Microgrant recipient William (14) from TN used his award to make vanilla extract that he sold at the Knoxville Boat Show. The founder of Vanilla Feeds Tomorrow, William makes, sells and ships his homemade formula across the country to customers, and 100% of the profits are donated directly to a local food bank that provides meals for East Tennessee residents in need. Every dollar donated results in 3 meals. So each bottle of his homemade vanilla extract turns into 42 meals for others. During the time period William ran his K4C project, a corporate sponsor matched William’s donation, so each bottle actually resulted in 84 meals for those in need!

Meet microgrant recipient Lucas (17) from ID. He runs what he calls IMAGINE BELIEVE ACHIEVE assemblies with middle and high school students on the topics of bullying, self-esteem & suicide. Luc founded his own nonprofit I Love This Life Foundation and has engaged 26,000 students in the assemblies since 2019. With his award, Lucas was able to spread his message to students in Montana.

Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Sirihaasa (16) used her award to create a Town of Normal, Illinois Time Capsule & host an accompanying event to preserve the memories and legacies of Normal citizens for 20 years. The mental health of her fellow classmates plummeted during 2020, and they had minimal resources or groups to discuss the impacts of COVID on their health. In order to move on & create a stronger and brighter future for her classmates and her town, Sirihaasa envisioned a project where everyone could cumulatively share their experiences which would in turn rebuild their town’s unity and cultivate a sense of closure.

Karma for Cara Foundation launched our inaugural podcast, Started With A Passion, on Tuesday, March 28th. The podcast’s mission is to bring young changemakers to the mic to educate and inspire listeners–young & old–to better their communities. You can listen to the first episode here.

Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Lauren (17) from TX used her award to fund a project she calls Ag Literacy. Lauren is passionate about both literacy & agriculture: as a second grader, she struggled to be successful in school, but after an ADHD diagnosis and an intervention thanks to Literacy United, she learned that her brain just works differently than others, overcame her learning difficulties & became an avid reader. As a FFA member, Lauren learned about the role agriculture plays in our world and the importance of advocating for the future of the industry. So she combined the two passions in a project to visit all the second-grade classrooms at an elementary school in her hometown as a Guest Reader every six weeks where she shared an ag-related book with the classes and provided students with a book of their own to take home. 

Meet microgrant recipient Landon (15) from NY who created a community vegetable garden at Bay Shore United Methodist Church. The objective of the project, Soil2Salad, is to engage children & adolescents from underserved communities in gardening to raise awareness about the importance of agriculture in promoting food sustainability and food security.  

Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Eli (17) from TN organized the building of a new pavilion and wheelchair ramp at the McBurg Community Center. The center was built in 1906, so it was in need of repairs. Many live music events, workout classes, cooking classes, and children’s events were held at the center prior to COVID, and Eli noticed that the wheelchair ramp was rotting and uneven. In addition to repairing the ramp, he planned to build a new pavilion over the picnic tables to provide shade and shelter for children playing on the playground and parents watching the children.

Meet K4C microgrant recipient James (13) from Iowa who named his project the Wakema Creek Clean-up. James noticed a shallow creek in a park that runs through his city. Although the creek was home to small fish, sand, and rocks, it also contained garbage, dead wood & grass so long that he couldn’t even see the water. So the creek was unsafe for anyone to explore or enjoy. 

Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Sebastian (17) from CA applied for one of 3 charity drives at his high school, Archbishop Mitty, and his application was accepted. With the help of members of the Mitty Advocacy Project and the Latinx Student Union, Sebastian was able to provide 450+ donations of the most basic necessities to farmer workers connected with the Center for Farmworker Families. Sebastian called his project Con Bonded which translates as With Kindness.

Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Sidney (16) from Ohio is very passionate about keeping the environment safe, so she created a vermicompost program & a community garden at her school, Laurel School, and called her project Girls for the Globe. The compost created was used in the soil for the community garden. With her award, Sidney added 4 beds to the 12 existing beds in the garden which included both produce & perennials. The produce was donated to decrease food insecurity in the Cleveland area while the perennials increased biodiversity, leading to a more sustainable environment.