My’Kah Knowlin

Project: Boxes of Love

One of the deadliest tornadoes in history struck Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011. It was a powerful multiple vortex tornado that was rated an EF5, the highest rating on a tornado measurement scale. Wind speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour resulted in the deaths of more than 150 people and $2.8 billion in property damage.

Three hundred miles away in Lincoln, Nebraska, 10-year-old My’Kah Knowlin heard about the tragedy and immediately wanted to help the children of Joplin.

My’Kah brainstormed with her mother about what she could do. She knew she could not fix everything for the storm’s victims. However, she also knew that having some basic things could be the first step back to a normal life.

She decided that the best way to help would be to gather up shoe boxes and stuff them full of toys, snacks, and hygiene items. My’Kah set a modest goal of creating 100 boxes to give away. To get materials for what she would eventually call Boxes of Love, My’Kah asked family, friends, and businesses in Lincoln for donations. She spoke on local radio stations and met with reporters to spread the word. She also asked her school for help and held garage sales to raise money.

Because of My’Kah’s efforts, 3,000 children received care packages, many more than her initial goal. Those care packages brought smiles to faces that had gone too long without them. The boxes helped thousands have something to hold onto and call their own.

So many people got involved with her project that she was also able to help residents of Moore, Oklahoma, when it was also hit by a tornado in 2013. When a moving truck did not show to take supplies to Moore, she lined up volunteers to drive their cars nearly seven hours from Lincoln to deliver the supplies.

As an 8th-grader at Lux Middle School in Lincoln in 2014, My’Kah was a member of the Student Council, the Smart Girls Club, and the Anti-Bullying Club (which she founded), as well as the volleyball and cheering teams. An honor roll student, My’Kah hoped eventually to travel around the country speaking about the importance of community service.

My’Kah’s passion for helping others extended beyond Boxes of Love. Though in 2014 high school was still in the future, she said she wanted to go to college one day to become an obstetrician specializing in high-risk pregnancies. She also dreamed of expanding Boxes of Love and turning it into a nonprofit organization that would continue to help children facing loss and disaster.

Three years into her project, My’Kah said she had been surprised by how many emotions her work evoked. “I had a mother come up to me crying,” she recalled, “because her child was running with bubbles from his box and laughing. It was the first time she had seen him smile in the three months since the disaster. I knew then that what I was doing was making a difference and changing lives.”