Collaborative Education

At age 11, Emily Kumpel began volunteering as a news reporter for the radio show "Kid Company." Through her research for a story on apartheid (a-part-hide), a system that kept black people powerless and separate from whites in South Africa, Kumpel was motivated to provide books for the children in that country. In the drive's first year, Kumpel collected over 30 boxes of books and raised the funds to ship them through book drives, bake sales, and through talking to community groups to garner financial support.

She has collected and sent over 70,000 books to children in South Africa. A couple years ago, an assistant principal from South Africa came to visit and showed Emily a video of happy kids receiving the books. "They have formed their own library," says Emily. "It felt good to know I was helping."

And that's not all! Emily is now 21 and is leading a range of other projects including the Pillow Project (which raises money for childrens charities), a literacy initiative, a gun control/anti-violence campaign, and a political action club for middle schoolers. Emily also works with the mentally disabled and elderly, teaches Chinese culture to adopted children, participates in Habitat for Humanity, and encorages middle school girls in science. Emily was the 1995 recipient of the Caring Award given by the Caring Institute.

Find a Charity that Helps Children                   Let’s Go