State Honoree

Michaela West, 11, of Beltsville, Md., a fifth-grader at Saint Joseph's Regional Catholic School, formed a club at her school that assembles and delivers basic necessities wrapped in blankets or sleeping bags to the homeless people of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Since Michaela was very young, the plight of homeless people has moved her. “I would see people on the corner asking for food or money and I would get pangs in my stomach,” she said. “I always begged my mom to give.” One year Michaela asked friends and family to give her money instead of gifts for her birthday, and then used that money, in addition to funds from a grant, to make bundles containing clothing, food, water, toiletries and tarps for the homeless, all tied up with a bow.

This made Michaela feel so good that she decided to start a “Bundles of Love Club” at her school. She created a fundraising webpage, distributed fliers describing her project, applied for grants, and sought donations from family members, friends and her church and school. To date, Michaela has delivered 168 of her “love bundles,” aided by more than 240 volunteers that she rallied to her cause. Sometimes she encounters skeptics who say the homeless don’t really want help and she’s wasting her time. “Everyone deserves love and kindness,” she responds. “I want them to know that they are not forgotten.”