Lions Heart

Celebrating 20 years of inspiring youth volunteering and leadership for a new generation dedicated to positive social impact.

For the past 20 years, Lion’s Heart found its roots in Orange County, CA and continues to be a leading inspiration for all chapters across the country. Terry Corwin created the organization right out of her Trabuco Canyon home in 2004 with a small but eager group of 20 teenage members. Under her enthusiastic leadership, the organization has connected over 10,000 teens to causes they care about while also providing them with the most up-to-date technological tools they need to make those connections--whether it’s through the Lion’s Heart member portal, mobile app, or in-person meetings. By participating in service activities, teens will have the opportunity to develop important skills that will enable them to achieve their lifelong goals.“Think of others before yourself,” is truly at the core of the Lion’s Heart philosophy. Our mission is to inspire teen volunteering and leadership for a new generation dedicated to positive social impact. Our vision is to create a world of engaged teens who volunteer and grow into community focused leaders now, and for a lifetime.“We want these kids to become leaders and understand giving back is just what we should all be doing,” says Terry Corwin. “I wanted my own boys to be aware that everyone isn’t as fortunate as they are, to see the world as bigger than where they are living right now, and that they could make a difference. Lion’s Heart grew from there and I’m so proud of that.”

The average Lion’s Heart teen member contributes over 52 hours of service each year. Plus, nearly 40% of Lion’s Heart members qualify for the President’s Volunteer Service Award each year, meaning many members are giving over 100+ hours of their time to help others in need. Furthermore, our alumnae survey data shows that nearly 80% of our members continue to participate in service after leaving high school and over 60% of alumnae take on leadership roles.One of our top accomplishments from the past year is having expanded our membership nationwide and provided nearly 10,000 teen memberships since our organization began in 2004. As of early 2024, Lion’s Heart has created 198 chapters in 29 states with Lion’s Heart teen members contributing to a service power of OVER 2 million hours of service! We are breaking down barriers and providing teens with more access to meaningful community experiences. Our ultimate goal is to provide enriching programming that supports teens as they build service goals and prepare for adult life.“Volunteering with Lion’s Heart has been very beneficial for me,” says Orange County, CA high school senior, Scott Cole. “After seeing the impact of how my volunteer work has helped others, the idea of positively influencing somebody's life keeps me interested and always wanting to do more. The biggest surprise I have received from serving others is how even the smallest amount of kindness can really touch someone and how good it makes me feel to help others.”

We are working to provide enriching programming for our teen members as they build their service goals and give back to their communities by creating a much needed app for both iPhone and Android, adding more leadership and personal/professional trainings, increasing our reach to include more diverse populations, and supporting the nonprofits we serve.

Through our partnership with the Rofer Foundation, we have also launched our new Family Volunteering program, Lion's Heart Pride of the Lions Family Volunteers. Volunteering teaches empathy, compassion and a sense of purpose from an early age. Volunteering with family strengthens family bonds, community, and creates a positive model for giving back to those less fortunate and stepping out of comfort zones. Young people who volunteer are likely to continue making a difference as young adults.

The new Lion's Heart app will increase members' connection to each other, their volunteer work, gamify volunteering through our app making it fun and it easier for them to log hours, and connect with volunteer opportunities and program material, as well as improve member and volunteer satisfaction.

We will also create a new portal for nonprofits which will allow us to partner with more organizations and increase our opportunities for members.

The Lion’s Heart office is located in Orange County, CA and serves 198 chapters with 960 groups across 29 states, nationwide. Our largest and most active chapters are located in Orange County--including Ladera Ranch, Trabuco Canyon, San Clemente, Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, and Newport Beach. Members participate in service projects that help others across the county and beyond. Local organizations our teens have partnered with include Pediatric Children’s Research Foundation, Second Harvest Food Bank, South County Outreach, Mission Hospital, OC Coastkeepers, and Hashtag Lunchbag OC.

We continue to hear time and again from parents that they want their teens to develop a positive sense of empathy by having meaningful extracurricular activities that expand their world view. In turn, teens themselves want to have the ability to make a powerful impact on their communities while also achieving their personal goals. In today’s world where the average teen spends about a third of their day connected to a media device, Lion’s Heart strives to banish apathy and connect young people with unique experiences that carry purpose and spark innovation. We’ve created a custom digital platform that allows teens to track their service participation, earn awards/scholarships, and interact with peers and mentors. Furthermore, we elevate awareness of nonprofit organizations and their causes by connecting teens with local volunteer opportunities through the free digital listing calendar.