Creating a Sustainable Future with Project Heart and the UNSDGs
March 03, 2025
Ever dreamt of turning your classroom into a launching pad for global good? Do you envision your learning space being a hub of transformation for your community and your students? Have you always wanted to ignite changemakers in your students but are not quiet sure how to get started? We have just the tools and the framework to help bring these dreams into reality! Project Heart, combined with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), can help ignite your students' passions for good.
A Global Plan for Action
In order for future generations to survive and thrive, we must work to create a more sustainable world. But how do you do that? The United Nations looked at universal issues that plague every country on our planet and created a plan that, if achieved, would make our world better and brighter for future generations.
In 2015, the United Nations created a blueprint to bring their 2030 goals to life in an easy-to-understand way. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) serve as a blueprint for a better and more sustainable future. They address the biggest challenges facing the world, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. They’re big goals and the greatest minds in our world work tirelessly to develop solutions will meet these goals during our lifetime.
These goals are important because they provide a shared vision for a better world and a framework for action. They are a call to action for all countries - developed and developing - to work together to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. But like any world-changing vision, bringing these goals to life cannot be done alone and will take the passion and resources of the next generation to bring them to fruition.
But how do you get students today to think about solving problems of this scale that will impact tomorrow?
Inspiring Your Students to be Global Citizens
Sometimes its easy to forget that the people sitting in your classroom, engaging in your afterschool activities and learning how to be mindful members of society in your unique learning environments are the changemakers of tomorrow. These future world-leaders will use their time, talents and treasure to bring positive change to our planet and make the lives of countless people better. That means preparing them to be heart-centered problem-solvers is crucial when we think about how the UNSDGs will be achieved in our, and their, lifetime.
It can feel like an almost impossible task - raising up these difference makers. But, we have a free tool that aligns beautifully with the UNSDGs and will help your students think about their actions can create real, positive change in their communities, and the world, today and tomorrow.
Project Heart is a powerful tool for teaching the UNSDGs to K-12 students. By engaging students in service learning projects that address real-world problems, Project Heart can help students develop a deeper understanding of the UNSDGs and the importance of global citizenship.
Here are some project examples for integrating Project Heart into the UNSDGs:
- Goal 2: Zero Hunger - Students can work with a local food bank or soup kitchen to learn about hunger and food insecurity in their community. They can then organize a food drive or create a fundraising campaign to support these organizations. Check out our nonprofit locator to get started!
- Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being - Students can partner with a local health clinic or hospital to learn about the importance of good health and well-being. They can then create educational materials or raise awareness about a particular health issue. Use our Project Heart Beat on Resilience to get students thinking about the issue of mental health.
- Goal 4: Quality Education - Students can work with a local school or educational organization to learn about the challenges of access to quality education. They can then organize a book drive or create a fundraising campaign to support educational initiatives.
- Goal 13: Climate Action - Students can learn about climate change and its impact on their community. They can then organize a clean-up day or create an awareness campaign about the importance of sustainability. Check out our Project Heart Beat on sustainability to help get the conversation started with your students.
By teaching students about the UNSDGs and equipping them to take action, Project Heart can help prepare the next generation of leaders to create a more just and sustainable world.
Inspire Tomorrow's Changemakers, Today
We dream of a future where all students not only learn but act on the knowledge that they are powerful and purposeful people with unique gifts and talents they can give to make our world better. That is why we created Project Heart. We want to inspire and equip the next generation of changemakers by providing educators like you with the tools, resources, materials and support you need to raise up these tenacious difference makers.
Project Heart lessons and materials are free to use and easy to adapt to your classroom and students. Simply register to get immediate access to the entire Project Heart suite.