Stand Up!: 75 Young Activists Who Rock the World

by John Schlimm

Through their own voices and spirited calls to action, 75 of the world's most dynamic young activists share their extraordinary stories in this generation-defining collection for students, parents, teachers, volunteers, and community service leaders. Tapping into today's global youth movement where social entrepreneurship and activism merge at the intersection of business, pop culture, and nonprofit work, these stories showcase young men and women—some of whom started their efforts as early as three years of age—bringing savvy compassion and unstoppable courage to and from locations all over the world, including Africa, Pakistan, India, Peru, Colombia, Afghanistan, and the United States. Whether building freshwater wells in developing nations, fighting discrimination, saving animals, or honoring heroic soldiers, these are the young people on the frontlines, from mountain peaks to rain forests to school gardens and classrooms, changing the world for the better.

280 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2013

About the author

John Schlimm is a Harvard-trained educator, multimedia artist, mental health/youth advocate, and international award-winning author of thirty books spanning multiple genres.

His books include: Dead Clowns Pass: A Novel; What Would Gen-Z Do?: Everything You Don’t Know About Gen-Z But Should; The Star Jumped Over the Moon; the Christopher Award-winning memoir Five Years in Heaven: The Unlikely Friendship That Answered Life’s Greatest Questions; Extraordinary Dogs: Stories from Search and Rescue Dogs, Comfort Dogs, and Other Canine Heroes; Moonshine: A Celebration of America’s Original Rebel Spirit; a series of plant-based cookbooks; and a series of artist’s books. John’s forthcoming books in 2026 and 2027 include his debut Thriller novel and two debut Thriller/Horror novellas.

John is also the creator of such multimedia Participatory/Interactive and Public Art projects as THE SMILE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours), as well as The Gen-Z Time Capsule in collab with The Andy Warhol Museum; Thumbs Down to Bullying backpack tag (Ed. of 3,000); THE SMILE COIN (Ed. of 4,000), The 988 Coin (Ed. of 30,000), The U.S. Flag Coin (Ed. of 30,000), and The Pillars: A Monument Honoring Our Local Carbon & Powdered Metal Industries in collab with St. Marys Area High School’s Dutch Manufacturing students and Community Education Center; THE BRAIN THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours) in collab with Clearfield County Career and Technology Center High School and Workforce Solutions for North Central PA; and America250PA-Elk County/The United Colors of Liberty/Bells Across PA Project in collab with the Elk County Commissioners and 4,000 K-12 students.

For nearly a decade, John served as an adjunct professor of Communications and First Year Seminar at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, and has also traveled the country speaking about motivational topics, his art, Gen-Z, mental health, entertaining, and public relations, including his commencement addresses “Rise From There!” and “The Road to YES is Paved with Many Nos,” and his “Embrace Compassion, Change the World” keynote address on Capitol Hill. He has appeared on such national media outlets as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family, Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, NPR, Martha Stewart Living’s Everyday Food, The Splendid Table, QVC, and EWTN’s The World Over.