State Honoree

Allison Ockenfels, 17, of Wellman, Iowa, a senior at Ockenfels Homeschool, has raised more than $150,000 since late 2010 to build kitchens at three schools in the African nation of Malawi and to provide daily meals for students living in poverty there. Allison was attending a conference when she learned about Marys Meals, a charitable organization that feeds children at schools in the developing world. Hunger and starvation are often a reality for many children in third-world countries, Allison said. Parents are motivated to send their children to school because they know they will receive a nutritious meal every day. For many children, it is the only meal they receive. Allison learned that the organization is feeding over one million children worldwide every day, and that it takes less than $20 to provide a child with a daily meal for one year.

Allison began by visiting local church parishes and asking their congregations for donations. Then she knocked on the doors of local businesses and spoke about her cause at a school and at meetings of civic clubs. Allison also started a blog and a fundraising page on the Marys Meals website. She now receives donations from all over the country, and has raised enough money to help feed more than 5,000 children in Malawi. Allison has visited two of the schools that benefited from her efforts. It was amazing to meet the children, she said. They swarmed toward us and greeted us with smiles and laughing.