You might think that the American Girls‘ stories stopped after their last book, but did you know that they’re still living out new stories? They’ve all found causes that are important to them and working to make their worlds a little better!

Molly McIntire: Molly’s father served in England during World War II and her best friend Emily saw the effects of the war first-hand in England. Molly knows how important it is to her dad to get her letters while he was away, and when he came back she wanted to help out the soldiers that had fought in the war. Every month she puts together care packages for her dad’s friends who haven’t come home yet and goes to visit soldiers that are recovering from wounds with her dad.

Kit Kittredge: Kit grew up during the Depression and has seen people without jobs, homes, or anything to eat. Her dad tried to keep his car dealership from closing because he didn’t want to fire any of his employees and used his own savings to pay their salaries until the dealership had to close. Knowing that so many people don’t have enough to eat or a place to live inspired Kit to help make sure people had enough to eat and works to support the organizations that work to end homelessness in her community.

Cécile Rey: Cécile  in New Orleans during the Yellow Fever outbreak. After seeing their city so affected by sickness, Cécile and wanted to do something for the people who will still recovering and work to help find a cure. She loves visiting hospitals with toys she has collected to share with the kids that are recovering. Every few months she throws a party and asks her friends to bring a toy to share with a kid that’s still sick. She especially like when they have a chance to sing with the kids they visit!

Kaya’aton’my: Kaya likes swimming every morning with her friends and her grandmother’s stories, but she really cares about animals – especially horses. She not always think before she acts, but she knows how important it is to make sure  her animals are taken care of. She works to make sure that animals that don’t have forever-homes aren’t forgotten about and get taken care of with the same care that she shows her horses.

Kirsten Larson: Kirsten is brave and hardworking. She wasn’t sure that she was going to find a home in Minnesota but found out that she loves living there. Because her home is important to her, she knows how hard it could be to lose her home. She heard of people that have lost their homes in storms and wanted to help them to stay safe when an emergency strikes. She has used money she has raised from selling honey to help with disaster relief, and always makes sure her neighbors are safe after a storm!

If you want to know more about how the American Girls are helping to encourage literacy, check out today’s post on the Points of Light blog! Mary-Grace Reeves started the American Girl Book Club to fill a gap in literacy education for young girls in her community. Check out Mary-Grace’s story, then find out how you can support literacy and education in your community!

This summer you can make your mark on the world and inspire others to do the same through generationOn’s Community Action Heroes summer program! Visit communityactionheroes.generationon.org to find out more about the range of youth service projects you can get involved in, as well as the national recognition and prizes that you can win for your creativity and effort.