Kids Are Heroes® Opens Office Near Atlanta

CANTON, Ga. - Aug. 6, 2014 - PRLog -- In 2008, 9-year-old MaryMargaret O'Neill asked her dad to build her a website to help animals. Her father agreed as long as they could expand it to help people and the environment. It was supposed to be a father-daughter project where the dad could spend some meaningful time with his precious only child. That's how Kids Are Heroes^®, an incubator for very young social entrepreneurs, got its start.

In July of 2014, that family, without any job prospects or other family in the Atlanta area (none of them had even ever been there), picked up their belongings and moved to a town north of Atlanta. The reason? Because that little father-daughter project will have its first Young Leaders Summit at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta in February of 2015. They will be colocated with the Kids Business Expo, which is a movement to teach young people entrepreneurial skills. This will be by far their biggest event ever, inviting some 440 heroes (15 of them from the state of Georgia) from 17 countries to showcase their passion for helping others.

"Working with the Kids Business Expo is a perfect match for us", said Gabe O'Neill, Kids Are Heroes' president. "We nurture children who give back to their communities, but also want their projects to be self-sustaining in the end. Teaching them how to be an entrepreneur is a great way to achieve that goal." O'Neill continued, "Moving to Atlanta was a daring but logical leap. We wanted to be closer to the action, especially since more events will be hosted here in the future. Plus, my skills as a software developer can be put to work in this wonderful and exciting technology hub."

As mentioned, Kids Are Heroes is an incubator for young social entrepreneurs. By browsing through stories on their website of more than 440 children who are making a real difference in their communities, other kids learn that they are just as capable to do something similar in their own neighborhoods. Kids are becoming compassionate leaders as they gain many new skills that will be crucial to their success later in life.

15-year-old MaryMargaret, the founder of the organization, just started her junior year at a new high school here in Georgia. She is extremely active with the organization and has been since its inception. "I love meeting other kids from around the world who want to make things better for others", she said. MaryMargaret often gets asked to speak to civic groups and other organizations about the non-profit. She happily obliges as she has done this so many times. She will handle the emcee resposibilities at the expo itself, just as she has done with other events.

There are sponsorship opportunities for the event in February as there are booths available for local companies and other non-profits. For more information on the Young Leaders' Summit to be held on February 7, 2015, please visit http://www.kidsareheroes.org/kahyls2015.htm.

If you know of children making a difference in their communities, whether they be in Atlanta or anywhere else in the world, ask a parent to nominate them at http://www.kidsareheroes.org/nominate.htm.