On Friday June 12, 2009 I had a phone interview with Talia Leman about her fundraising work. Her journey began in 2005 after rallying kids across the USA to unify fundraising efforts for Katrina/Rita relief. Together they reported $10.4 million ranking their giving power with the top 5 US corporations.
Talia Leman is famous in philanthropic circles. She is the 14 year old CEO and co-founder of 
RandomKid, a nonprofit organization that helps kids help others. Her organization, RandomKid, unifies kids efforts towards the common goal of solving real world problems resulting from disasters. She has worked with kids from 20 countries and reported close to 10.5 million dollars for her Randomkid initiatives. Talia believes any random kid can do the same.
She has been recognized numerous times for her dedication to alleviating suffering in the world, as seen below.
I focused my phone interview with Talia Leman on education by first discussing with her my goals for this website and then discussing with her what it’s like to be famous, a CEO, and a high school student. Talia shared with me that she is very focused on her studies. Before she travels, she explains, she arranges in advance with her teachers when her assignments are due. She is enrolled in two schools, she told me, one of which is a magnet school.
It became clear to me during our talk that Talia Leman is a young woman who is grounded and focused.
Towards the end of our call I asked her if there is a favorite quote she lives her life by. Not a quote, she said.
Talia shares with me that, in the Jewish Talmud it is written: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
These are the words she lives by.
At the end of our interview I ask Talia what 10 words describe her best. She selects these: “leader (CEO of her own organization), enthusiastic, playful, dedicated, passionate, confidant, authentic, giggly, thoughtful, and giving.”
I have 10 words to describe Talia at the end of our interview: visionary, motivated, caring, humble, daring, dynamic, dedicated, polished, faithful, and blessed.
Join Talia & become a young philanthropist. How? Spend a few moments reading Talia’s blog that documents her fundraising project for hurricane Katrina. Visit her blog ‘Halloween Helpers for Katrina Survivors‘ for the details of her project. Her blog explains questions like ”How did Talia decide to start this project?” and “What steps did she take to begin her fundraiser?”
© 2012 Resident Planning Geek
