The year began with a question.
When wildfires tore through Los Angeles, closing schools and displacing families, young people inside our programs asked something simple:
“What are we going to do?”
That moment set the tone for everything that followed.
A Year of Young People in Action
Across Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and beyond, young people gathered week after week to explore their values, learn from one another, and practice leadership in real time.
Sometimes that leadership took the form of community initiatives.
Some organized food drives through the SOUPer Bowl, teaching younger students about childhood hunger while collecting food for families in need.
Others carried forward initiatives like Lucia & Luna’s Backpack Drive, delivering backpacks filled with school supplies to children starting the school year.
Through BabyLove — a youth-led initiative founded by Youth Ambassador Noah Sneed — mothers and infants experiencing homelessness received essential supplies.
In each case, young people put what they were learning into practice.
Learning Across Borders
This summer, Youth Ambassadors traveled to Guatemala to help build our 35th school project alongside local families and students.
They arrived ready to build a classroom. They returned with something deeper.
After working side by side with the community, one ambassador reflected:
I thought I was going to Guatemala to give, but I came home with a heart full of gratitude.
~ Halo, Youth Ambassador
Moments like these remind us that leadership isn’t just about action. It’s about empathy, humility, and understanding the world beyond our own experience.
Twenty Years of Young People Leading
What happened in Guatemala reflects something larger.
In fact, 2025 marked 20 years of In a Perfect World—years of young people stepping forward to lead in their communities.
Since the beginning, young people have gathered in classrooms and community spaces to ask hard questions, share bold ideas, and learn how leadership works in real life.
Some organize projects.
Some find their voice for the first time.
All of them begin to see that they have a role in shaping the world around them.
The projects matter. But the deeper legacy is the young people who carry those lessons forward—into their schools, careers, and communities.
Explore the 2025 Impact Report
This blog captures only a few moments from the past year.
The 2025 Impact Report shares the deeper stories—how young people responded to crisis, what they learned along the way, and how leadership continues to grow through this work.
Inside the report you’ll discover:
- The full story behind the wildfire relief initiative
- Reflections from Youth Ambassadors who built a classroom in Guatemala
- Highlights from youth-led projects across communities
- A look at how leadership continues to grow after 20 years
What happens when young people are trusted to lead?
See what young people accomplished in 2025.
