Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. In a local park, microgrant recipient Larisa (16) from PA implemented a storywalk, a series of wooden signs installed along a park trail, each sign displaying a page of an illustrated children’s book. Preschool to elementary school aged children-who naturally want to move around a lot–read the signs as they move along the trail. Larisa’ project combined two concepts she loves: the outdoors & books!

Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Brandon (18) from WA secured his award for The Hope Festival, an annual student-run project that serves in-need families & individuals across the greater Seattle area. The Hope Festival provides over 1,000 individuals with free groceries, clothes, hygiene items, feminine/infant products, school supplies, and books & toys for the kids. Additionally guests receive free services like haircuts, massages, dental care, vaccinations, health screenings, and much more. Guests’ connections made with local agencies & organizations at the festival’s Connection Center provide support long after the festival ends. The Hope Festival’s goal is that every person served walks away with a newfound sense of hope.

Meet K4C microgrant recipient Isabella (15) from PA.  She founded the youth-led initiative “I Matter” during the time of social unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd.  Seeing the video of George Floyd’s death and reading about the killing of Breonna Taylor changed her 14-year-old view of the world and inspired her to take action.  “I Matter” helps students from all backgrounds express their feelings through art about how Blacks are treated in society and engenders progress towards equality.  The top entries of poetry and art were made into a book which she & her team distributed to schools and libraries across the country.  The student winners were offered in-person and virtual speaking opportunities to develop their presentation skills and create a forum for them to inspire others.  

Meet microgrant recipient Max (15) from Pikesville MD. Carrying on a tradition that his older sister (Morgan) started 7 years ago and older brother (Sam) continued, Max & the Medical Explorers Club at Pikesville High School feed the homeless in Baltimore and stock a food pantry for students in need at PHS.

Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipients and twins Arjun & Maya (13) from TX and other students on the honor roll at their school engaged in a project called BEAR Bags in Honor of Cara. The group put together & distributed healthy snack bags to deserving kids via food pantries:  “Especially since COVID 19, many people have lost their jobs & there are many hungry kids.”

Meet microgrant recipient Abbigail (11) from West Virginia. For her project, she led a team of other students in an after-school program as they built & tended to a garden at the Wade Center. Together they 1) prepared the soil & raised beds, 2) planted seeds, 3) weeded, watered & cared for the plants, and 4) harvested & distributed their produce to families. All students were given gardening gloves and a paperback copy of Up in the Garden & Down in the Dirt to reinforce learning how to care for the plants & produce in the Wade Center garden.

Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youth 18 years of age & younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Microgrant recipient Andrea (10) from Florida received two awards for her service project entitled Crafty Boxes Uplifting Kids which attempted to help sick children in hospitals feel better at difficult times by providing them with boxes filled with craft projects. The 4th and 5th grade classes at Andrea’s school helped by donating shoe boxes and supplies (glue sticks, scissors, 6 colors of paint & a paint brush, stickers & construction paper).  At the end of every month, she dropped off 15-20 crafty boxes at local hospitals. Andrea’s goal was to gift 190 boxes total for the first year of the service project. This project has special meaning to Andrea because 2 years prior to starting the project, she experienced severe stomach pains when with her mom at a church activity which resulted in a visit to the ER where she had her appendix removed. 

Meet Karma for Cara microgrant recipient Joseph (16) from Nebraska. Joseph founded & directs the Joy of Music, a volunteer organization comprised of musicians who play violin, viola, cello, or/and piano ages 7 through high school. The musical group performs at various senior living communities across the Omaha metro area. Joseph’s grandmother raised him until the age of 5 so he has always felt indebted to the elderly in his community. He is aware of the depression rates amongst seniors and believes music has healing power. Additionally Joseph has observed how the older youth in the group informally mentor the younger youth, the result being that the seeds of community service are planted in their hearts. The Joy of Music also participates in small gift drives & cookie drop offs at senior living communities in their area.

Microgrant recipient Tyler (6) from MD has always loved to read and realizes not all kids can afford books. When he was 4 years old, he founded Kid Time Enterprises and began accessing discounted, donated, recycled & free books and then having book parties at schools so young students can select books to take home for free. With his K4C microgrant, Tyler added school supplies to the mix to lighten the burden of teachers AND organized a reading area complete with a bookshelf at Eagle Charter Academy.

Meet Karma for Cara microgrant recipient Jordan (17) from California. Jordan is carrying the torch for his older sister, past microgrant recipient Mackenzie, who founded 501c3 nonprofit Code Read and now attends college. The mission of Code Read is to provide recreational books to elementary and middle school students in low income communities—but it is more than that!