Nationwide — With a goal of promoting kindness and activism, global youth changemaker Isabella Hanson created the “I Matter” Poetry and Art Project. A component of the “I Matter” Project is the annual poetry and art competition, which is sponsored by the National Youth Foundation (NYF). The competition provides a platform for youth to utilize writing and art to advocate for peace. This initiative grew from 150 participants from 26 states in 2020 to over 2,500 participants from 49 states and 64 countries in 2025. Hans, who is currently a junior at Cornell University, created “I Matter” when she was 14 years old. Now in its 6th year, the “I Matter.”
Project invites students from around the world to submit original poetry and art on the theme of
equality. The winning entries, which are due by July 23, 2026, are published in a compilation hardcover book, and the top entries earn $250.
The National Youth Foundation was selected as a recipient of the Born This Way Foundation’s 2025 Kindness in Community Fund grant to support their grassroots work for youth mental health and well-being. As a recipient of the 2025 Kindness in Community Fund, the “I Matter” Project continued to expand its community-based workshops for students, both in-person and virtually.
In the workshops, Hanson and her team of student leaders educate youth impacted by violence and racial trauma about how to utilize the arts to process their feelings and to advocate peacefully for change. Thanks to the generous support of Pivotal, Cotton On Foundation, Sephora, Haus Labs, and others, NYF was among the 55 Kindness in Community Fund grant recipients across 11 countries, selected with direct input from young people worldwide.
The National Youth Foundation is a non-profit organization based in the Philadelphia region. NYF uses creative educational programming to promote diversity, gender equality, and kindness while helping young students develop their literary skills through academic and team-building projects.
Learn more at NationalYouthFoundation.org
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