>> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm siena. let's start with our top story for this week. imagine a classroom without basic supplies to read and write. unfortunately, there are many schools like that in poor countries around the world. you're about to meet an organization working to change that. >> these students in sri lanka are on their way to a special library.

what makes it special would be surprising to us -- it has books! >> room to read is an organization that is opening schools and libraries across the developing world for the poorest of the poor -- hundreds of schools, thousands of libraries so that every child everywhere is no longer denied an education because they were born in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> john wood is an amazing guy. he used to be a big executive at microsoft until he went on vacation in nepal. that's when he saw the desperate need for books and libraries. he changed the course of his own life to change the lives of children all over the world. >> when i was growing up in pennsylvania, we had actually a bookmobile that came to our town. and we think of this kind of as a "nepalese yak-mobile." we've got our yak loaded with books, and we're about to head off to go to a secondary school here to deliver about 500 books to help them start their first library.

>> when john arrives with his "yak-mobile," just look at the reaction. reading isn't just fun. it's a way for them to connect to the world beyond their isolated community. >> "what does shirash like?" >> he likes ice cream. >> he likes ice cream. "what do annie and onnie like?" >> "what do annie and onnie like? they like chicken curry." >> [ laughing ] they like chicken curry. do you like chicken curry? yes? okay. >> in nepal, children express gratitude with flowers and the traditional "namaste." >> namaste! >> there are also grateful children in africa... cambodia... india... and laos. since it started, room to read has reached more than 1,600 schools, and built 15,000 libraries -- libraries filled

with books published in the local language. this is made possible by donations of all sizes including help from american teens. >> students throughout america have gotten very involved in room to read. we have a movement called "students helping students." so, students pick a goal, they pick a country, and we don't dictate to them, "here's what you need to do. here's how you need to do it." we say, "here's the menu. you can decide. you decide on a project. you decide on a country. we'll tell you how much it's going to cost, and then we'll report back to you on how the money was spent. >> it costs $30,000 for room to read to open a school. that's a lot for teens to collect. >> what's great about this is that no one individual probably is going to raise enough money to build a school. but if 20 or 30 or 50 or 100 students come together and make it a project, they're going to do it together, and it's going to give them a great feeling of saying, when they hear about poverty, when they hear about global issues, they're going to be able to say, "you know what? i did something." >> by just raising $250, you can sponsor a scholarship for a

girl. in many parts of the world girls are not able to go to school. >> when you think about the fact that over 100 million girls in the developing world woke up this morning and did not go to school, that to me screams opportunity. it's an opportunity to get out there and make positive change in the world and to say no longer should we live in a world where any child, boy or girl, is denied education. >> if you're looking for a great service project, read my lips -- "room to read." to find out how you can help there's a link on our website. >> stay with us. there's a lot more coming up on "teen kids news." we'll be right back.

>> this report is brought to you by a grant from the connecticut tobacco & health trust fund. [ pop! thud! ] [ pop! pop! ] many towns and cities have laws

preventing people from smoking in public places that are inside buildings and restaurants. but what about public places that are outside, like parks? we asked some teens in connecticut what they thought. >> i think that smoking should be banned in connecticut state park and public places because it can be dangerous for other people that are in the parks. >> i feel like there's a lot of kids out there and families that can just be going to go out and enjoy the scenery and have a nice day, and they don't want to have to have that health risk of secondhand smoke or have to deal with that kind of as a nuisance. and if it's something you do you should kind of keep it to yourself, because it's not something the public wants. >> i have asthma. i don't want to inhale it and it gets worse. so i think they should just ban it in general. >> i think it should be illegal to smoke in public places, like parks, because it's really bad for the air and, like, surrounding animals, because it just really fogs up the air, i guess, with smoke, bad smells. >> i do think that banning all

you know, smoking in public parks and public areas is a good idea, because, you know, there are always people around smokers who don't really want to be a part of it. >> you don't know what the next person, you know, their health risks are. i mean, it's more like, i guess, when you're smoking, it's like a selfish thing to do if you're doing it in a public place. >> and especially walking around the city -- last night, i was actually in the city -- and it feels like, you know, on every corner, on every sidewalk, you can smell it, and you almost feel like at the end of the day that you've almost smoked a cigarette. it's pretty gross. >> some of the teens we spoke with made the point that smoking in public places might make kids who are younger think smoking is cool. >> i think banning it would be a great idea, because it shows very bad examples for kids when they see other people smoking it. >> they see it, and they might mimic. >> you don't want to have the little kids seeing that and maybe think that it's okay. >> but it's really not. >> then, there's the trash that smokers leave behind. >> and, like, it can also just

like, destroy the environment around you and make it kind of like a nasty place. >> when cigarettes are littered around the park. >> yeah, i think littering is definitely one of the reasons, because you look on the ground everywhere, and it's just like cigarettes all over the ground wherever you walk. >> 'cause smokers usually just like, throw them. they don't care, like, throwing them in the trash. just, like, put them on the ground and, like, stomp on them. >> and that's not what a park is for. it's supposed to be somewhere that you can go and, like, play and hang out with people, and that just sort of ruins it. >> you don't want that in your park. >> but here's what may be the best reason of all for not allowing smoking in outdoor places like parks. >> it would encourage people to stop smoking if you couldn't do it in some places. >> yeah, because it would limit where you could do it, so it might, like, take down the amount of people that smoke in public and in general. >> i think that's a really good idea, because it might help people stop smoking, and it also stops secondhand smoking, as

well. >> if you're looking for a service project, here's a suggestion -- organize your school, club, or community to take a stand on this issue. you can convince local officials to ban smoking in parks and other outdoor public places. and that will clear the air for all of us. for "teen kids news," i'm emily. >> most of us know that gas prices are in the stratosphere. so are carbon monoxide emissions. by going green, you can save money and freshen the air. make it a family project to figure out how to use one less gallon of gas every week. experts say if every family did that, greenhouse gases could be reduced by a million tons. >> before you drop that dollar in the school vending machine, check out my story. your favorite snacks could be hurting the environment.

>> foods you probably eat every day are threatening the lives of animals like orangutans and tigers. alexa reports on how some

students are fighting back. >> these are teens with a mission. they're working to save the rainforests in indonesia and malaysia and the endangered animals that live there. we really need to take a big part in helping our environment. >> this became their battleground. they fought to remove some snacks from their school vending machine. but it wasn't easy. >> the biggest challenge i faced was other students and teachers liking the products in the vending machines that we were taking out, and they didn't want them removed. >> those products all had one particular ingredient in common. >> the entire rainforest ecosystem is endangered because of palm oil. >> palm oil is used to produce many things -- makeup, biodiesel fuel for cars, and, yes, even some of our favorite snacks. in fact, the world wildlife fund says 50% of the packaged foods found in grocery stores are made with palm oil. >> the way they make, harvest

palm oil is they cut down an area of rainforest -- they actually burn it -- and then they use that area to plant a palm-tree farm, where they use the fruit of the palm tree to make the oil. >> to understand this issue, you need to understand some definitions. "sustainable palm oil" comes from farmers who are helping to protect the rainforests. "non-sustainable palm oil" comes from farmers who are hurting the ecosystem. >> they're destroying orangutan habitats and habitats of all the animals in the indonesian rainforest. >> jordan started researching non-sustainable palm oil as a sixth grade current events project. he realized he wanted to do something about it. so he recruited his classmates. >> i helped spread the word. >> i did some online posters and banners. >> i was getting petitions signed by people. i wrote the petition along with a couple of friends who helped me edit it.

>> i wrote letters to congressmen and representatives. >> in most cases, the students get to a certain point, and then the project kind of dies down. but this group definitely went above and beyond what was expected of them. >> all that hard work got noticed...and got results. >> my group and i, we went to the assistant superintendent for business in the district, and we proposed to him our campaign and what we wanted to do, and we asked him if we could remove all the non-sustainable products from the vending machines. >> the recommendations that were presented were based on fact, on research, on concern for the environment, and that's what you want in our young population. that's what you want in our students. >> mr. rubbo gave his okay to ban the offending snacks. not wanting to anger powerful food companies, jordan doesn't want to reveal on tv the names of the products that were removed. but they included some popular choices. >> to find out if food has palm oil in it, you have to look at the ingredients list on the

nutrition facts label on the side of the package. then, if it says palm oil or palm kernel oil, which are two different ways of saying palm oil, you can go to our website to find out if it's sustainable or not. >> that website is... and one more thing -- palm oil has a lot of unhealthy saturated fat -- another reason to watch what you eat. >> would you like to help save more than a million trees? take a look at the kind of paper towels your family is using. does it say "recycled" on the label? it's estimated that if every household in the united states replaced just one roll of standard paper towels with the recycled kind, we'd save 1.4 million trees a year. even better, try a cloth or dish towel that you can throw in the laundry and use again. now, that's recycling. >> keeping fit is a challenge for all of us. now imagine what it's like if you are in treatment for cancer.

be out there! be out there! [female announcer] time was, kids did what came naturally spending free time running barefoot through the grass wading knee deep in streams, climbing to the tallest branch. but today, american kids are more likely found texting, watching tv, or gazing at a computer screen. they spend more than seven hours in front of electronic media. something essential has been lost. childhood's connection to the natural world. that's why national wildlife federation created the be out there movement. kids moving indoors causes a host of problems from obesity to adhd. but outdoor play can go a long way to improving kid's health, body, mind and spirit. it helps them stay fit enhances creativity and attention spans and could even make them better students. do your part. be a part of be out there. there's a reason why they call it the great outdoors. learn more at be out there dot org. [kids shouting] be out there!

♪ in 1988, our dear friend paul newman had a vision. a place where kids with serious illnesses could just.be kids. [bruce] so he founded a camp. and the joy of playing, laughing, and simply belonging had a profound effect [julia] freeing the children to reach beyond their illnesses and discover new strength. [bruce] from that one camp the seriousfun children's network has grown, serving 30,000 kids globally every year. at no cost to their families. [bruce] please help us continue paul's vision. visit seriousfunnetwork.org.

>> if you're healthy, you probably take fitness for granted. running and jumping and dancing -- no problem. but as rachel reports, kids recovering from cancer need help getting back in action. >> every 39 minutes, an american kid is diagnosed with cancer. the good news is that survival rates are higher than ever. >> ready? set? go! >> but when kids get through treatment, they face a new challenge -- getting back in shape. >> while the kids have the heart and have the mind to get back into physical activity, their bodies sometimes just aren't ready. >> a brain tumor and leukemia kept ryan on the sidelines

while his classmates were on the field. >> it was a little hard thinking, like, watching them do it and thinking that i'll never be able to play football, maybe, like that stuff. >> ryan is now working hard to lose the extra weight he put on during treatment. but kids like ryan risk injury if they try to do too much too soon. that's why nationwide children's hospital in ohio started a program called "play strong." as a part of the program, the hospital even has a trainer to help kids get back on track. >> let's not just get them better. let's get them back to what they want to do. let's get them back to the way they were before, and if we can, let's get them back better than they were before. >> and here's something to remember. cancer survivors like ryan may not always be able to keep up with the rest of us. but when it comes to courage they're often miles ahead. [ chomp! ]

>> when it comes to fast food, bigger is not always better. >> serving sizes are getting bigger and bigger at fast-food restaurants. beverage sizes are getting bigger. what does that mean? kids are eating more. our portion sizes are bigger and people are getting bigger. we don't need all that food. >> colleen thompson and ellen shanley are the authors of "fueling the teen machine." so, ellen, how much should the typical teen eat for lunch? >> well, nicole, we measure our intake by our calories. and an active, young man eats about 800 calories for lunch and a young female should eat about 700 calories. >> so, i think you have some examples that bring those numbers to life? >> i do. we have a big mac, a large fry and a large soda. >> mm-hmm. >> and this is about 1,340 calories. and we see with the big mac, we have two burgers, three slices of bread, and their special sauce, which is loaded with calories and fat. >> so that's a lot of calories

over here. >> it's a whole lot of calories. >> what do we have over here? >> here is a regular hamburger a small fry, and a small soda. and this is only about 630 calories. so you've been able to cut out half of your calories if you make that choice. >> so since you're within your 700-800 limit, are you able to eat this every day for lunch? >> well, i don't think i'd make that choice. you really are not getting the fruits and vegetables that you need, so there's a lot more nutrition that you should be getting on a daily basis. >> i think my mother would agree with you. >> of course, if you switch the fries for a salad and the soda for low-fat milk, you can enjoy your occasional hamburger with far less guilt. for "health bites," i'm nicole. >> hey! let's play "word"... [ applause ] ...the game where you try to pick the right definition. [ chime rings ] it could be...

or maybe it's... or perhaps... [ clock ringing ] "viscous" means "thick or sticky," as in "that syrup is so viscous, your pancakes will get cold waiting for it to pour. [ splat! ] you know this one? maybe it's... [ clock ringing ] sleeping on the edge of a cliff puts you in peril. wake up! [ groans ] now this word. [ bell ringing ] [ children shouting ] kids, stop that fracas. your fight is so noisy, i can't hear a word. let's review.

that's "word." >> look around at your friends. in a few years, about half of them will no longer be part of your life. social researchers report that we tend to lose about half of our friends every seven years. the good news is, they're replaced with new friends. >> car crashes are the number-one killers of teens. that's why the national road safety foundation wants you to keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and your mind on driving. [ smartphone chimes ] [ seat belt clicks ]

>> so, how was your drive? >> interesting.

girl: hi, mom. hi, sweetie. [ beep ] man: how's it going, buddy? i'm bored. [ beep ] i think i'll ride my bike. [ tv playing ]

[ beep ] it may never be this easy to help your kids find balance but you have more power than you know. the we can! parents' handbook and web site can help you maximize that power. you'll learn how to help kids choose healthier foods... and how to make it fun for them to get active. who can help kids maintain a healthy weight? we can! visit the we can! web site for a free parents' handbook plus tips, tools and resources. a message from the u.s. department of health and human services. >> hooplaha's motto is "life with a smile." their website features good news, inspirational stories, cute pictures, and fun videos. sound familiar? since "teen kids news" has a similar mission, we're presenting you with our hooplaha pick of the week. >> "...present for the computer

club." >> i think gizmo has a very relaxing energy about him when he's working as a paws to read dog, and i think that's very calming for the children, helps them to feel secure and able to read to him the best they can, and that's all gizmo expects. >> my name is jamie. i am 10 years old. my favorite kind of books are fiction. i had much fun reading to gizmo, and he was a very polite dog. >> i have seen kids that are shy open up when they read to gizmo. there was one parent sitting nearby one day who started crying, and i offered her a tissue, and she explained to me that her child forgot to practice his words one day, and when he was reading them at school, he got reprimanded in a way for not knowing the words. and so since then, he never read aloud to anybody. so when he read aloud to gizmo that was the little boy's first

time reading aloud, and the mother really enjoyed hearing that. >> i never had read to a dog before or any pet. it's been very fun reading to gizmo. >> as a paws to friendship certified therapy dog, gizmo visits patients in hospitals who are confined to a bed, and gizmo will lay with them. and a lot of times, he'll cuddle right up to wherever they're injured. if they have a broken wrist, he might put his head on their cast, or if they're having stomach issues, he might lay right beside them. gizmo also has a facebook page. it's called gizmo's frens -- f-r-e-n-s. it's been described as "a lens through which we see good in the world." and gizmo's motto is "'cause we're friends," and that's exactly why he does what he does. >> that wraps up our show, but we'll be back soon with more "teen kids news."

thanks for joining us, and have a great week. >> here's a shout-out to pr newswire for including "teen kids news" on their big screen in times square new york city.

al adventures brought to you by sea world and busch gardens for more than 40 years working to preserve the world we share. (jack hanna) my old friend joel slaven has just taken on one of his biggest training challenges ever... me! hi everybody i'm jack han