Author: Advyon

When I was nine-years-old, I had a dream that grew from a 40-pound cabbage. I dreamed that I could grow an end to hunger, one vegetable garden at a time.  With hard work, dedication, and the support of youth across the country, this dream has grown seedling by seedling, harvest by harvest, garden by garden.

To everyone who made a donation to our cause this January at their local BI-LO store, We want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Together, we are creating a bountiful harvest provided to those who need it most.

This is the story of how 802 shoes helped Katie’s Krops grow.  My ten-year-old brother, John Michael, has been by my side from the day my tiny cabbage seedling went into the ground.  He has volunteered in the gardens, supported my efforts and has helped Katie’s Krops grow.  This summer, he helped us grow in the most unexpected way.

It was a Saturday morning in June when my brother and I heard our neighbor, Mr. Appelbaum, on the radio promoting a shoe drive at his Kia car dealership. He was asking for people to collect their old shoes and bring them to the dealership to help people in need.  My brother turned to me and suggested we could help collect shoes.  That is when the idea hit me.  We could throw a Philanthro-Party, a party that gives back!  This idea belongs my great friend, Lulu, the founder of LemonAID Warriors.  The idea behind the party is simple; it is a party with a purpose. We would ask John Michael’s friends to clean out their closets and bring any shoes they no longer needed to the party.  It would be a party that gave back.  And when would we host this party?  Well, why not today!

We got right to work.  It was a sunny Saturday morning, a perfect day for a party.  We hit the ground running. Invitations, we would make those on our computer.  Refreshments, my mom always has cake mix and frosting on hand and I love to bake.  Decorations, my brother broke out the sidewalk chalk and colored the driveway in fun and colorful messages.  The guests, my brother and his best friend would drop off invitations to all of their friends in the neighborhood.  My brother even agreed to part with an I-Tunes gift card that he had received as a gift to give as a prize to the guest who brought the most shoes.

We were off to a great start.  The cake was made.  The invitations had been distributed.  Now it was time for me to step back and let my brother play host for his first Philanthro-Party.  The party was a huge success!  On only 4 hours’ notice, my brother’s friends had gathered bags and bags of shoes. They came, they snacked, they played, they had a great time, and they gave back to help people in need.  It was the perfect party.

That night, my brother gathered his shoe collection and made a surprise delivery to our neighbor, Mr. Appelbaum. What happened next was wonderful and most unexpected.  Mr. Appelbaum was so excited for the help with his shoe drive, that he invited my brother to join him on a radio tour to promote the shoe drive. For those of you who do not know my brother, he is very shy and reserved.  A radio tour is definitely not in his comfort zone.  He rose to the occasion and hit the airwaves, and in the process, he got a lot of laughs and a whole new group of supporters.

The shoes came pouring in, and in, and in.  His teachers showed up at our doorstep with boxes filled with shoes.  Friends called to let us know that bags of shoes were waiting for my brother on their doorstep.  The community rallied around his efforts.  It was amazing.  When all was said and done, my brother had collected 802 shoes, or 400 pairs and 2 odd shoes.

On another Saturday morning, we loaded not one, but two trucks with his massive shoe collection and head to Kia Country of Charleston to deliver the shoes for the Soles4Souls shoes drive.  I was so proud of my brother and his efforts and so was Mr. Appelbaum and his new friends at the radio station. They presented John Michael with six tickets to WWE Raw.  For a ten year old WWE fan, it does not get any better than that!  He was thrilled.  At this point, you would think that this is where the story ends.  But wait, just how did his giant shoe collection help Katie’s Krops grow?

Monster High and Mattel were hosting a contest for the best Philanthro-Party.  I entered on behalf of John Michael, sharing my brothers efforts. WE WON!!!!  His prize was a Monster High prize pack and a $1,000 for his favorite charity….Katie’s Krops!

Thank you John Michael for helping Mr. Applebaum, Souls4Soles, people in need everywhere and for helping Katie’s Krops!  I am so very proud of you. And that, my friends, is the story of how 802 shoes helped Katie’s Krops grow.

           Well, to begin with, the experience was not a story. It was a real experience that was like a story. I got to meet Katie Stagliano! A story in a way, yes, but a real experience too.

          My name is Shawna and I’m 14 years old. I have been involved in Katie’s Krops for 2 years now, and I have enjoyed it very much. When I first heard that I was going to the Katie’s Krops Camp, I was thrilled. I thought, “I get to go meet Katie and learn a few tips on the way.” My thoughts were nothing like what I was treated to at the Katie’s Krops Camp of 2013. Every minute was packed full of exciting new tips and tricks for gardening, talking with 12 other grantees from around the country, and, yes, meeting Katie and her mom, Mrs. Stacy, in person!

Day 1: Pretty awesome!

At our first meeting, campers and Katie’s Krops directors introduced themselves to each other at the Lexington Chamber of Commerce. We then listened to a few directors, Katie, and Ashley Rawl. Then there were the watermelon pirates that accompanied us with our dinner of hamburgers that included all the fresh fixings, several salads, and peaches. After dinner, we went back to our hotel and slept off our weariness.

Day 2: Even better than the first day!

We had breakfast at the hotel, and then hopped on a bus to the Katie’s Krops Garden at WPRawl. We had 4 workshops packed full of information. We learned about irrigation systems, pesticide sprays, composting, and assembling garden carts. We then returned to the WPRawl headquarters to have a delicious lunch of tacos and peaches with homemade ice cream. Yummy! Then we learned about some photography and social media ways to support Katie’s Krops. After taking a hayride back to the garden, we picked the Katie’s Krops dinner vegetables that came in to total over 100 pounds! Next, we returned to the hotel to have time to swim, relax, and clean up until we would jump up the bus steps again to go make the Katie’s Krops dinner. With all of the fresh vegetables donated by WPRawl, we had grilled chicken, pasta salad, bread, roasted veggies, and cucumber salad. For desert, there were fruit parfaits. We got to make and serve the dinner with Chef McNeill, and clean up afterwards too. Then, we all jumped on the bus again, pulled out of the parking lot, were in the middle of the road, and bam. The bus was stuck! Oh well, we all had a great time and did get to the hotel safe and sound. Then, good night every one was the next few words and we all moseyed back to bed.

Day 3: Incredible day!

Today was the last day. We started off the day with breakfast, then heading out to the WPRawl garden. We got to plant sweet potatoes and build raised beds along with planting a few other vegetables and learning different techniques to building a new garden. I loved learning how to plant the potatoes in tires!! Then we had a fun scavenger hunt that made us look for herbs, bugs, varieties of raised beds and specific pollinating vegetables. Then back on the bus to the headquarters it was. There, we had lunch that the Kitchen Crew did an awesome job of preparing and listened to 2 grantees talk about their garden and experience with Katie’s Krops. Finally, we all found out that we had little gift bags. In them were our very own, personal Katie’s Krops business cards!!! We also received some blank thank you cards with the Katie’s Krops emblem on it. And on top of everything that WPRawl had done for us, they donated gift cards to each and every one of the campers to help keep our gardens growing and purchase new equipment that we learned about at the camp!   Then came the sad said goodbyes. Everyone parted ways and went back home.

          The Katie’s Krops Camp has left me even more excited to grow a garden that will produce lots of fresh food for the people in need. More than ever before, I want to be a part of Katie’s dream to help end hunger one vegetable garden at a time!

          I would like to thank WPRawl (www.Rawl.net) so much for all of the time and money that they spent on making this event possible. I don’t think that I would ever had been able to meet Katie and learned so much about gardening if they had not sponsored the trip. The people at WPRawl were very friendly too. With everything that they had to do, they still not only made time for us, but welcomed us into their family business with open arms. Thank you WPRawl!

          Katie and Stacy Stagliano, you deserve a huge thank you! Everything that you did and are still doing is making a difference in today’s world and in mine. You have done so much all of the Katie’s Krops Grantees and for me. Thank you!