Stories & Impact | Small Hands Count

Featured Spotlight

Environment

How Maya Turned an Empty Lot into a Community Garden

At 15, Maya noticed that her neighborhood had plenty of empty lots but few fresh vegetables. She pitched the idea of a community garden to SHC, got matched with a mentor who knew urban farming, and spent a semester turning an abandoned space into a thriving garden that feeds 30 families every week.

"I didn't know if it would work. But my mentor told me that's not the question — the question is whether you try. So I tried."

Maya T., Age 15

Harvest Hope Garden — SHC Class of 2024

Student Spotlights

Meet our changemakers

Each of these young leaders started where you are now — with an idea and a willingness to act.

STEM

Marcus & Team

Community Code Camp

Three high schoolers launched a free coding program that reached 60 elementary students and led to two of them winning a regional tech competition.

Jordan, Age 17

Murals for Mental Health

Jordan organized a city-wide mural project that became the centerpiece of a school board conversation about youth mental health resources.

Priya, Age 16

Westside Reads

Priya's Saturday reading program now serves 40 kids every week, and she's training a new cohort of high school volunteers to run it after she graduates.

Project updates

News, reflections, and progress reports from active SHC initiatives.

14

Apr

Harvest Hope Garden completes its first full growing season

Maya and her team harvested over 200 lbs of vegetables in their first season, distributing to 30 families through a weekly pick-up program at the garden site.

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02

Mar

Community Code Camp expands to a second school

After a successful first semester, Marcus's team partnered with a neighboring school to bring their free coding curriculum to 30 additional students this spring.

Read the full update

18

Jan

Westside Reads celebrates its 1,000th tutoring session

Priya's reading program hit a major milestone this January. In two years, volunteer tutors have logged over 1,000 sessions with young readers across the district.

Read the full update

05

Dec

Murals for Mental Health earns city recognition

Jordan's mural project was recognized by the City Youth Arts Council and featured in three local news outlets. The mural series will expand to two new schools in 2026.

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Photo Gallery