the world by organizing ourselves through social networking, finding other young people who care about the same causes, and working with or starting an organization to do something about it.

As a teenager in high school, I am surrounded by brilliant and capable students with incredible ideas about how to solve global issues. When we discuss the issues facing our world, how they will affect the future, and what actions we can take now, I never cease to be blown away by the eloquent, yet simply plausible solutions these students propose.

However, no one ever asks us these questions. Too often, we are told we don’t have the capacity to deal with these problems and we should stick to what we know. On the contrary, simply talking to these students has already given me a better idea about how to improve our world. Talking to people our age that CARE about something bigger inspires me to take action. If these conversations could happen on a global scale, our generation could inspire each other and stand together to deal with the issues we CARE about.

My hope is for iCwC to revolutionize the way students think about community service. Right now, students look at community service as a requirement. I want to get students to enjoy giving back by volunteering for organizations that address issues they CARE about along with their friends. It leverages the power of social networking, but for social good. It allows you to share what you CARE about and where you’re volunteering with your friends so they can join you, making it a group effort.

High school and college students have an incredible untapped potential. Because we are told we can’t do anything, we often don’t. I know we can do better than this. I know that there are more students who will realize there are problems bigger than our high school and college lives. There are students who can realize that there is someone, somewhere in the world, who could use our help. I hope that by empowering us students with the gift of giving back at such a young age, we will remember to give back for the rest of our lives.

Join the movement and help our generation change the world.

Priyanka Jain

As a Youth Champion, Priyanka helps make Girl Up an engaging, effective, and powerful campaign by sharing her ideas, speaking at global events, and providing feedback on everything Girl Up.

By Quentin Hardy, Executive Editor of Forbes Media

Of course, the future belongs to the young. You get a decent look at it ahead of time, though, by watching how they build new ways seize it.

Earlier today a 17 year old named Priyanka Jain launched a student run nonprofit called iCAREweCARE, which is dedicated to helping high school and college students identify causes they care about, find local organizations that address those problems, and then write about their experiences,  or connect with their friends over them. There is a Web site, and Facebook connections for rapid and deep information sharing. Read More

ABC:

Priyanka discusses how she hopes to mobilize her generation to make a difference using social media.

FAST COMPANY:

iCAREweCARE combines two of the most powerful forces for social change today — social media and a new generation of inspiring social entrepreneurs.

Founded by 17-year old, Priyanka Jain, iCAREweCARE is the first student-led non-profit to leverage social technology for social good. Their mission is to create a globally aware, socially responsible, and action oriented generation aiming to help students take initiative and leadership roles in the movementfor social change. Read more here

FUTURIST:

In this interview we interview Priyanka Jain, high school student and founder of iCAREweCARE.org. This is a global social network aimed at high school and college student designed to “reate a globally aware, socially responsible, and action oriented generation.” The idea is to network the volunteer efforts of these young people and focus them together to greatly expand both meaningful participation and ultimate impact. The interview is conducted by Mallory Smith, Office Manager for Futurist.com, and introduced by Futurist.com Founder Glen Hiemstra. He observes that the millennial generation is expected to be an activist generation, and iCAREweCARE is an example of that.

This might surprise people whose concept of high schoolers relies heavily on “Glee,” but teenagers really do want to do good for the world. It’s not all about prom outfits and weekend plans: teenagers have a genuine interest in making the world a better place. They often just don’t know where to start.

How do I know this? I’m a 17 year old high school junior. But more importantly, I’ve met brilliant teenagers who talk with tremendous passion about their ideas to solve global problems. Read More

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/priyanka-jain

Speaking at Global Womens Forum:

The 350th Anniversary of the Royal Society:

With Martin Reese at the 350th Anniversary of the Royal Society:

Speaking at Adventures of the Mind:

Priyanka  is the founder and President of iCAREweCARE (www.icarewecare.org), a student-run non-profit that leverages the power of social media for social good. iCAREweCARE helps high school and college students connect with friends who CARE about the same causes, provides them with meaningful opportunities in their local community, and makes social change a social effort.

Priyanka is a strong believer in women’s education. She serves as a Youth Champion for the United Nation’s Foundation Girl Up campaign to inspire other young girls to get involved in their communities. She was one of two high school students working with QuestBridge to connect bright, low-income girls to educational opportunities at the nation’s leading colleges. She is also the founder of the Seattle chapter of Circle of Women, a student-run organization building schools for girls in developing countries.

She served as an ambassador to the Singularity University Graduate Studies Program, which brings together graduate students and business leaders to stimulate innovative solutions using exponentially growing technologies for the world’s most pressing challenges. She also serves as an official contributor to the Huffington Post.

Priyanka was named “Youth Philanthropist of 2012” by the Association of Fundraising Professions and selected as one of the top 100 women entrepreneurs by Smart Girls’ Way. She frequently speaks at conferences around the world about engaging teenagers in giving back to their communities.

Her accomplishments have been showcased by various media outlets, including Forbes (http://blogs.forbes.com/quentinhardy/2011/05/20/a-global-student-network-and-our-future/), Fast Company (http://www.fastcompany.com/1754449/icarewecare-using-social-media-to-build-a-better-world), and ABC (http://7liveonline.com/video?id=8163049).

How do I know this? I’m a 17 year old high school junior. But more importantly, I’ve met brilliant teenagers who talk with tremendous passion about their ideas to solve global problems. Last summer, I conducted a workshop at the iEARN Global Conference and discussed how global issues affect different countries.

There, I asked the students what issues were most prevalent in their countries and I was completely blown away not only by the clamor of problems to solve, but the inspiring solutions these students presented for each issue.

Students were bringing a fresh perspective to global problems: we were thinking beyond the political gamesmanship and maneuvering that often stands in the way of real change. It was a sign of the power that we could talk across borders and find a way to harness our energy and our ideas.

But we also need to make community service enjoyable. Sadly, giving back has been deemed a ‘chore’ that many students are forced to do and trained to resent. I have made it a personal goal to change this.

What we teenagers need is a way to connect to:

- Engaging philanthropic opportunities that address what we are passionate about.
- Ways to encourage giving back with our friends.
- Other like-minded students from around the world.

This is why I founded iCAREweCARE, a student-run non-profit that leverages the power of social networking for doing good. The organization helps high school and college students from around the world connect with their friends who share a passion for specific global issues, and then provides them with meaningful opportunities to make social change a social effort. It also provides a platform for students to ask each other about how global issues affect different countries.

Adults and young people alike should start embracing the movement that will come out of the untapped potential of students. As millions of young voices are amplified, we will change the world. It’s already been proven through the “Arab Spring protests,” where thousands of young people banded together through social networking to advance the cause of democracy. If students could move that mountain, just imagine what else they can make happen.

It’s time to stop thinking of students as the leaders of tomorrow. We are the leaders of today.