This year, middle schoolers in our American Characters program proved they are learning how to face challenges head-on to accomplish great things.

We watched from the sidelines as they learned about historical characters who transformed America. Then, they were challenged to begin transforming their communities themselves through service projects. And they did both gracefully despite the hurdles of COVID-19.

If anything, the state of the world made their #GoodCharacter projects feel more urgent and more important than ever.

In “normal” years, students gather with community members, mentors, and peers to show off their service projects. They explain how they formed groups, identified problems, worked with local mentors, and took action. This year, however, many of them also demonstrated just how clever and adaptable their generation is by using technology to showcase and share their powerful messages.

Whether students explained their ideas and solutions from traditional expo booths or on video, they left us speechless.

In addition to civics and character learned in the program’s curriculum, they gained real-world practice in collaboration, service, empathy, compassion, and communication.

It was a proud moment for our Liberty Learning team as we saw first-hand how our 2nd and 5th-grade programs had paved the way for these middle schoolers to take ownership in their roles as citizens. Their ideas, ingenuity, and determination showed us America’s future is in good hands!

This immersive educational experience is made possible because our generous local and state sponsors understand that these lessons must be taught despite time and budget constraints.

Please help us thank the organizations and people who are investing in the children who are becoming our Next Great Americans.

Catch a glimpse of their projects below:

Become a sponsor. Power the movement.