PhilanthroParties!: A Party-Planning Guide for Kids Who Want To Give Back

Gr 5 Up—In 2010, 10-year-old Cerone was deeply affected by news stories on the devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti and longed to do something to help. She decided to organize a charity event where students in her fifth grade class competed to make the most money selling lemonade in two weeks. The contest raised $4,000 to help survivors. A year later, Cerone founded a nonprofit organization called LemonAID Warriors in an effort to share her ideas for "PhilanthroParties" (events organized around a charitable cause) with kids and teens around the world. This book features 36 different activities targeting a wide variety of important causes, including world hunger, water, literacy, domestic violence, pollution, and women's rights. Although some of the material may be more appropriate for teens, this is a wonderfully thorough, inspiring guide for tweens who want to make a positive difference in the world. The party suggestions are creative and practical, and each chapter contains a plethora of useful tips, from food safety to event planning. While most of the PhilanthroParties focus on large global causes, a few of them are at the local level: a surprise party for the school custodian, a pancake breakfast for firefighters, etc. The work concludes with a "Philanthropy Planning Guide," describing how to research and contact a charity, with a week-by-week breakdown of how to plan for the big day. The only downside to the format is that the text is occasionally overlaid onto dark or busy backgrounds, making it a little difficult to read, but this is a minor complaint that does not interfere with the overall impact or usability.