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“It’s very important to reach out to others in need because our world is small and we should take care of one another,” said 15-year-old Mariah Reynolds of Moores Hill, Indiana. That was her response to learning she had been nominated for the prestigious 2014 Power of Children Award presented by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
Mariah, who has raised more than $120,000 to provide warm clothes and school supplies for victims of natural disasters, exemplifies the reason behind the establishment of the award. The decade-old award program honors and empowers middle school and high school students (grades 6-11) who have made a significant impact on the lives of others, demonstrated selflessness, and exhibited a commitment to service and the betterment of society.
Winners of the Power of Children Award continue to have an amazing impact on their communities and the world. Since the first award, recipients have raised over $10 million to continue their amazing projects and have impacted nearly 2 million people. In addition, their hard work and dedication led to 26 spaces created for libraries and community gardens, 48,000 clothing items donated to soldiers, cancer patients, the homeless, and orphans.
“For ten years, it has been my privilege and honor to meet these youths who are changing the world in positive ways and to recognize and share their impressive accomplishments. The winners, who are from 37different cities throughout the United States, have had a tremendous impact on thousands upon thousands of people around the world. Their extraordinary accomplishments truly inspire us all,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
The Power of Children Award is a natural extension of the museum’s The Power of Children: Making a Difference exhibit. It takes visitors on a journey through the lives of three children who faced profound trials and emerged as heroes of the 20th century. Those youths are:
- Anne Frank - The teenager’s diary gave the world a chance to put a face on the circumstances of more than six million victims of the Holocaust.
- Ruby Bridges - As a first grader in 1960, Ruby Bridges became a symbol for the integration of African-Americans into schools in the Deep South. Ruby Bridges will be the keynote speaker for the 10th annual Power of Children Awards dinner and program on Friday, November 7, 2014 at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
- Ryan White - Ryan White was able to not only educate the world about living with HIV/AIDS, but did so with a sense of dignity that impacted everyone who listened.
On Friday, November 7, 2014, we honor the new class of Power of Children Award recipients. They include two selfless cancer patients who make hospital stays much better for other pediatric patients, and two hard-working young philanthropists who strive to put food on the tables and clothes on the backs of hungry, sometimes homeless and desperate peers.
2014 Power of Children Award winners are:
Matthew Kaplan
Age: 17
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
School year: 11 School: Tesseract
Project: The Be ONE Project
Summary: Imagine having to witness your younger brother being bullied. His brother’s suffering prompted Matthew Kaplan to take action. He decided to create an anti-bullying program for his school. After shadowing several existing programs, Matthew noticed that all of the programs focused on older, high school students. Matthew believes it is important to target younger children; so, he set out to establish a program for middle school students. As a result, he created The Be ONE Project and strives to educate 5th to 7th graders about peer pressure and bullying.
Since its creation, The Be ONE Project, has spread across three states, taught more than 1,000 middle school students and 200 teacher participants the value of acceptance, and he has requests to appear in schools in Canada and Mexico. The program has interactive activities designed to create a community environment and allow students to share in their own past experiences. Matthew hopes to help students create an environment that is bully-free and has already touched the lives of countless students. “I have received letters from students telling me how the Be ONE event helped make new friends and repair a broken friendship,” said Matthew.
My’Kah Knowlin
Age: 13
Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
School year: 7, School: Lux Middle School
Project: Boxes of Love
Summary: 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 surpassed beyond her dreams. In three years, the young philanthropist recruited over 100 volunteers who have helped fill more than 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.
Isaac McFarland
Age: 16
Hometown: Keithville, Louisiana
School Year: 11, School: Caddo Parish Magnet High School
Project: Game Changers Tackling Hunger
Summary: Isaac McFarland travels daily to an impoverished area of Shreveport to attend a top-rated magnet high school. The remarkable thing is he does not leave the neighborhood the way he found it. From the time Isaac entered high school he noticed the unkempt, hungry children he passed on his drive to class. His concern for those less fortunate children caused Isaac to create Game Changers Tackling Hunger. “I believe in the power of one person impacting one life,” said McFarland. Isaac started small, supplying local homeless shelters with beef grown on his family farm. Soon he recruited thousands of fellow 4-H members, classmates, city leaders and junior cattlemen to collect or donate food and decorate tackle boxes for food delivery to individual homes and organizations.
Together, Isaac and his fellow volunteers have collected, packed and delivered more than six tons of food to pantries and homeless shelters. In response to Isaac’s pleas, local farmers raise fresh vegetables for his projects. On top of all of that, his 26 “youth ambassadors” help him raise community gardens and teach more than 12,000 classmates about the importance of healthy living.
Tatum Parker
Age: 13
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
School Year: 7, School: Westlane Middle School
Project: Tatum’s Bags of Fun
Summary: Scared, sad, sick and bored, that is often the day-to-day life of a child hospitalized weeks or months on end for cancer treatment. No one knows that better than Tatum Parker, a two-time cancer survivor. Following her first battle with cancer in 2008, Tatum sought to solve the boredom by creating gift bags for other young cancer patients. The highly anticipated bags became known as Tatum’s Bags of Fun. At a cost of approximately $350 each, Tatum stuffs backpacks with age-appropriate video games, toys, movies and crafts for young cancer patients hospitalized across the state of Indiana.
Despite her own cancer relapse, Tatum continued to make the bags. “I have delivered smiles, laughter and hope to over 1,700 Indiana children fighting cancer by giving them a Bag of Fun,” she said. The teenager has help from young volunteers who comprise “The Kids’ Board.” The group hosts events such as dance marathons and fun runs/walks to fund Tatum’s Bags of Fun.
Mariah Reynolds
Age: 15
Hometown: Moores Hill, Indiana
School Year: 8, School: School for Creative and Performing Arts
Project: gLOVE One Another
Summary: 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 www.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. In addition to providing needed provisions to children, she also intends to run self-esteem seminars for teenage girls.
Kendra Springs
Age:13
Hometown: Plainfield, Indiana
School Year: 7, School: Saint Susanna Middle School
Project: Kendra’s Call for Komfort
Summary: There is nothing fashionable about hospital gowns, a fact well-known by Kendra Springs. In 2011, Kendra was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer. The fashionista, facing several years of long hospital stays, had little in the way of fashionable, comfortable clothing to wear. In between treatments she went on a shopping adventure to find stylish, comfortable hospital wear along with plenty of games and activities to keep occupied during her upcoming hospital stay. Soon thereafter, Kendra’s Call for Komfort was created.
Kendra’s not-for-profit organization provides personalized care packages which include clothing, games, crafts and gift cards that can be used for shopping online, or even to fill the gas tank of travelling families. “Nurses often tell us how the mood in a room changes once a kid receives a care package. It can bring a little bit of happiness to a child who is scared or sad,” said Kendra.
Multiple fundraisers have helped Kendra raise more than $50,000. Some of the funding goes directly to pediatric hospitals for the purchase of special toy versions of medical equipment to help scared patients better understand their treatments.
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.
Images of the winners and the ceremony are available upon request.
The dinner and awards ceremony begin on November 7, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. in The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Power of Children gallery.
The Power of Children Awards celebrate young people who help to make the world a better place. Over the past 10 years, 50 winners have made an enormous impact.
How will you change the world?
Since the inception of the awards in 2005 they have been presented by Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Trust with the help of generous university scholarship sponsors: IUPUI, UIndy and Butler. The Kroger Foundation funds the $2,000 grant given to each winner to expand the breadth and depth of his or her project. Additional support comes from: Markey’s Rental and Staging, State Auto, Author Solutions, Capital Group, Macy’s, and Julia and Joseph Edward Mulholland Jr.
About The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences across the arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. For more information about The Children's Museum, visit www.childrensmuseum.org, follow us on Twitter @TCMIndy, Facebook.com/childrensmuseum and YouTube.com/IndyTCM.
