Keshia Knight Pulliam

You might know her as Rudy Huxtable, the adorable, truth-telling youngest sibling on “The Cosby Show,” or as Miranda Payne, a con artist who turned her life around on “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.”

But to hundreds of girls in Atlanta, actress Keshia Knight Pulliam is simply “Miss Keshia” – their mentor at Kamp Kizzy. 

In 2011, Pulliam took on a new kind of role that she calls her “true passion” when she launched Kamp Kizzy, an annual two-day free summer camp for girls ages 11 to 16. Kamp Kizzy is designed to encourage girls to pursue their dreams by bonding and participating in a diverse curriculum – designed by Pulliam – that includes performing arts, sensitivity and cultural diversity training, team-building exercises, creative writing, and lessons in etiquette and public speaking.

“It’s all about empowerment and self-esteem, about carving out your identity,” says Pulliam. “At this age, girls feel a need for acceptance, and sometimes that leads to bad decisions. We’re trying to help by creating a space of being listened to and a place of love, where you know everyone is there to support you and to let you know you can accomplish anything with your life.”

Each year, about 100 girls take part in Kamp Kizzy. (“Kizzy” is a nickname that was given to Pulliam by her grandfather.) The camp, which has expanded to four days, is held at Atlanta’s Spelman College, Pulliam’s alma mater. Pulliam hopes that through increased fundraising, to which she devotes much of her time, the camp will be able to serve more girls. Pulliam is also expanding Kamp Kizzy to include a boys’ group in 2015.

Pulliam says that the camp has been so popular that many participants return year after year until they reach the age limit, after which they volunteer as counselors.

“That’s one of the greatest things,” says Pulliam. “They’re excited to come back, and it’s wonderful to see them and hear how they’ve been working to accomplish their goals.”

Kamp Kizzy grew out of a lifetime of volunteer service.

“My mother and father taught me the importance of giving back,” says Pulliam, who at age 5 became the youngest person nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Emmy Award. “I’ve been volunteering help or giving money or clothes for as long as I can remember.”

After “The Cosby Show” ended in 1992, Pulliam took a break from acting to pursue her education. While studying at Spelman – where she earned a degree in sociology with a concentration in film – she performed community service as a Bonner Scholar. She was also a volunteer at Atlanta’s Hosea Feed the Hungry.

Pulliam says that at Spelman, and even earlier at Foxcroft School in Virginia, she was privileged to have strong women in her life and that she wants to pass that on to future generations through Kamp Kizzy.

“My experience has been blessed, but that doesn’t buffer me from the rest of society,” Pulliam says. “It inspires me to help others. Working at Kamp Kizzy is something I’ll do for the rest of my life.”

Ricky and Rishana Amar

Brother and sister team, Ricky and Rishana Amar of Miramar, Florida founded Random Acts of Good Deeds (RAGD), a non-profit organization championing youth leadership and encouraging social responsibility. RAGD collaborates with other NGOs and social programs that uplift and assist others physically and emotionally.

Ricky and Rishana started in 2009 with helping a nonprofit build schools for children by donating funds collected from saving their dollars. This led to the team encouraging their friends to come together to do small national community projects like clean up campaigns.

In 2011, RAGD adopted the Break the Silence Campaign from the University of the West Indies Trinidad and UNICEF to spread awareness about child sexual abuse. The campaign encourages schools, community groups and nonprofits to form networks focused on the cause, and to organize activities annually for April Child Abuse Awareness month and November 20, Universal Children’s Day.

Ricky and Rishana’s personal creed is I am not too young to make a difference. Their mission is to get all their friends to get involved in volunteering and contributing to help build a better world.

Rachel Pavelka

Rachel Pavelka of Oxford, Nebraska teaches youth entrepreneurship skills. Pavelka promotes owning your own business, but also promotes giving back to your community through volunteer work. This past summer, Pavelka engaged 83 teens in classes that help them explore the possibilities of owning their own business. She collaborated with local organizations such as the YMCA and 4-H to teach entrepreneurial camps. Being a young entrepreneur herself, Pavelka wants to ensure other young members of the community have the knowledge to start companies if they choose to do so.

Lia Haile

In 2012, Lia Haile of Manitowoc, Wisconsin founded the Hopeful Hearts Club to assist families at a local homeless shelter, the Hope House. The Hopeful Hearts Club consists of more than 350 volunteers who generously give their time, talents, and treasure to help homeless families in Manitowoc.

Haile, a fourth grader at Stangel Elementary School, organizes birthday parties for the children at the shelter. In addition, she creates welcome home bags containing toiletry items for each child who walks through the doors of the shelter. Each month, Haile coordinates family fun events like ice cream socials, movie nights, pizza parties, and the club purchases backpacks and school supplies for every homeless child enrolled school. Haile works with local businesses to obtain goods and services at a discount. She gives speeches at local schools, businesses and churches about her Hopeful Hearts Club and homelessness,

Eliza Antonowich

Eliza Antonowich of Norcross, Georgia is making great strides in her community by creating opportunities for her peers and community members to become physically active and equipping them with the necessary tools and resources to make healthy choices.

Prior to entering ninth grade, Antonowich stepped up to serves as the race director for the Norcross High School Blue Devils Run, a 5K fun run which raises much needed funds. The funds raised allow students experiencing financial hardship to participate in high school sport activities. The annual run events have been so successful under Antonowich’s leadership that over 100 runners are able to cover the cost of participation fees. In addition, the funds cover team uniforms, meet fees, and end of the year banquets to celebrate teammate’s accomplishments.

Motivated by her experience as a race director, Antonowich decided to initiate a speaker series during the summer prior to starting tenth grade. The speaker series features physical therapists and nutritionists from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Now a high school sophomore, Antonowich is continuously exploring opportunities to support and sustain her healthy initiatives, and has begun collaborating with local organizations, such as Big Peach Outreach, which anonymously provided running equipment to students. This past fall, she made race bib boards and sold them at local races, gyms, and retail stores. She donated a portion of the proceeds to a local YMCA to fund before and after school programs for youth, enabling them to use the facility for sports.

Antonowich’s passion for her work comes from her love of running and desire to breakdown financial barriers thus leveling the playing field allowing everyone a chance to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

Arianna Cooper

Arianna Cooper of Beltsville, Maryland is an advocate for bullying prevention and child safety.

In the fall of 2013, Cooper coordinated the Walk to Protect Children held on Make a Difference Day. Cooper’s efforts raised funds to benefit The Good Knight Child Empowerment Network. The donations obtained allow the organization to continue to offer free bullying and child safety programs to the community and schools.

In addition to raising funds, Cooper motivated over 20 youth to create walk teams consisting of three to ten walkers to support the organization’s efforts on Make A Difference Day. Cooper ensured that youth participants received information about the Good Knight Safety program and shared the Good Knight ABCs of Safety with other community members.

Cooper began actively volunteering with the Good Knight Child Empowerment Network Inc. in fourth grade. Over the years, she has dedicated more than 1,650 community service hours to the organization.