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“It doesn’t matter one’s age, it is truly the desire to want to make a change.”

Nicole VacaGuzman has always had a passion for running.

She was also born with an innate passion for helping others.

Little did she know one day her passions would combine to help nourish food insecure children in her community.

Born in Bolivia, VacaGuzman moved to Michigan when she was 13 years old.

As she entered high school in Grandville, she started volunteering at a local elementary school.

One day, she saw a little girl who appeared to be coloring a brown paper bag.

The little girl quickly corrected Nicole that she was not coloring, but instead admiring her decorated Sack Supper from Kids’ Food Basket.

This little girl attended Buchanan Elementary – a service school that has been receiving healthy meals from Kids’ Food Basket for over a decade. 

Diving deeper, VacaGuzman also learned that the little girl’s older sister was a member of the Kids’ Food Basket Youth Action Board (YAB).

This intrigued her.

YAB is a program for West Michigan high school students who want to do more than volunteer. These students lead service projects, organize fundraisers and create awareness for childhood food insecurity.

VacaGuzman joined right away.

“What impacted me was the sense that all of these high school students willingly gathered together to share ideas on how to better the community,” she said. “To me, that was something that I didn’t know was possible or even existed.”

One of the tasks for YAB students is to create and execute their own fundraiser – teaching them leadership and problem-solving skills.

It also encourages teamwork as students collaborate and help each other brainstorm ideas.

“Students wanted to help each other succeed. Even though it was taking time away from doing things like homework or sports,” she said. “Everyone made a difference and had a voice. That was inspiring and empowering.”

VacaGuzman loves to run, so the idea for her fundraiser was simple: run miles and raise funds.

In five days, she would run 40 miles, with the last day being open to the public to join her. Sponsors donated dollars for every mile completed.

Her goal was to raise $1,000.

“I thought I would be lucky to reach that amount,” she said. “But the community really surprised me and was quite involved with donating. They were supportive, it encouraged me to keep going.”

Ultimately, VacaGuzman exceeded her goal – $4,000 was donated to Kids’ Food Basket.

After high school, VacaGuzman attended the University of Chicago.

In 2019, after she graduated, she moved back home to Grand Rapids to train and compete as a professional runner for her native country of Bolivia.

While running regularly again, she was inspired to use her talents to give back.

Once again, she decided to runraise.

This time she would run 2,500 miles in a year and ask people to donate.

Her goal was $2,500.  

Going the extra mile, a second time, VacaGuzman raised $4,000 for Kids’ Food Basket.

After victoriously going above and beyond on both campaigns, she attributes the skills and life-lessons she learned from YAB as part of her success, even as an adult.

Confidence, a desire to help those in need and the realization of how people of any age can make a difference are values that VacaGuzman will never forget.

“I think YAB really shaped my outlook on how an individual can make an impact using their talents and resources,” she said. “There is so many talented people. High school students are so creative.”

She encourages any student to get involved in programs like YAB – to realize their potential of challenging themselves to make an impact.  

“I recommend signing up because one person can make an incredible difference. It doesn’t matter one’s age, it is truly the desire to want to make a change,” she said. “That is a tough thing to understand and accept, but after doing it you can see that it really is possible.”

If you would like to join YAB for the upcoming school year, please visit: https://kidsfoodbasket.wpengine.com/opportunities/youth-action-board/