POCA
Project: The Be ONE Project
Summary: Imagine having to witness your
younger brother being bullied. His brother’s
suffering prompted Matthew Kaplan to take
action. He decided to create an anti-bullying
program for his school. After shadowing
several existing programs, Matthew noticed
that all of the programs focused on high
school students. Matthew believes it is
important to target younger children and he
set out to establish a program for middle
school students. As a result, he created
The Be ONE Project and strives to educate
5th to 7th graders about peer pressure and
bullying.
Since its creation, The Be ONE Project, has
spread across three states, taught more
than 1,000 middle school students and 200
teacher participants, and has requests to
appear in schools in Canada and Mexico.
The program has interactive activities
designed to create a community environment
and allow students to share in their own
past experiences. Matthew hopes to help
students create an environment that is bullyfree and has already touched the lives of
several students. “I have received letters
from students telling me how the Be ONE
event helped make new friends and repair a
broken friendship,” said Matthew.
www.readinspiredmag.org
Project: Boxes of Love
Summary: In May 2011, a then ten-year old girl in Lincoln,
Nebraska, was stunned by the devastation a tornado delivered
350 miles away in Joplin, Missouri. The sight of children who lost
everything, some even their families, hit My’Kah hard. She saw
the need for children to hold something of their own, something
tangible. Immediately My’Kah’s shoe box business launched. A
goal to fill 100 shoe boxes with toys, snacks and hygiene items
was far surpassed. In three years, the young philanthropist has
recruited over 100 volunteers who’ve helped fill over 3,000 boxes.
The care packages, along with monetary donations to Ronald
McDonald Houses in Joplin and Moore, Oklahoma (the site of a
massive 2013 tornado) were possible because of $75,000 raised
by Boxes of Love. “I believe my biggest impact is showing the
kids that they are not alone and that there are other kids out there
who really do care about them,” said My’Kah.
My’Kah’s mission has expanded to help teachers restock
classrooms with supplies following disasters and to send Boxes
of Love to military men and women in Afghanistan.
Express Yourself 35