Katie has a heart the size of the world. Just think what we all could do if we went back to the way things used to be in America. When taking care of our neighbor meant just that. Neighbors looked out for one another. Now with the threat of lawsuits and government regulations and interference stories like this are uncommon when they used to be commonplace.
Way to go KATIE! You are this weeks Golden Eagle Award Winner!
It all began in third grade, when Katie Stagliano’s 40-pound cabbage fed 275 homeless people. Now, Katie’s six gardens have produced over 4,000 pounds of vegetables to feed the needy.
When Katie Stagliano was in third grade, she planted a cabbage in her family’s small garden. When it grew to an astounding 40 pounds, she donated it to a soup kitchen, where it was made into meals for 275 people (with the help of ham and rice). “I thought, ‘Wow, with that one cabbage I helped feed that many people?'” says Katie, now entering sixth grade. “I could do much more than that.”
So Katie started planting vegetable gardens as part of her nonprofit Katie’s Krops — she has six right now — including one the length of a football field at her school in her hometown of Summerville, S.C. Classmates, her family and other people in the community help plant and water, and Bonnie Plants donates seedlings. This past year, Katie took her commitment to a new level: she has given soup kitchens over 2,000 pounds of lettuce, tomatoes and other vegetables. Katie and her helpers are now harvesting the spring planting, and another 1,200 pounds will be donated by October.
Katie is a well-spoken 11-year-old who juggles the life of a school child with that of a world-changer. Swim practice, tennis matches, and studying (she has had the highest GPA of her class for the last four years) are sandwiched between daily waterings and tending. “It makes me feel good,” says Katie. “I feel bad for those people who have to go to Palmetto house [a homeless shelter where she and residents recently planted a garden], but I feel good that I’m helping people.”
Katie wants to get more kids across the country growing gardens to help others, so she’s holding a contest and offering the winners a grant. And, Katie will come and help start each garden. Click here to apply.
