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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"40253","attributes":{"class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","alt":"POCA Winners 1"}}]]By Mary LaVenture, Volunteer Services and POCA Administrator
This year, November 7th and 8th are very special days at the museum. On November 7 we'll acknowledge and celebrate our 2014 Power of Children Award winners with a special ceremony and keynote address from Ruby Bridges. On November 8th this year’s winners, along with those from the past ten years, will help lead a symposium workshop for local philanthropic-minded youths who want to do more.
We're excited to announce our six winners and share their extraordinary projects over the course of this week! Today’s two winners have impacted the lives of others by providing clothing and resources to those in a variety of different natural disaster situations.
My’Kah Knowlin
- Age: 13
- Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
- School year: 7, School: Lux Middle School
- Project: Boxes of Love
In May 2011, a then ten-year old girl in Lincoln, Nebraska, was stunned by the devastation a tornado delivered 350 miles away in Joplin, Missouri. The sight of children who lost everything, some even their families, hit My’Kah hard. She saw the need for children to hold something of their own, something tangible. Immediately My’Kah’s shoe box business launched. A goal to fill 100 shoe boxes with toys, snacks and hygiene items was far surpassed. In three years, the young philanthropist has recruited over 100 volunteers who’ve helped fill over 3,000 boxes. The care packages, along with monetary donations to Ronald McDonald Houses in Joplin and Moore, Oklahoma (the site of a massive 2013 tornado) were possible because of $75,000 raised by Boxes of Love. “I believe my biggest impact is showing the kids that they are not alone and that there are other kids out there who really do care about them,” said My’Kah.
My’Kah’s mission has expanded to help teachers restock classrooms with supplies following disasters and to send Boxes of Love to military men and women in Afghanistan.
Mariah Reynolds
- Age: 15
- Hometown: Moores Hill, Indiana
- School Year: 8, School: School for Creative and Performing Arts
- Project: gLOVE One Another
If you see a need, fill it! That is the philosophy of Mariah Reynolds who saw her first opportunity to fill a need at the tender age of nine. As soon as she was old enough to realize that natural disasters wreak havoc on families and children, Mariah went to work to provide warm gloves, coats and school supplies for them.
Funding initially came from garage sales and book sales she hosted. Now, Mariah credits her website and blog gloveoneanother.org with helping her raise more than $120,000 in corporate sponsorships and individual donations from around the world. She has purchased over 2,000 backpacks, filled them, and delivered them personally to victims of Hurricane Sandy, the Moore, Oklahoma tornado and the floods in Boulder, Colorado. According to Mariah, “I believe that providing cold weather accessories and school supplies helps children stay healthy and become successful.”
With her Power of Children award money, Mariah will seek 501c3 IRS tax- exempt status, and, in addition to providing needed provisions to children, she intends to run self-esteem seminars for teen girls.
Each recipient of the Power of Children Award will receive a $2,000 grant courtesy of the Kroger Foundation to continue his or her extraordinary work, a four-year post-secondary scholarship to a participating institution of higher learning: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, the University of Indianapolis, and Butler University and they will be recognized in the museum’s The Power of Children exhibit.
The November 7, 2014 reception, dinner and awards ceremony, with special guest speaker Ruby Bridges, begins at 6:30 p.m. in The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Power of Children gallery. You can see more information and buy tickets to the event on the Eventbrite page.
For information about our symposium for youths in grade 5-10 and how to attend contact Debbie Young at DebbieY@childrensmuseum.org.
