The Caring Cards Drive is a humanitarian endeavor designed to make a difference through empowerment and empathy. We direct the voluntary writing and crafting of handmade cards by fellow students or other enthusiasts (however young or old) to be distributed to health care workers, grocery workers, and other heroes within our community.

Thus far, we have delivered 676 cards!

Inspired by "Shawshank Redemption", the Shawshank Book Drive collects and disseminate these items to incarcerated individuals, both young and old across the community. Our criminal justice system, beyond being riddled with racial prejudice, should be an institution of both retribution and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, it does not embrace the latter as much as the former. The lack of rehabilitative resources, in the words of an ex-incarcerated individual we interviewed, makes its victims "adapt" and become "dependent" on living life behind bars.

Our hope is that be relocating these resources, we will be able to address mental health in criminal justice facilities and advocate for rehabilitative reform in criminal facilities, especially for juvenile institutions.

Thus far, we have been able to impact 2,500 incarcerated individuals.

A cousin of the Caring Cards Drive, Project Letters of Light came into existence when one of our Student Ambassadors, Priya Armour, suggested that we create small note cards with an uplifting message and crucial hotlines for suicide, domestic abuse, LGBTQIA+ distress, and etc. and hang them up all around town!

Beyond offering a heartwarming reminder to whoever runs across them, we hope that these "LEOLIs" (LEtters Of LIghts) normalize the historically stigmatized topic of mental health.

EduCare aims to help fill the gaps created by the lack of physical classroom time that deeply influences mental development of young children. This project provides free teaching sessions to students as young as 5 years old. Through EduCare, we will match high school students to younger students to form not only academic but mentor/mentee relationships.

In light of the isolation and new contact restrictions, we partnered with Lyricares -- a club founded by Jae-Hee Bae at the Centerville High School which normally goes around town to provide 5-6 live concerts for senior citizens annually -- to develop a video performance that we disseminated to facilities housing a total of around 2,300 individuals and have provided live performances to 670 individuals.

Our Youth Ambassador, Kassandra Joryl Benialit, linked arms with like-minded peers. They were able to provide health kits to more than thousands of people including children and infants as well as food packs for 600+ families. Thank you so much Kassy and your team for your meaningful contributions!

We cannot put to words how proud we are of our friends from the Kosova Chapter of DSu for successfully executing their first 100% youth-led initiative last week. As their debut initiative, the team dedicated themselves to collecting school supplies for the children of the SOS Village Prishtina Orphanage. Our US chapter sent 500 pencils from our community to support this wonderful cause.

The last supplies were collected from the Philological Gymnasium "Eqrem Çabej" in Prishtina with the help of the principal Shemsedin Beqiri and Professor Diellza Sopi Kastrati but mostly through the determination and sheer efforts of the students who organized it. We regard this success story as a testament to the potential and capabilities of the youth, of Gen Z, to self determine the world we wish to live in. Once again, congratulations.

Aktivitetit tonë të parë veçse po i vie fundi. Ekipi ynë tash e një muaj po punon në një projekt humanitar për fëmijët e Sos Fshatit, qëllimi kryesor i të cilit ishte grumbullimi i materialeve shkollore si ndihmë e vogël për ta.

Sot materialet e fundit u mblodhën nga Gjimnazi Filologjik "Eqrem Çabej" me ndihmën e drejtorit Shemsedin Beqiri dhe profesoreshës Diellza Sopi Kastrati por më së shumti nxënësve, që me mirësinë dhe energjinë pozitive u bënë pjesë e projektit tonë duke na dëshmuar edhe njëherë sa punëtore dhe e përkushtuar është rinia e vendit tonë.

#BLM with a holiday twist! This October 31st, the DSU USA Centerville Chapter collaborated with Centerville DECA, CHS Feminist Alliance, and CHS Equality Club collaborated to cut and paste kid-friendly Black history facts on 2,000 candy pieces! The candies were distributed to our volunteers’ homes or donated to inner-city children. With racial pluralism fissuring today’s society, we believe that early exposure to diversity is crucial to foster in the next generation!

"If you want to go far, go together" - African proverb

Although we began as a locally grown grassroots organization, our current youth hail from 44 countries and a total of 71 different locations across oceans. Born within a generation where everyone is hyperconnected through the internet, we are able to come in touch with such a broad spectrum of individuals than was historically possible.

With the 100+ youths under our belt, we foster a melting pot of cross-cultural youth activists who share a common dream of a kinder world.

Activating within the COVID-Free Zones

For Generation Z, media is where all the magic starts. On our Instagram page serves as a medium for various virtual projects we undertake, including works developed by our international ambassadors, inspirational or through-provoking interview series. Accordingly, video calling platforms such as Zoom is how we innovate and execute all of our initiatives.