01of 08Taylor Richardson, 18Renee ParenteauKnown to her online followers asAstronaut Starbright, Richardson has always had a fascination with the cosmos. But at 9, while attending space camp, she realized she was the only Black girl — a pivotal moment that sparked a commitment to diversifying STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. “Other girls need to know they can be astronauts,” says the high school senior from Jacksonville, Florida. To date she has raised more than $325,000 to introduce young women of color to science via space camp scholarships, book drives centered on Black authors and subjects, and tickets to films likeHidden Figures.
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Taylor Richardson, 18
Renee Parenteau
Known to her online followers asAstronaut Starbright, Richardson has always had a fascination with the cosmos. But at 9, while attending space camp, she realized she was the only Black girl — a pivotal moment that sparked a commitment to diversifying STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. “Other girls need to know they can be astronauts,” says the high school senior from Jacksonville, Florida. To date she has raised more than $325,000 to introduce young women of color to science via space camp scholarships, book drives centered on Black authors and subjects, and tickets to films likeHidden Figures.
02of 08Naudia Greenawalt, 12Meg McKenzieWhen Greenawalt’s friend Linkin Eger (right) needed chemotherapy for a brain tumor in 2017, she decided to write a book about him to cheer him up and help them both better understand the journey ahead. Greenawalt and her family published and sold 1,000 copies ofMy Friend Linkinto schools, libraries and their neighbors in New Berlin, Wisconsin, raising $5,000 to assist with Eger’s medical bills. The success inspired them to launch the nonprofit My Friend Linkin; she and Eger (whose condition is currently stable) have now published five books, adopting a pay-it-forward model in which the subject of the previous book, if able, authors the next.
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Naudia Greenawalt, 12
Meg McKenzie
When Greenawalt’s friend Linkin Eger (right) needed chemotherapy for a brain tumor in 2017, she decided to write a book about him to cheer him up and help them both better understand the journey ahead. Greenawalt and her family published and sold 1,000 copies ofMy Friend Linkinto schools, libraries and their neighbors in New Berlin, Wisconsin, raising $5,000 to assist with Eger’s medical bills. The success inspired them to launch the nonprofit My Friend Linkin; she and Eger (whose condition is currently stable) have now published five books, adopting a pay-it-forward model in which the subject of the previous book, if able, authors the next.
03of 08Sammie Vance, 12Courtesy Heidi VanceFour years ago Vance discovered a surefire way to find your purpose: Ask yourself what breaks your heart. “For me, it’s seeing people who need a friend,” says the seventh grader from Fort Wayne, Indiana. “I’ve been lonely myself. I don’t want others to feel that way.” After speaking to her principal and pitching the PTA, she launchedSammie’s Buddy Bench Project, a community-wide drive that collected 1,600 lbs. of bottle caps, which were recycled into three buddy benches. Today her efforts continue, with more than 200 benches donated to schools and parks in the U.S., Mexico and Australia.
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Sammie Vance, 12
Courtesy Heidi Vance
Four years ago Vance discovered a surefire way to find your purpose: Ask yourself what breaks your heart. “For me, it’s seeing people who need a friend,” says the seventh grader from Fort Wayne, Indiana. “I’ve been lonely myself. I don’t want others to feel that way.” After speaking to her principal and pitching the PTA, she launchedSammie’s Buddy Bench Project, a community-wide drive that collected 1,600 lbs. of bottle caps, which were recycled into three buddy benches. Today her efforts continue, with more than 200 benches donated to schools and parks in the U.S., Mexico and Australia.
04of 08Harshini Anand, 17Alyte Katilius/The Ann Arbor NewsWhile researching a community service project for school, Anand read about a woman buried in medical debt from a car crash. “She wished she’d never made it out of the hospital,” recalls the high school senior from Ypsilanti, Michigan. “It was so jarring to see the system pushing people to those negative thoughts.” When the pandemic hit, the school assignment was canceled — so Anand forged ahead on her own, fundraising, writing letters, calling local businesses and reaching out to friends. In June she hit her $15,000 goal, which the national nonprofitRIP Medical Debtused to help erase $1.8 million in her home state.
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Harshini Anand, 17
Alyte Katilius/The Ann Arbor News
While researching a community service project for school, Anand read about a woman buried in medical debt from a car crash. “She wished she’d never made it out of the hospital,” recalls the high school senior from Ypsilanti, Michigan. “It was so jarring to see the system pushing people to those negative thoughts.” When the pandemic hit, the school assignment was canceled — so Anand forged ahead on her own, fundraising, writing letters, calling local businesses and reaching out to friends. In June she hit her $15,000 goal, which the national nonprofitRIP Medical Debtused to help erase $1.8 million in her home state.
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Brooke and Breanna Bennett, 14
Adeyela Bennett
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Vivian Wang, 18
Courtesy Vivian Wang
07of 08Jacqueline Teague, 17, and Amelie Beck, 15Martha WorkAfter scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments online for their grandparents, cousins Teague and Beck of Louisville found their teenage tech savvy in high demand. “We started helping older family friends and realized the problem was universal,” says Teague, a high school junior. She and Beck, a sophomore, formedVaxConnect KY, an operation that has helped more than 2,000 senior citizens safeguard themselves in a state where inoculation rates have lagged and hospitalizations are on the rise.
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Jacqueline Teague, 17, and Amelie Beck, 15
Martha Work
After scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments online for their grandparents, cousins Teague and Beck of Louisville found their teenage tech savvy in high demand. “We started helping older family friends and realized the problem was universal,” says Teague, a high school junior. She and Beck, a sophomore, formedVaxConnect KY, an operation that has helped more than 2,000 senior citizens safeguard themselves in a state where inoculation rates have lagged and hospitalizations are on the rise.
08of 08Sahana Vij, 18Sahana Vij.Shawn VijWhen Vij was 5, she and her mother made enchiladas for a Seattle shelter and then shared the meal with the families there. “Food helped connect us even more than words,” recalls the Redmond, Washington, native and freshman at the University of California, Irvine. The experience also planted the seed of an idea: a cookbook that could bring people together and combat hunger. This month she’ll publishBake Away, a collection of 20 desserts, with all royalties going to the nonprofitNo Kid Hungry.
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Sahana Vij, 18
Sahana Vij.Shawn Vij
When Vij was 5, she and her mother made enchiladas for a Seattle shelter and then shared the meal with the families there. “Food helped connect us even more than words,” recalls the Redmond, Washington, native and freshman at the University of California, Irvine. The experience also planted the seed of an idea: a cookbook that could bring people together and combat hunger. This month she’ll publishBake Away, a collection of 20 desserts, with all royalties going to the nonprofitNo Kid Hungry.
source: people.com
