Three Kids Under 16 Who Are Changing the World

Sean Nathan

Sean Nathan, 15
Shreveport, Louisiana

In December 2007 Sean, who plays violin, and his younger brother, Neil, who plays cello, volunteered to play Christmas carols at a local homeless shelter. Afterward Sean found out that some of the children there didn't get to have birthday parties. That was unthinkable to him. "It's important for kids to get to celebrate with their families and make those happy memories," he says. So he decided to organize monthly communal parties for the kids at the shelter. Their first gathering, celebrating the children whose birthdays were in January, was such a big hit that Sean and Neil have been throwing the parties once a month ever since.

The children get to play games and eat birthday cake. "My favorite part, though, is when we sing 'Happy Birthday' to each child individually," says Sean. He and his brother have been playing paid gigs at events like weddings for several years and now use that income to pay for these parties. They also got their local Domino's to supply pizza at a discount. Sean's even thinking ahead: To make sure the parties will go on after he goes to college, he plans to recruit his high school's Key Club to continue the work.