Karma for Cara Foundation awards microgrants to youths 18 years of age and younger who spearhead exceptional service projects in their communities. Meet 18 year old Sophie from St. Louis, MO who has been awarded three K4C microgrants for her service projects. Sophie is passionate about service and is currently the President of VolunTEEN Nation and Grow Healthy. Sophie’s latest project involved expanding Grow Healthy to Kansas City, MO to engage teens in building and growing multiple gardens. Kansas City is similar to St. Louis in that it has both a high rate of childhood obesity and numerous families struggling to provide healthy and nutritious food options to their children. Sophie recruited & organized teens in the area to build 8 raised vegetable garden beds at low-income daycares from August through October in the effort to raise awareness of childhood hunger in the community. All produce grown through Sophie & her team’s efforts was donated to families-in-need and to local area food banks.

1. What inspired you to start this project? Hunger in our region along with the huge percentage of obesity in low-income communities.
2. How many volunteers participated in your service project, and how many hours did you work? How many individuals were affected by your project? 125 volunteers spent 153 hours on the projects which affected 1500 individuals
3. During the time period between when you applied for a K4C microgrant & when you completed the project, what surprised you? How eager teen volunteers were to help with the project and get involved in improving their community.
4. Overall what did you learn from this experience? Even one person can make a difference and make an impact in their community.
5. How will your project continue having an impact in the future? I hope to continue to expand my project and have youth lead the project in my community as I head to college.
6. How was the K4C microgrant helpful in the completion of your project? The funding was key. There is limited funding for youth projects. In the past I relied on my own funds and donations. The funding was a huge help and support to complete the project. Thank you!