Thank you Allstate for sponsoring this post. I chose to write this post because doing good in local communities is at Allstate’s core.

”Good Hearts, Good Hands℠” | Our Future Leaders

My oldest daughter just celebrated her 10th birthday and as we took a few minutes to reflect on the past year, we couldn’t feel more proud. She is the ultimate example of doing good and empowering others to stand up for what they believe in. We have always taught our daughters that no voice is too small. Everyone is capable of making a difference and if you can inspire just one person to act differently, you are the voice of the future. Allstate believes young people aren’t waiting for change to happen but rather they are the ones creating it. Seeing all the positive change just my own daughter has created, I can confidently say the future has good hearts. By lending their hands, hearts and voices to their communities, our children are making change while building skills that will take them far as they grow into future leaders. Watch this video to see Allstate in action in local communities.

Our youth are building critical social and emotional learning skills, like empathy and teamwork while working to help improve their communities. Our 10-year-old daughter has already been using her voice for many years to create change. One of her most eye-opening experiences happened when she was on a boat returning rehabilitated sea lions and seals to the their natural environment in the ocean. While already an amazing learning opportunity, she then spotted a Mylar balloon floating on the water. On a boat in the middle of the ocean, she pulled a balloon from the water and has been talking about it ever since. She is on a mission to share that even though we don’t live near the ocean, balloons find their way to water sources and it’s irresponsible to release them in the air for celebrations. Your average 10-year-old is not spending her days making a plan to keep all the balloons from falling into water sources for animal and environment safety.

It’s refreshing to learn that Allstate believes in youth empowerment because this is the message we’ve empowered our children to confidently stand behind. Our youth can do anything and one of the ways Allstate looks to inspire the next generation is through community projects that empower young people to become future leaders and changemakers. Learning to use your voice and having the confidence to help make an impact as a future leader is something every child should grow up with. My young daughter has used her voice on multiple platforms, including the opportunity to share her favorite sea lion rescue story on a nationally syndicated educational program.

Just like my daughter, there are young people all over the world making impacts in their own communities. For the past several years my daughter has shared what she knows about animal conservation at her school with an annual presentation about conservation and how little efforts can make a huge difference for the environment. She is so very proud to be a part of this educational endeavor teaching her peers how much their young voices matter.

Allstate’s dedication to the communities where they live and work is core to who they are. This inspired us to spark a conversation with my daughter about how she wants to make a bigger difference. She is intent on sharing what she has learned about the ocean with her Arizona peers. We don’t have the same access to education about the human impacts on the ocean simply because of geography. Our Arizona children are, for the most part, growing up not recognizing how much of a difference they could make simply by switching to reusable water bottles, lunch sacks and shopping bags.

We are so proud of all the work our daughter has done already and know her impact, and the impact of our youth standing up for causes they believe in, will go so far in the future. It’s a long journey ahead but I’m not worried about the future with this amazing group of mindful leaders, are you?

This post was written as part of the Allstate Influencer Program and sponsored by Allstate. All opinions are mine. As the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, Allstate is dedicated not only to protecting what matters most–but to guiding people to live the Good Life, every day.