A FEW FOUNDATIONS are trying to encourage a new generation of activist youths to focus on the causes of social problems.

GRANT-MAKING COUNCILS expose teenagers to the mechanics of philanthropy while enabling them to make an impact on their communities.

JOSHUA MARCUS started a charity at age 11 that distributes backpacks and school supplies to needy schoolchildren near his home in Florida.

ANTHONY THOMAS devotes lots of his free time to trying to improve the environment in his blighted South Bronx neighborhood, which has little green space and high rates of asthma.

NICKOLE M. EVANS, now a high-school senior, has spent much of her teenage years promoting nonviolence and counseling her peers.

MICHAEL MUNDS, 14, participated in his first fund-raising event at age 3, and has since helped to raise more than $150,000.

A SHY STUDENT finds her niche as a seamstress for the homeless.

A HIGH-SCHOOL ACTIVIST seeks to quell video-game violence.

A CALIFORNIA TEENAGER sends aid to Africa.

TWO FLORIDA SISTERS have raised more than $32,000 for a local food bank.

AN ENERGETIC DUO works to persuade their peers in high school to drop their weapons.