Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youths 18 years of age and younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Christopher (17) from NC used his award to transform a vacant lot in the middle of East Kinston, a historically impoverished & disadvantaged neighborhood, into a neighborhood fruit park. One block over, Kinston Teens, Christopher’s nonprofit youth-led organization, has already transformed a vacant lot into a flower garden.
Meet K4C microgrant recipient Zachary (13) from Florida. His school, Franklin Boys Prep Academy, has a very high free and reduced lunch rate–close to 80%. Since fresh vegetables and fruits are expensive, Zachary organized his classmates and enlisted the help of his social studies teacher, a local garden club, and Feeding America Tampa Bay to grow fruits & vegetables in a community garden on campus and send produce home with students whose families need them on the weekends.
Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youths 18 years of age and younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Eden (14) from AZ used her award to establish a menstrual hygiene products closet at the Phoenix Rescue Mission which provides temporary housing to homeless women & children in her community. For girls & women experiencing homelessness across the US, menstrual hygiene products are considered a luxury. Eden hopes her project will support the women in maintaining their dignity & self-respect.
Meet K4C microgrant recipient Carter (17) from Wisconsin. He & his chapter of Future Farmers of America grow and donate fresh garden produce to four area food banks which serve over 1200 families.
Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youths 18 years of age and younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Meet microgrant recipient Briana (9) from New Rochelle, NY. Briana attends a small K-8 school of about 40 families and wanted to bring everyone together to create a sense of community and “do something great” for a local organization called Project Linus which provides handmade blankets for hospitals specifically for young children. Briana previously volunteered with her mom to make the Project Linus no sew blankets at a local 9/11 Day of Service and shared the experience with students & their families on Family Volunteer Day.
Meet Karma for Cara Foundation microgrant recipient Sanjeev (12) from Decatur, GA. Sanjeev used his award to deliver books & school supplies to migrant children in his community. This is an ongoing project for Sanjeev called DREAM (Donate & Recycle to Educate All Mankind); prior to this particular project, he collected & donated 6,210 books for migrant children. For Sanjeev’s K4C project, he partnered with Hall County Schools & the Right-to-Write Foundation (who provided pens & pencils) to host a school supply /book drive for Georgia Migrant & Seasonal Headstart.
Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youths 18 years of age and younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. After learning that over 20% of her school’s population qualifies as Specialty Resource students–ranging from ADHD to high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder–Abigail (17) from Norfolk, VA used her grant to build a Sensory Herb Spiral Garden within her school’s outdoor gardening area. The existing outdoor garden was already dedicated to teaching outdoor gardening, healthy living and environmental issues, and elementary school students visit it once a week as part of the curriculum. Abigail’s research indicated that a sensory garden can be very therapeutic for individuals who suffer from sensory problems & may be used as a calming place and as a gentle way to stimulate the senses. In such a garden, children with sensory processing disorders feel safe & comfortable exploring their senses without feeling overwhelmed by them. For children who do not suffer from a disability, a sensory garden is beneficial in that it is a fun, educational tool that allows them to explore and learn about their senses & nature.
K4C microgrant recipient Laya (17) from Baltimore, MD was recently named a 2019 Carson Scholar; one of 20 semi-finalists for the Yale Bassett Award for Community Engagement; and a 2019 Bank of America Student Leader. She additionally received the President’s Volunteer Service Award with Gold Status for volunteering for 250+ hours.
Congratulations, Laya!
All of us at Karma for Cara Foundation know Laya well. We recently awarded her a 5th microgrant for the service she provides to the homeless in Baltimore City, and she has spoken at K4C fundraising events….
Did you know that Karma for Cara Foundation partners with Living Classrooms Foundation in the #InspiredTo Serve volunteerism program for students? The program was established in honor & memory of Cara who served as an intern at the non-profit and offers summer and school-year internships as well as multi-site and one-time event volunteer opportunities–specifically for students. K4C & Living Classrooms hope that by engaging more students like Cara, we can inspire other young people to give back to their communities….
Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youths 18 years of age and younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Meet Nathan (16) from Chapel Hill, NC. Nathan is a youth volunteer mechanic for the ReCYCLEry NC and used his award to get more youth involved with the ReCYCLEry. The ReCYCLEry’s mission is to encourage bicycle use by community members for either transportation or recreation, and to support bicycle culture as an affordable and environmentally-friendly form of transportation. Additionally, volunteers at ReCYCLEry teach biking safety and assist kids with disabilities in learning how to ride bikes; donate bikes to kids in need; teach life skills; and develop young leaders. For this particular project, high-school age volunteers promoted the organization to students during lunch at schools. The volunteers also taught mechanic classes and introductory bicycle skills to 30-40 community members.