It's Up to Us

It’s Up to Us brings concepts of character, leadership and service to high school-age kids that are attractive and credible to the kids, acceptable to parents, and compelling enough to counterbalance other powerful influences in kids’ lives, such as television, advertising, and the streets.

It’s Up to Us is community-oriented. It coaches kids to assess community needs and to implement their own service projects to meet those needs.

Some of the chapters deal with profound topics—such as meaning, courage and compassion. Some build specific skills, such as handling stress and conflict, planning, setting and managing goals, working in teams, assessing risks and making decisions, giving presentations, and working with media. Two chapters deal with the challenges of leadership. And the entire program is full of exciting, credible stories of "Giraffes"—real-life people honored by the Giraffe Project for sticking their necks out for the common good.