Young Contributors

Interviewed by Lorrie Holmes

Meet Hollis. She’s 16 years old and the founder of Juggling For Jude where she raises a lot of money an awareness for cancer research using her talents juggling soccer balls. That’s not all she does, she also spends a lot of her time at appearances at special events and public speaking where she inspires a lot of other youth and adults to join in her cause. To date, she’s raised $496,000 with more than 3,000 different individuals donating to her cause.

If you have a story to tell, then tell it, and never give up until the world hears it.

-Esabella Strickland, Award Winning Teen Author, 15 years old

“If you told me at the age of 10 that I would write and have a novel published by the age of 15, I would have laughed at you,” states teen author, Esabella Strickland. “When I was 10 years old, I hated reading because of my Dyslexia; also, because I was being bullied and socially alienated at my old school because of the way I learned. I was often separated from the class to get ‘extra help.’ As a result, my confidence was so low, and I felt so alone and sad.” Esabella explains.

Created by Young Adventurer, Oliver, Aged 9

From ice hockey to snowshoeing, tobogganing to snowboarding – today one of our young Kids Who Write Reporters, adventurer Oliver creates this amazing story for us about how his winters are not unlike any of his other childhood experiences – full of wonder and adventure. Oliver is so excited to speak to us as our young adventure ambassador, sharing with other kids all the ideas he came up with using his imagination, thoughts, and even his own creations. He does all of this with the encouragement and support of his family, who so eagerly follow his lead with skis and show shoes, sleighs and ice skates – through the snowy landscapes of Kelowna’s winter wonderland in these fun winter family adventures.

So, let’s take this winter adventure with Oliver as he leads us through his recommended winter activities with his family by his side, and the extra support of our story sponsor – Play It Again Sports.

– Written by Justin Sather

My name is Justin Sather. I am 10 years old and I live in Los Angeles, California and I am a change maker for frogs. Frogs are my favourite animal. I know a lot about frogs. Frogs are amphibians. They live on land and in water. There are over 5,000 different types of frogs that live around the world. I also know that frogs need our help.

Justin Sather, International Youth Changemaker

In Kindergarten I learned that frog populations are on the decline. Herpetologists discovered one-third of amphibian species are disappearing all over the world. They are shocked that so many frogs are dying. Frogs are indicator species. They breath and drink through their skin and this makes them sensitive to the environment. Sick frogs are telling us that the planet needs our help. Frogs have been alive for thousands of years. It made me sad to hear that frogs could go extinct. Frogs are interesting animals. It’s amazing that frogs start off as tadpoles. Also, I like all the bright coloured frogs. My favourite frogs are strawberry dart frogs, mossy, frogs, and the glass frog. All these frogs make the world more magical! My goal is to tell the world about the frogs. I want people to know frogs are telling us the planet needs our help. I want to teach people to take take of our planet. I started to sell toy frogs to my friends, family, classmates and neighbours, to raise awareness.

Written & Illustrated by Saraa, Age 12. Saraa lives in Vancouver, British Columbia

My name is Saraa. I’m 12 years ald and am really excited to be sharing my story about what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving with you all. I am excited about this because I think that a lot of other kids might be feeling the way I do too, and that is why I’m writing this story.

I think a lot of other kids might be feeling like me this Thanksgiving even if they do not have to write an assignment about it.

-Saraa

Let’s make kindness contagious!

Written by Sammie Vance

Hi I’m Sammie Vance. I’m eleven years old and I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I love to spread kindness and encourage others that they can too! In 2017, when I was 8 years old, I heard about buddy benches at a church camp. A buddy bench is a place for when someone is lonely, shy or bullied, where they can sit on it and others will know to ask them to play. I had been lonely and knew other kids were too, so I knew my school needed them. I drew a comic explaining how a buddy bench worked and spoke to my principal. He said we would try and get one in a year since collecting 400 pounds of caps needed for one 6 foot bench may take awhile.  

Being the go getter that I am, I did this project differently because I collected lots of plastic caps and lids myself to make the buddy benches! I spread the word by asking lots of friends, classmates, pharmacies, coffee shops and other businesses to help me collect caps. With the communities help, we collected 1,600 pounds of caps in only 2 months! This was enough for 3 buddy benches for my school with plenty of leftover caps to help other schools get started. 

Advocacy has no age limit.

Written by Kate Gilman Williams, Youth Author & Animal Advocate

Today we introduce you to another youth change-maker, Kate Gilman Williams, who devotes most of her time with her Kids Can Save Animals initiative. Kate will tell you in her own words below, what this is all about. Thank you for sharing your story with us today Kate, so more children can think about ways that kids can save animals too!

My name is Kate Gilman Williams.  I am 10-years-old and live in Austin, Texas.  I will be in 5^th grade this school year.  When I was 7, I traveled to South Africa and met an incredible safari guide named Michelle.  Michelle taught me so many things about animals.  She also told me that humans were the biggest threat to animals, causing many of them to be endangered and even face extinction!