Life is tough, and the challenges Generation We will face are profoundly difficult. We know that. But we also know that the resources the Millennials will bring to the struggle are impressive.  What’s more, there are already signs the Millennials are beginning to rise to the challenge.

Deeply affected by the terror attacks of 9/11, the disastrous Iraq War, the horror of Hurricane Katrina, and the cynical dishonesty of the Bush administration, Generation We is already responding with their unique brand of social and political awareness. Using data from the studies, as well as evidence from news stories and emerging trends that are popping up around us on an almost daily basis, we can see how the Millennials are beginning to shape their world, giving a foretaste of the changes to come.

As we’ve already mentioned, Generation We is history’s most active volunteering generation. They are looking for—and finding—ways to change the world, redefining the boundary lines between work, education, government, charity, and politics through social entrepreneurship and creative new forms of business. They are also forming international bonds, combining their unprecedented opportunities to see the world with new planetary perspective on the issues and problems faced by humankind.

Generation We is also using the power of the purse to influence business, shaping their consuming activities to influence the behavior of major corporations. For example, the widespread outrage that brought down the Boomer-beloved radio shock jock Don Imus in 2007 was initially sparked by a Millennial activist, Ryan Chiachiere.  Working for the website Media Matters for America, the 26-year-old Chiachiere found the offensive video clip of Imus using racial and sexual stereotypes to slur the members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team. He circulated the clip using one of Generation We’s favorite technologies—YouTube. The resulting furor led to Imus’s firing by CBS and his ultimate relegation to a far less influential radio slot on a different network.

I say all this only to further support and encourage Generation We to remain engaged and hopeful that change can happen.