- School District of Clayton
- Overview
Senior Named One of Missouri’s Top Two Youth Volunteers
Clayton High School senior Sophie Bernstein has been named one of Missouri's top two youth volunteers for 2018 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for their outstanding acts of volunteerism. Sophie earned this honor for her work to provide fresh produce and nutrition education to families in low-income areas across the St. Louis region.
Over the past six years, Sophie has planted more than 35 organic vegetable gardens at preschools and daycare centers in low-income areas and has conducted 175 workshops on plant science, cooking and nutrition to help financially struggling families make healthy food choices. Sophie began the project by planting a single vegetable garden and donating the harvest to area food banks.
“I was surprised by the drastic shortage of fresh produce available to families in need,” she said. “Many of the food banks’ shelves were stocked with cookies, chips and even soda.”
Sophie initially began expanding her efforts by reaching out to preschools and daycare centers. Upon receiving an enthusiastic response, she contacted hardware stores for building supplies and seedlings, gardening groups for advice and high schools for volunteers. Sophie also solicited donations from local gardening clubs and applied for grants to finance her raised gardens.
Early on, Sophie realized it wasn't enough to just grow food, since many recipients were not familiar with cooking fresh produce. So, she began offering cooking and nutrition classes for families, as well as botany and environmental workshops for children. Since she began, Sophie's gardens have supplied more than 35,000 pounds of fresh produce for people in need in her community.
As a State Honoree in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, Sophie will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in late April to Washington, D.C., where she will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2018.