Community service is important to many high school students, and many teens look for inspiration when considering or spearheading a project.
After attending a Chamber of Commerce meeting with her mother, and being introduced to the Food For the Poor organization, 11-year-old Rachel Wheeler was inspired to help.
According to the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, Rachel Wheeler, 11, spent the past two years telling people about the desperate poverty in Haiti and asking them for money to help build homes there through Food for the Poor. She has raised more than $170,000 which helped create 25 homes in a new community named Rachel’s Village.
In May 2011, Rachel was recognized as one of the country’s top ten youth volunteers in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards competition that included more than 29,000 participants. She received $6,000 in personal awards that she plans to use for college and $5,000 that will go to her project.
The Sun Sentinel article describes some of Rachel’s efforts which included speaking at community meetings, appearing on television news programs and spreading the word at school, in the neighborhood, and on the Internet.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/fl-rachel-homes-for-haiti-20110521,0,3387221.story
