Meet K4C microgrant recipient Ashley (18) from MD. She and other seniors from Glen Burnie High School used her award for their capstone project which involved addressing student poverty in Anne Arundel County. 

The group has a passion for helping others in their community, and their mission was to create care packages for middle school students who face challenges due to poverty, ultimately in hopes of boosting mental health. Ashley & her team targeted middle school students because “they are just beginning to understand the importance of mental health.” The team was also cognizant that middle school students are still at the age where they rely on their parents financially because they are not of legal age to work. Finally, the team chose to provide daily necessities in the middle school students’ care packages because they understood that some parents may not be able to afford those items. 

Taking into consideration the age group they were supporting, the team also decided to assemble separate packages for female students to include menstruation products. Calling the project Love in a Box, the team set their goal at 100 care packages.

1. What inspired you to start this project? Throughout my life I have had many battles with maintaining a healthy mental health. I knew I was not alone in this and I wanted to be able to help others who go through similar battles.  
2. While working on your project, what surprised you? I was surprised how big the problem of poverty was in my targeted county which was Anne Arundel County. 
3. What do you feel you learned from this experience? I learned how good it feels to be able to help others. 
4. How did Karma for Cara impact your project? Karma for Cara impacted this project by providing the funds that allowed us to purchase several of the items that were included in the care packages. The care packages were given to middle school students as an act of kindness to boost their mental health. 
5. How will your project continue to impact others? Our hope is that this project causes a domino effect. With us giving to others we hope that they can also give back to even more people by spreading kindness throughout their school and their community. 
6. How many hours did you spend on your project? 40
7. How many youth volunteers or students were involved in your project? 4
8. How many total hours did other youth volunteers or students spend on your project? 30