Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youths 18 years of age and younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Meet 8 year old Riley from Bay City, MI. She and some classmates shopped for and purchased preemie clothing, mittens, and booties for babies who enter this world ahead of schedule, like she did. Additionally Riley and her classmates knitted hats to go along with the clothing, then they packaged up all the clothes and delivered them to McLaren Bay Region Hospital. Riley herself was born a month early and spent a week in the NICU. Her parents had no clothing for her so family members had to go shopping and deliver clothing to the hospital.
- What inspired you to start this project? I was a preemie baby. I wanted to help others who are like me.
- Other than you, how many student volunteers participated in your service project? 4
- Other than you, how many adult volunteers participated in your service project? 4
- How many hours did you spend on your project? 5
- How many hours did other volunteers spend on your project? 3
- How many individuals were affected by your project? 90
- During the time period between when you applied for a K4C microgrant & when you completed the project, what surprised you? The places we shopped at. I was surprised when we told Macy’s and JC Penny’s what we were doing. The helpfulness of the staff.
- Overall what did you learn from this experience? How helpful others are even if they were not involved with the project. As well as how happy the hospitals were to receive the clothing.
- How will your project continue having an impact in the future? The babies born at the hospital will now have a new outfit to bring their baby home in.
- How was the K4C microgrant helpful in the completion of your project? Without the support of K4C we couldn’t have purchased the clothing for the hospitals.