Palm Beach Post – Kayla Cares 4 Kids founder wins award named for Christopher Reeve
April 15, 2016 4:30 pm
Fourteen year-old Kayla Abramowitz of North Palm Beach has been honored by another national organization for her service project.
Kayla won Heart of America’s 2016 Christopher Reeve Award, according to a news release.
The Watson B. Duncan Middle School eighth-grader is known for Kayla Cares 4 Kids, the nonprofit organization she started to collect DVDs, books and other items for children in the hospital. Kayla, who has juvenile arthritis and Crohn’s disease, started the charity after her own two-week hospital stay.
Kayla came up with the idea for Kayla Cares 4 Kids at age 11, after noticing a limited DVD selection during one of her many hospital stays. Kayla’s youngest brother has also been hospitalized for chronic illnesses.
After an article appeared in The Palm Beach Post, hundreds of DVDs showered Kayla’s doorstep.
In seventh grade, Kayla was accepted into the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA), where the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce provided business mentors for her.
In 2015, she was named “National Young Entrepreneur” of the Year by YEA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She also was named one of two state honorees for the 2016 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and was a local Jefferson Award winner, as selected by WPTV. For her work, Kayla has been formally recognized by the Governor of Florida and two city councils.