If you are trying to keep your teenage children away from the television set during summertime, you’re not alone.  Believe it or not, some stars of popular Disney T.V. shows are hoping to get them off the couch as well.  Last Tuesday Disney launched Friends for Change Ambassadors, a program where young Disney channel stars will volunteer and encourage kids to take action of their own. 

If you’re daughter likes the show Jessie, tell her that the star Debby Ryan is working with Free the Children to build school classrooms, a center for preschool-aged children, and after-school resources in India.  Debby will have her own volunteer page and she is encouraging teens to get involved in their communities to make a difference. 

Also aided by Free the Children, Bella Thorne and Zendaya of Shake it Up will be helping to host a leadership academy for kids where sixty youth leaders will participate in workshops in conflict resolution, service leadership and communication. As youth leaders, they will then take action in their own communities

Teens can pledge to become a leader in their communities, play an anti-bullying trivia game and share leadership tips with kids across the country with Disney’s Leadership Shout-Outs.

Followers of Ross Lynch and Laura Marano of Austin & Allie can help green their scenes.  Lynch and Marano are working with TreePeople to green campuses at over 25 Los Angeles' schools to give kids access to greener and healthier learning environments.  They’ll be doing things like teaching kids how to capture rainwater to planting fruit trees and educational gardens.

The Friends for Change website has lists of actions teens can pledge to do.  Some are as simple as using your own water bottle instead of buying disposable ones.  In another you pledge to get a group together to volunteer in your community.  The Friends for Change website also has great ideas for getting out and enjoying nature in its action kits.

Disney Channel stars will also join USA weekend’s Make a Difference Day on Saturday, October 27.  Teens can begin planning now what they want to do for Make a Difference Day.

When school starts they can ask teachers if they can be a part of Disney’s Planet Challenge where classrooms learn about science and conservation and try to make a positive impact on the planet.  Third through fifth or sixth through eighth grade classrooms compete for prizes and for state and national recognition by selecting an environmental issue upon which they investigate and then take local action.

But for summertime, this is a way to get your child interested in something other than sleeping in and lazing around all day. Seeing their Disney favorites getting out to help is a way to motivate them and make this a productive summer.  Even if they just take some of the smaller action steps, it is also a way to lay the foundations for greater steps in their future.