Youth-led community service doesn't just impact communities. Research shows that when students engage in just one hour of community service a week, they're more likely to graduate, and teens report that service supports their career readiness, connection, and resilience.
The Allstate Foundation is committed to empowering youth ages 5 – 25 to serve and improve communities. As the country's most trusted platform to connect the public to public schools, DonorsChoose shares those values — and that's why our three-year partnership is still going strong.
Our Strategy: Keep teachers in focus so students can shine
In 2023, The Allstate Foundation knew it wanted to inspire a movement of youth-led community service. Teachers are an essential part of that puzzle, and DonorsChoose is the perfect platform for empowering every teacher to get the specific materials their students need to succeed.
Enter: The Allstate Foundation's Service Stars campaign, a partnership with DonorsChoose and TIME for Kids that provides $500 grants to public school teachers to facilitate youth-led service projects in their classrooms and communities. Designed to make service accessible and actionable, teachers create community service projects around a range of "missions" that empower students to identify community needs, take action, and build leadership skills through real-world service — and they do it all on the DonorsChoose platform. Here's how our youth-empowerment partnership has evolved over time:
2023-2024: Service Stars comes to DonorsChoose
For Year 1 of the Service Stars campaign and DonorsChoose's involvement, we kicked off the school year with a "mission of the month," funding classroom projects that focused on impact themes such as boosting literacy, fighting hunger, or spreading kindness.
2024-2025: Expanding support year-round
During Year 2 of the Service Stars campaign, DonorsChoose and Allstate heard from teachers nationwide. Their excitement to bring multiple mission-focused projects into their classrooms led us to expand grant opportunities to fund all Service Stars mission-related projects. We worked closely with The Allstate Foundation and TIME for Kids to help teachers request supplies related to all Service Stars missions, beyond the monthly rotating theme.
2025-2026: We deepen our reach and impact
For Year 3, The Allstate Foundation renewed Service Stars at $1.7M. TIME for Kids and The Allstate Foundation also gifted elementary school grantees TIME for Kids Activity Books to continue igniting learning for curiosity-driven students and teachers.
Our Impact: Funding thousands of classroom projects to engage millions of students across the country
Three years in, Service Stars has evolved into a streamlined, high-engagement national campaign, funding thousands of projects and reinforcing The Allstate Foundation's commitment to youth empowerment, innovative social impact, and community leadership. Since 2023, we have awarded over $3.5M in grants to fund more than 13,000 classroom projects, reaching over 1.3 million students across more than 6,000 public schools nationwide. We asked several teachers who've benefited from the Service Stars campaign to share their stories.
"At Van Horn High School, our students face many challenges, but this project gave them the chance to lead with heart. With your support, we created a meaningful opportunity for students to recognize their peers, spread positivity, and experience the joy of giving 'just because.' Each week, students took pride in rolling through the halls with the Kindness Kart, celebrating classmates who showed perseverance, compassion, and kindness. In doing so, they learned that even the smallest gestures can create ripples of happiness and build a stronger, more connected school community. Together, we didn’t just deliver snacks — we delivered smiles, encouragement, and a reminder that kindness matters."
– Tammy Anderson, grades 9-12, Independence,MO
"For Lunar New Year, my students and I launched a project focused on cultural appreciation, community engagement, and spreading kindness. We began by learning about the traditions, values, and history behind Lunar New Year celebrations from various cultures including Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese communities. We hosted a Lunar New Year fair at school, promoting inclusivity and cultural awareness. Parents and students came to participate in making fortune tellers, headbands, and dragons. On Lunar New Year, students received red envelopes with stickers and a Gator dollar as they entered in the morning. We made the lion head out of the materials and it was used as a photo opportunity for the event."
– Diane Yokoyama, preK-2nd grades, Los Angeles, CA
"We more fully fitted our campus clothing closet so that students feel like they are shopping for great finds and actually look forward to visiting Frederick's Wardrobe. Initially intended for our foster and homeless students, we wanted to make it a welcoming and fun place for all students. With help from D.C. and The Allstate Foundation, we were able to do that!"
– Heather Dougherty, grades 9-12, Atwater, GA
We are so grateful to team up with generous partners like The Allstate Foundation, who prove that when we keep teachers at the heart of our strategy and give them the tools they need, students — and communities — can soar.
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