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.
- What inspired you to start this project? I got inspired to start this project because I saw a need in my community that I could help out with.
- While working on your project, what surprised you? The thing that surprised me the most was just the amount of people who wanted to help me with my project.
- What do you feel you learned from this experience? As the leader of this project, I got to learn a lot about logistics, for instance, how to get everyone there at the site at the same time to get work done.
- How did Karma for Cara impact your project? Without the grant from Karma for Cara, we would not have had enough funding for my project.
- How will your project continue to impact others? For my project, I built a wheelchair ramp for my local community center, which will help older and disabled people in my community for many years.
- How many hours did you spend on your project? 30
- How many youth volunteers were involved in your project? 4
- How many total hours did other youth volunteers spend on your project? 10
