Country of Residence
United States
Age
16
Project title
Wellness Warrior
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Wellness Warrior is a student led project that collects gently used baby clothes, new toys and essentials for pregnat woman in Orlando and delivers them to pregnant women and new moms in Allapattah, Miami, with more than 1,100 items gathered in 2026 and trips funded by our own tote bag sales.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.instagram.com/wellnesswarriors262024?exln=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Established (We have regular weekly or monthly impact that we are reliably measuring)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
I wanted to do something about the crisis in Venezuela, but I didn’t know where to start. One night my mom and I were brainstorming, and we decided to collect over-the-counter medicine to send to my grandfather’s hometown. We managed to ship two boxes, but the cost and logistics of sending supplies abroad made it impossible to keep going, that could have been the end. Then we met Adelina Díaz, founder of One Milk for Venezuela, she helped us see that we could make a real difference closer to home, for families who had arrived here needing support from Central America. That was my “aha” moment. We didn’t need to cross borders to help instead we changed direction and started collecting gently used baby clothes, new toys and essentials for pregnant women in Orlando. In the summer of 2025 we delivered everything we had collected, more than 950 items, to families in Allapattah, Miami. Seeing how much a collected over just one summer made me believe this could grow into something bigger.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Having a baby is expensive clothes, bottles, blankets and other basics add up quickly, and babies outgrow everything within months. For families who have just arrived in this country, or who are trying to rebuild their lives, those costs stack up quickly. Many expecting mothers in communities like Allapattah, Miami, start out with very little to none. At the same time, families in Orlando have bags of baby clothes and supplies sitting unused in their closets. Wellness Warrior connects the two, so items that one family no longer needs can help another family who needs it for its baby. This matters to me because I know what it feels like to start over. My family immigrated to this country looking for a better life, and in the beginning, people helped us when we needed it most. That support made a difference I still remember. Now I want to be that help for someone else every clothed we deliver is my way of giving back what was given to me, and to showing new families that they are not alone.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Wellness Warrior works in four steps. First, we collect neighbors, friends and local supporters in Orlando donate gently used baby clothes, new toys and essentials like bottles, blankets, breast pumps and baby food. We spread the word through our social medias page. Second, we sort and pack. Each donation is checked, sorted by type, size and condition, and logged in our inventory spreadsheet. That way we know exactly what we have and what families still need. In 2026 we have already recorded more than 1,100 items. Right now I’m using AI to rebuild that inventory so it totals itself, flags what’s missing, and gives me every clothed a number, so we can find any item in minutes. Third, we deliver, my mom and I drive everything from Orlando to families in Allapattah, Miami. In the summer of 2025 we gave away everything we had collected, more than 950 items. Fourth, we fund it ourselves, we sell tote bags with the Wellness Warrior logo, and the money covers trip costs like lodging and transportation. Our goal is for the project to pay for itself.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Wellness Warrior has grown every year since it started. In 2024 our first effort, a medicine drive, sent two boxes of over-the-counter medicine to my grandfather’s hometown in Venezuela. After we changed direction, our first delivery to Allapattah, Miami, in the summer of 2025 included more than 950 items, plus nearly 500 diapers, all given directly to families who needed them. This year we have already collected more than 1,100 items for our next delivery, including clothes, blankets, bottles, breast pumps and baby food. That’s more than all of 2025. The project also pays more of its own way now. In 2025 we started selling Wellness Warrior tote bags, and our first 22 sales brought in more than $330 toward the cost of our trips. The numbers only tell part of the story. When I handed the last piece of clothing I had collected to the last mother in line, I realized that this small idea had become something bigger than I ever imagined. I went from waiting at home for donations to giving out more than 700 pieces of clothing. Moments like that remind me why I started. Next, I want to use AI to track our inventory more precisely, so we can stay on top of what we have and dont have.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What makes Wellness Warrior different is that it connects two problems through one solution. Families who are new to this country or starting over need baby clothes and essentials, while families in Orlando have perfectly good items sitting in closets or headed for the trash because babies outgrow them so quickly. We give children’s clothing a second life instead of letting it go to waste, which helps families and cuts down on the waste that fast fashion creates. Our project also bridges two cities, we collect donations in Orlando and deliver them to families in Allapattah, Miami, bringing resources from a place that has extra to a community that needs them. We are building the project to sustain itself, instead of depending on our own money, we sell Wellness Warrior tote bags, and that money covers the cost of each trip. We also use technology to organize every piece we receive. We checked, sorted by type, size and condition, and logged in our inventory. But we stop doing it manually as it took a lot of time of my day which I could've been packing clothes. Now I’m using AI to rebuild that inventory so it updates automatically and shows exactly clothing i have too much off and which i need to look for.
How many people are on your team?
2
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Wellness Warrior is a two person team, my mom and me. I lead the project., I run our social media and make the videos, keep track of every donation in our inventory, plan what we collect and deliver, and right now I’m building an AI inventory system to make our work more organized. My mom is my partner in every step, she helps me come up with ideas for our social media, helps me folds and packages the clothes, and drives to pick up donations people have saved for us. We came up with the tote bag
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
First, I’ll finish building our AI inventory system, every donations will get a number, the inventory will total itself, and it will show exactly what need to get more off. I’ll measure how much time it saves compared with counting by hand, so I can prove the system works. Second, I’ll make our next delivery to Allapattah, Miami, bigger than the last one. We already have more than 1,100 items for 2026, and my goal is to reach 1,500 by our next trip. I’ll improve the quality of our vides to be able to reach more people and to receive more donation. Lastly, I want the project to fully pay for itself, I’ll track the cost of every trip, including gas, lodging and supplies, and compare it with our tote bag sales. Then I’ll know exactly how many bags we need to sell to cover each delivery.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Social media is how most people find Wellness Warrior. I post videos about our collections and deliveries, and each one gets between 100 and 600 views. After watching, people in Orlando message me to say they have baby clothes, toys or supplies they’re no longer using. Many of them had items sitting in closets for years and didn’t know where to donate them. Now they reach out to me directly, and some donate again every time they clean out their homes. Our tote bags spread our story too every bag has the Wellness Warrior logo, so everyone who buys one supports the project and also carries it with them wherever they go. People ask about the bags, and that leads to new conversations and new donors.
