Anne Royse Ginther started her life labeled a "grotesque" adoptive baby. Talia Leman (age 17), on the other hand, was a lovely baby with the exception of her hedgehog hair.
Their dreams intersected in 2005 when they both reached out to rally U.S. youth to aid survivors of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast. Their effort ended up ranking the giving power of U.S. school children with the top FIVE U.S. corporate donors, coming in at over $10 million*. Wanting to harness that power for the other issues the world faces, they founded RandomKid along with Dana Leman, a unique nonprofit that empowers any random kid to solve real problems by joining their efforts with other like-minded youth.
Today RandomKid has mobilized the efforts of 12 million youth from 20 countries to provide aid on four continents. Together, RandomKid youth have funded water pumps, built schools, provided medical care, and all the while, fostered peace. A former national ambassador for UNICEF, Talia is a recipient of the National Jefferson Award, World of Children's Founder’s Youth Award, regarded as the "Nobel Prize” for efforts that serve the world’s children, and the International Youth Talent Award from the European Union and the Spanish government of Extremadura. RandomKid has been designated a United Nations Champion of Intercultural Innovation. Anne has since retired from RandomKid in order to pursue a master's degree and lead faith formation and social justice programs for adolescents.
The RandomKid team firmly believe that it will be our youth around the globe who will make this world the place it needs to be.
*Media often report that RandomKid raised $10 million for Katrina relief, but this is not correct. RandomKid rallied youth across the USA, in one uber-powerful voice, to report $10 million for Katrina Relief. In late 2005, RandomKid filed to become it's own nonprofit, harnessing youth power for other world issues in response to this unprecendented outcome. Around Katrina, close to 12 million youth unified. Today, RandomKid mobilizes between 50,000-100,000 kids per year around a variety of causes.