One day when DeJuan Strickland was in fourth grade, he didn’t have money for school lunch. “That really stuck with me,” DeJuan, now 15, told TIME for Kids. This year, DeJuan, who works as a DJ, raised money on his GoFundMe website. “I wanted to do something so other kids wouldn’t have to go through the same thing.”
DJ’s goal was to raise $200 to help area parents pay for their children’s school lunches. In less than two weeks, he had raised $400. He returned to his alma mater, McCurdy Elementary School, in Florissant, Missouri. He handed the check to the principal.
BIG CHECK DeJuan received an award for community work in February.
Provided by: Tech Boy Team
Currently, DJ is raising money to support the entire Hazelwood School District. Among them he includes more than 30 schools. “Sometimes school lunch is the only meal a child can rely on,” he wrote on his latest GoFundMe page. “Food insecurity is a huge problem and I am doing everything I can to combat it.”
As of September 23, donations to DJ’s fundraising campaign totaled nearly $10,000.
enough to eat
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 44 million people in the United States were affected by food insecurity in 2022. Families who experience this condition do not always have enough to eat. This can affect the child’s health. And that can affect success in school.
Many children rely on school meals, and families struggle to pay for them. In that case, the school may provide the meal and the family may pay for it later. Unfunded school lunch debt in the United States will exceed $19 million in 2022, according to a report from the School Nutrition Association.
Teamwork In August, in New York City’s Harlem, DeJuan and friends stock up on food in community refrigerators. They were participating in Giving Tuesday, a weekly event that encourages generosity.
Provided by: Tech Boy Team
This school year, six states — Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont — made school lunch free for all public school students, regardless of family income. These states follow standards set by California and Maine. Lawmakers in other states are considering similar options, including Missouri, where DJ lives.
A great buy This canned food will go into Harlem’s community refrigerator.
Provided by: Tech Boy Team
“That’s a little strange. [school meals] It’s free in some regions, but not in others,” says the DJ. But he is hopeful that things are heading in the right direction. “In the future, school meals may be free everywhere.”
DELIVERY TIME The team stores the purchased food in the refrigerator.
Provided by: Tech Boy Team
looking to the future
DJ is currently a first year high school student. He keeps busy playing soccer and running Team Tech Boy, a business he started when he was 12 years old to encourage children’s interest in STEM. He has written two of his own STEM-themed comic books. tech boy and science girl. As for college, DJ hopes to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I’m going to be a computer programmer and video game developer,” he says.
Now, DJ and his mother are working to create a nonprofit organization that will address food insecurity and other issues affecting youth. “I want to do more,” he says, like lunch fundraisers. “But on a larger scale.”
“It really warms my heart to give back,” DJ says. “The fact that I was able to make a positive impact on people’s lives feels really good.”
Feeling inspired?
Next month we’ll feature service stars who are raising money for good causes. Can you be one of these kids? Click here for ideas on how to organize and promote fundraisers in your community.
