Teens Awarded As 30 Projects Selected Call For Kindness Winners

NEW YORK — Dozens of teenagers across the country have been recognized for their project promoting kindness, empathy, leadership and connection-making.

Those values embody the goal of the Riley’s Way Foundation, a nonprofit organization created in memory of Riley Sandler. Riley was a 9-year-old New York City girl set to enter fourth grade in 2014 when she suffered a fatal respiratory arrest while asleep overnight at a summer camp.

The foundation is a way to keep her kind spirit alive, Christine O’Connell, executive director of the foundation, told Patch earlier this year when seeking project nominations. It was founded by Ian and Mackenzie Sandler in memory of Riley, their daughter.

"I am thrilled to see Riley's spirit and love of life carried forward in the Call for Kindness by fostering her kindness, caring, compassion, and empathy in other children," Ian Sandler said in a previous callout for projects.

Thirty projects — all created by teenagers — recognized across the country as the Riley’s Way Foundation’s 2021 Call for Kindness winners. Members of the winning project teams will be awarded up to $3,000 for their contributions.

Related On Patch: Teens Across America Sought To Inspire Kindness

“Young people have the ideas, passion and drive to change the world,” O’Connell said in a news release. “We are empowering a youth-led movement of kindness at Riley’s Way.”

All 30 project winners addressed urgent community issues, according to the news release, including education equity, homelessness and mental health, among others. Five of the winning projects are from teens in New York City, including one winning work from Long Island City in Queens.

Five projects selected this year addressed food insecurity, an issue that’s become more pressing since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.

Among them, the “Living School Community Orchard Project” by Kaprice Daniels in New Orleans provides healthy food options for people on the east side of the city “and educates them on food that can be grown in their front yard.”

In South Dakota, another food insecurity-related kindness project that was recognized helps increase access to healthy produce for people in the Kul Wicasa Wóye Oígluha indigenous community.

“So many people are experiencing (food insecurity) during COVID,” O’Connell told Patch. “Food pantries are overstretched. So this is an issue we need to give extra attention to.”

Here is a complete list of the 2021 Call for Kindness winners. Descriptions are from the Riley's Way Foundation.

City; Winner(s); Project Name

New York City, NY; Hattie Shapard; The Amity Project
Connects teens to elderly through four programs: a pen-pal program, telephone correspondence program, art box program and card-making initiative

New York City, NY; Charlie Hirschhorn; The Friendly Fridge Network
Establishes a support network for high school students to bring community fridges to their neighborhoods.

New York City, NY; Tamanna Begum; Sasha Hori; Tech Inclusion Project
Aims to bridge the demographic gap in the tech industry by providing resources and opportunities to underrepresented youth.

New York City, NY; Alexa Kayman; Lia Fernandez-Grinshpun; Sanjana Moturi; Meghana Nakkanti; Waela Van Nostrand; The Generation
Serves as an opportunity, career, and learning platform for students with a mission to combat educational inequity.

Long Island City, NY; Jahin Rahman; Fahmin Rahman; Project Dreamcatcher
Provides educational opportunities for orphaned and homeless youth in Bangladesh and fosters friendships between their volunteers in the United States and the supported children.

Paducah, KY; Morgan Guess; Be Kind Kentucky License Plate
Raises statewide awareness around bullying through an official Be Kind Kentucky license plate.

Goshen, KY; Shamitha Kuppala; Krisha Thakker; Gia Mendiratta; Maggie Wong; Kayden Mulrooney; SOS, Inc. for Youth Mental Health
Tackles mental health for teens though connection making and communication.

Suwanee, GA; Nidhi Charagundla; Rhea Saravanan; RisingSTEMs
Provides STEM workshops and project kits to children and teens in youth homes and Title 1 schools, allowing them to pursue their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Suwanee, GA; Riza Khan, Devika Manoj; Blooming Seeds
Provides free science workshops to immerse youth with special needs into the world of science and create an inclusive environment where people with and without disabilities can interact.

Edison, NJ; Shreya Shivakumar, Sarina Thapar & Vasundhara Kulkarni; Nourish America
Provides allergy-friendly and nutritious food to people in need.

Hoboken, NJ; Dylan Zajac; Ethan Oliver; Computers 4 People
Collects, refurbishes, and donates computers to under-resourced communities to promote equity and access to opportunity.

Santa Ana, CA; Andreanela Ordoñez; Taboo Talkz
Promotes vulnerability, self-expression, and discussion on stigmatized topics among youth.

San Diego, CA; Khloe Thompson; PeachTree Pad
Provides free eco-friendly, sustainable feminine pads for people in Ghana.

San Jose, CA; Michelle Qiao; Stories to Heal
Creates a workshop series to write, publish, and freely distribute an illustrated picture book humanizing and showcasing the individuality of different East Asian cultures.

San Jose, CA; Hannah Su; EDify Talks
Aims to educate the community, diversity the narrative, and end the stigma around eating disorders and related issues.

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Vivian Nguyen ; Michelle Mejia; Makayla Hsieh; Makayla Hsieh; Olamide Fadahunsi; Faith Washington; Shalini Thinakaran; The Formula Project
Creates a mentorship program for middle school girls with high school upperclassmen as mentors, providing a sisterhood of support to middle school girls.

Texas; Shane Mushambi; Nigel Mushambi; Tino Nyabadza; Gemstones
Academically supports Black elementary school students through free enrichment activities, such as interactive games, stories, and puzzles.

East Point, GA; C.J. Matthews; Give Like CJ Blanket Kit Project & Virtual Party
Connects people through blanket making and giving, and encourages kindness and empathy for those dealing with difficult situations.

Seattle, WA; Anya Shukla & Kathryn Lao; The Colorization Collective
Promotes diversity in the arts by supporting teen artists of color.

Sammamish, WA; Joseph Osborn; Ipshita Tripathi; Miko Kato; Jay Maddukuri; Russell Johnson; Isabelle Schmidt; Mackenzie Hunkins; The Hope Festival 2021
Supports in-need families across the greater Seattle area by providing more than 1,000 guests with free groceries, clothes, hygiene items, books, and free services.

Landenberg, PA; Isabella Hanson; I Matter
Provides the inspiration and forum for hundreds of youth to be heard on the vital subject of why Black Lives Matter.

Lower Brule, SD; Alyssa Jones; Kul Wicasa Wóyte Oígluha
Aims to increase access to healthy produce within the Kul Wicasa Oyate Tribal Nation by expanding the community garden to provide more locally grown fruits and vegetables, and creating a farmers market.

New Orleans, LA; Kaprice Daniels; Living School Community Orchard Project
Provides healthy food options for families in New Orleans East and educates them on food that can be grown in their front yard.

Walnut Creek, CA; Seena Farhadi; LEAP MDUSD Essential Supply Drive
Provides tutoring and assistance to homeless and foster youth students through an essential needs drive to provide for all homeless and foster youth students.

Waimanalo, Oahu, HI; Pahonu Coleman; Na Kukui O Waimanalo
Inspires youth and expands cultural identity by connecting Hawaiian youth to elders, their culture, wahi pana (sacred places), self-identity and overall well-being.

Ashburn, VA; Esha Venkat & Shreyaa Venkat; NEST Nurtures
Increases awareness and action around food waste reduction and rescue, and redistributes safe edible food to those in need.

Washington, DC; Michel Ruiz-Fuentes; Frank Sheffield; The Patient Project: Advocating for Healthcare Equity
Strives to ensure that everyone receives quality care, equal opportunity, and necessary resources for survival by providing necessary hygienic products to underserved civilians.

Grand Prairie, TX; Faith Ajanaku, Maham Kazmi & Maxine Magtoto; Modern Divergence
Breaks the stigma revolving around mental and developmental health and raising awareness for the effect of mental health diagnosis on kids and teens.

Spring, TX; Charisma Abolo; Progress Adebayo; Samuel Muzac; Diane Guo; REAL Consulting Program
Hopes to bridge the socioeconomic and racial disparity in college attendance by providing assistance to high schoolers that lack access to the resources necessary for success in the college application process.

Charlotte, NC; ZaNia Stinson; Z Feeds Go-Go Bags Project
Provides special bags to people experiencing hunger and homlessness packed with nonperishable food items, drinks, toiletries and encouraging reading material to offer hope.

Chicago, IL; Sonika Menon & Rinna Talwar; The Birthday Giving Program
Provides birthday bags and celebrations to children, adults, senior citizens, and veterans affected by poverty, addiction, abuse, homelessness, violence, physical/mental challenges, old age, and loneliness.