Using social media for good deeds is rare. There’s so much bad publicity these days about teenagers and social media. Cyber-bullying, inappropriate postings on social networking sites, apps that put teens in bad situations…problems like these tend to make headlines. But there are also teenagers using social media in positive ways—sometimes wonderful, life-changing ways that show you’re never too young to make a difference. Here are five students using social media for good deeds and worthy causes that INFLUNSR wanted to share with our teammates. Get ready to be inspired.

Julia Warren throws memorable birthday celebrations for disadvantaged children.

A couple of years ago, Julia Warren had an epiphany. For most kids, birthday parties are an annual rite of passage—something usually taken for granted. Yet in Julia’s own hometown of Richmond, Va., there were kids living in poverty who had never had a single birthday party of their own. And this, she decided, was unacceptable.

Julia founded celebrate! RVA to give disadvantaged children in Richmond memorable birthday parties—with fun food, activities, decorations and, of course, cake—to make sure every child feels loved and celebrated on their special day.

The nonprofit organization’s website serves to recruit volunteers as well as donations. The blog shows highlights from recent parties, including special guests like players from the University of Richmond Lacrosse team and even local police who come to celebrate with the birthday boy or girl. Meanwhile, Julia also blogs as The Girl in the Party Hat, sharing personal stories behind the celebrate! RVA parties. She’s spreading the love online while making wonderful memories for countless Richmond children. It’s enough to make her readers want to celebrate, too.

Ivan Boyers, Andrew Goodrum and Ariel Kim are furthering the acceptance of disabled children by promoting education.

In the summer of 2013, Ivan Boyers, Andrew Goodrum and Ariel Kim were part of a group of high-school students who participated in a community service project in Ghana through the organization VISIONS Service Adventures. That summer they volunteered at three different work sites, but the one that hit closest to Ivan, Andrew and Ariel’s heart was helping to fix up a dormitory at a local center for disabled children, which is known as the Physically Challenged Action Foundation (PCAF).

As their time in Ghana came to a close, the three friends vowed that upon returning home, they would work to raise money to help the center fulfill its dream of building an on-site school—and Ark’s Foundation was born. To date, almost $50,000 already has been spent on the school’s construction.

Ivan explains that social media has been a major catalyst in their effort:

“Regarding our message, we really desired a brand. Therefore, we started by establishing a logo and a website that includes all the vital information for which donors would be looking. Unfortunately, we were still unknown to most of the world. Social media filled this void. Through Facebook, we post photos updating viewers about progress in Ghana but also simply informing potential donors of opportunities to give. Facebook provided a platform through which we could direct people straight to the donation page of our website. And the “share” button has been a huge help to our spread.”

Andrew adds that he looks forward to the day they can revisit the site and see the school completed. “It would be the most amazing, awe-inspiring experience,” he says, “to see the radiant smiles on the children’s faces as they head to school for the first time.”

Hannah Alper motivates people of all ages to identify their passion and take action.

If there’s such a thing as a social-media prodigy, Hannah Alper is it.

Hannah, who is from Toronto, launched her blog Call Me Hannah when she was just nine years old. Her father, Eric Alper, says Hannah’s passion for speaking out about important causes started early on with her love of animals, which quickly spread to concern for threatened habitats and the environment as a whole.

Fast forward four years, and Hannah, now 13, has not only built a huge following for her blog but gained influence through public speaking and so much more. She has 34,000 followers on Twitter, writes for The Huffington Post, and serves as both a Me to We Motivational Speaker and Free the Children Ambassador. Meanwhile, her advocacy has expanded to also include anti-bullying efforts and celebrating other young role models, including Malala Yousafzai.

Hannah goes by a lot of descriptions, from eco-warrior to “kindraiser.” And if you want to know what kindraising is, here it is in Hannah’s own words from one of her Huffington Post blogs: “Kindraising is all about changing our communities and the world through kindness. I believe that it takes more than money to create a lot of change that we’re working on and that compassion, empathy and kindness play a huge part in reaching our goal.”

Jah’Kiyla Atwaters provides the opportunity for children, who can not afford tuition, to play sports.

A few years ago, 12-year-old competitive cheerleader Jah’Kiyla Atwaters of Boynton Beach, Fla.—who is also a model and actress featured in a Disney Universal Studios commercial and other roles—was practicing cheerleading routines at a park when she noticed some girls outside the gate watching. When Jah’Kiyla encouraged them to try cheering themselves, one of them responded, “My mom died, and my sister is taking care of us. She doesn’t have any extra money for me to cheer.”

Saddened by the story, Jah’kiyla told her mom, and together they formed the Jump with Jah’kiyla (JWJ) Foundation to provide children who normally couldn’t afford it the opportunity to play sports. They created a website to encourage donations and to help kids and their families apply for sports vouchers. Jah’kiyla also launched a social media campaign last year asking kids to create—and photograph themselves with—posters of their favorite sport.

The website BlackCelebrityGiving highlighted the JWJ Foundation in 2014, noting, “The urge to help others and her outgoing personality led Jah’Kiyla to where she is today.”

Joshua Williams is on a mission to end hunger locally, across the country and around the world.

Through the Joshua’s Heart Foundation, 14-year-old Joshua Williams of Miami, Fla. has recruited more than 10,000 young volunteers and helped raise more than $550,000 to help feed hungry individuals and families around the world. Having developed a passion for helping the hungry when he was just four-and-a-half, he uses his website to encourage people of all ages to join in the cause.

To help spread the word and good deeds, Joshua makes use of all the major social-media channels including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, flickr and Instagram. His site also features blogs from not just Joshua but eight other young people who help spread the word and share their experiences with the organization.

Says his mother, Claudia McClean, “Joshua empowers and engages young people ages two and up to find their passion or purpose and use it for the better good.”

So now it’s your turn. INFLUNSR wants to challenge you to use social media for good this week. Here is what we want to ask you to do:

1. If you have a cause or an issue that is near and dear to your heart, create a post using your social media platform of choice. Make it positive, encouraging, informative and include an action step for those who read your post.

2. Make sure you respond to every single comment in a way that encourages and uplifts. Try really hard to understand before being understood. 

3. Please tag @INFLUNSR in your post and include the following hashtags at the end of your post:

#AnxiousToMatter #NewDifferenceMakers #PositivePost

4. If you need some cues for causes or issues you can post about, consider these that are front and center in our culture:

• Teenage depression and suicide
• Amazon fire (environment)
• Sex trafficking
• Homelessness and hunger stateside