MyActions raises $100K on Indiegogo to empower children to create change

MyActions, the Cincinnati-based startup that encourages users to engage and share their meaningful, healthy and caring actions, has launched an Indiegogo campaign. The funds will be used to expand the company's technology so that students in schools across the country can access it and and share their actions. Thus far, the campaign has raised just over its target mark of $100,000 with 10 days remaining.
 
MyActions, co-founded in 2010 by Michael Young and his father/CEO Craig Young, provides an online platform for users, mostly youth from college age down to middle school students, to celebrate moments and actions people take every day, amplifying the compassionate things people do to make the world a better place.
 
The company began as a high school project Michael thought up to help engage more of his classmates in volunteering. Craig, who has been working in technology for more than 20 years and has developed products for Apple, helped Michael and his classmates develop a website and app that would communicate their message.
 
“People share things from composting in the cafeteria, volunteering or even just being outside with their friends,” Michael says. “Each action is rewarded with a donation to a chosen cause and inspires others to take more action themselves.”
 
In its first year including colleges and universities, MyActions was used on more than 75 college campuses; more than 6,000 students documented 100,000-plus actions. Now with the Indiegogo campaign, MyActions is creating a way for middle school and high school students to participate, by rolling out tablets and RFID bracelets to give to schools.
 
“Our early technology could only be used on a cell phone or a mobile computer, which meant that there was a significant barrier of access,” says Kristine Sturgeon, president of MyActions. “This new technology flattens that barrier so every child can do more, and as they do more and see that their actions count, their confidence grows.”
 
With the success of the Indiegogo campaign, MyActions will look to roll out the technology in schools this fall and aims to be used on more than 150 college campuses this year. To learn more or contribute to the campaign, click here.