Wendy Kopp Quotes

I had been a Girl Scout from the time I was 8 to the time I was 18 years old. I had belonged to my church organization and youth groups. But, you never really found a way that you could make a change.

I spent ridiculous amounts of time as an activist and volunteer and was a teacher for 20 years.

Sometimes when I speak to groups or I'm interviewed by a journalist, I ask them to imagine their communities without Girl Scouts - to imagine the thousands of food drives and clothing and toy collections that would never take place if not for Girl Scouts.

You've got a bunch of kids out here that might not want to be athletes, but they want to learn how to make a difference in their community, and I'm trying to as best I can show an example of that.

I started doing organizing work as a teenager. I was part of an organization called the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement at 14.

In fact, I have the privilege of traveling around our country and meeting people all over the country who are making a huge difference in the lives of their neighbors and themselves. That's what I'm really fortunate to be able to do.

I don't want young people to think they can't make a difference because they don't have money.

My husband, Andrew Shue, is the co-founder of Do Something, and we both speak and present at awards ceremonies. It's absolutely amazing and humbling to see all the work so many young people are contributing to better their communities on both a local and global front.

As a girl who was raised on the idea that we should give back to our community as much as possible, I believe that we have more power than we think when it comes to making change.

Getting in the community, working with the kids, was a way that I felt like I could get out and make a change.

ADCOLOR is an incredible organization that not only empowers people from all backgrounds to rise up but also to give back.

Welcome to We Day! Since last year, WE have volunteered over 1.7 million hours of our time!

We've invested in Newark's children, the schools and teachers, and these are long-term bets that need a number of years to really pan out. We've seen and learned how important it is to listen to the community and really get a sense of what they need and want. And it's a long journey.

There's a big difference between charity and between activism and philanthropy. They're very different things and I think, you know, everybody should find a passion or a cause that they can really get behind, but it has to be organic.

I had the opportunity at Duke to start doing things in the community, and it's something I continue to do even 20 years later.

What I would say to the young men and women who are beset by hopelessness and doubt is that they should go and see what is being done on the ground to fight poverty, not like going to the zoo but to take action, to open their hearts and their consciences.

Citizen activists look in the mirror, see what they're really good at and then apply their talents to solving social problems. It's skills-based volunteering.

I think that my peers deserve more than products to buy wrapped up in advertising. We need ideas to share and causes to believe in - opportunities to lead and teach.

Everywhere you look, there is a charity or a project in school to get involved in. In eighth grade, there was this program called CJSF, California Junior Scholarship Foundation. We were involved in soup kitchens and toy drives, and your school can set up something like that. If your school doesn't have a program like that, set one up.

I know I could make a difference by supporting the right causes.

My greatest work comes in the community.

I want to change the world. I want to be a part of culture. I want to help teach.

Many schools include a service project as part of their curriculum, and many corporations have in-house projects for their employees or give them time off to do volunteer work.

I certainly feel a strong call of public service.

Service is an opportunity for young women to really empower themselves.