shine your
light today

Hi! My name is Sonya Underwood, I co-founded children, light the world with my Son, Jianni, in the summer of 2022. I felt a great need to get us back into the community, and thought- what better way than by volunteering. I began to do some research and had trouble finding locations that offer volunteer opportunities for my son's age outside of normal business hours. I remembered, as a child, the school I attended took us on volunteer trips. My son and I began to sign up for volunteer opportunities a few months out during the holidays, and also began searching for organizations that connect educators to volunteer opportunities and found none. The fact that there wasn't an organization bothered me, and I couldn't let the fact that our children who have so much heart and potential are not sharing that light with the community, as children weren’t being given the chance. I am proud to say, there is now children, light the world, a non profit organization that builds a gap between educators and volunteer sites to help children light the world! In addition, we understand that there is a lack of the ability for educators to organize educational field trips. children, light the world, also takes care of that! Children are not only giving the opportunity to give back to their community,  but also the community is giving back to our children!

When you think about volunteering, our minds might jump to a soup kitchen or charity runs- going out of the way to help someone who is in need and less fortunate than we are. While this may be true, volunteering is so much more!! Through volunteering, we ourselves are being taught compassion and gain the understanding that our world actually extends beyond our familiar bubble of family, friends, home, school, and online platforms. Visualize our children connecting with others they wouldn't encounter otherwise. Imagine your child leaving someone “in need” and while they conducted a noble act, it's actually your child leaving the person they helped feeling fed, with a sense of personal satisfaction, wellbeing and happiness. Studies show, volunteering also builds academic performance, patience, strengthens relationships, critical thinking, leadership and problem solving techniques. Bottom line, "loving thy neighbor as thyself" fosters something in us that can't be bought, given or taught.

We serve all ages and work with volunteer organizations to determine the appropriate age group for each project.

children, light the world is the link between educators, volunteer organizations and educational sites. For instance, an educator reaches out to children, light the world with the request for a class of 7 students to volunteer. With one quick message,  children, light the world springs into action, transforming that request into a vibrant community adventure! We provide the educator with a few volunteer options (creating birthday boxes for foster children, planting a community garden or repainting a basketball court). We take the reins of coordination, organizing a splendid trip to a local park where the kids will dig their hands into the soil and plant a community garden. Our team dances behind the scenes, ensuring all communication flows smoothly between the educator and the organization. From gathering those all-important permission slips, admission fees, to orchestrating the transportation, we’ve got it covered! This means educators are not taken away from educating their students and organizations can focus on their mission.

While children, light the world is willing to travel far and wide for our children, we are a new foundation and limited in size. We currently cover Maricopa County, with the plans of expanding soon!

children, light the world offers a subscription to educators.

With donations, we plan to provide opportunities for families that are unable to afford event admission fees and further our ability to reduce transportation and chaperone barriers.

The cost of admission to educational fun field trips may vary.

The beauty of children, light the world lies in our ability to keep overhead costs low while making a big impact! We zoom around the community, so our expenses focus mainly on vital things we call administrative fees. These fees cover staffing, and the awesome educational fun field trips that make learning an adventure for families that cannot afford the cost of admission, incentives and transportation cost.

But there's a little hiccup! We urgently need a van to increase our transport capacity. Right now, we can only whisk away up to 3- 4 kiddos (depending on age) at a time! Your donations can change that! They will help us support educators in getting children out of their classrooms and into exciting experiences. Plus, we'll be able to lend a much-needed helping hand to organizations already juggling a lot. With your help, we can shine brighter together and make our community sparkle on an even larger scale! ✨