By MATT PIKE
The Mosaic Life Care Foundation chose Central High School's Natalia Larkin as the winner of the Judith K Sabbert Spark award recipient for helping to make a difference in the community.
The award is presented to individuals who have created lasting change in their school or community after participating in programs at emPowerU. Natalia was inspired to create her own project after attending the emPowerU Civic Immersion program with her classmates. Learning about projects completed by students her age motivated her to come up with her own idea.
“I was talking it over with my parents, coming up with ideas,” Larkin saysa in a news release from the Foundation. “Since my parents are immigrants, we kind of landed on that [her project]. I love books, so, obviously the natural connection was to make libraries and books more accessible to those from different countries.”
Natalia’s project created a cultural space for prominent languages used in St. Joseph. The project helps immigrants who come to St. Joseph, and it helps young people make friends by providing popular book titles in multiple languages. In October 2024, her project was awarded a $2,000 Jump Starter grant through emPowerU.
“Natalia has found her special spark. She figured out what she could do to help bring light to our community," Life Trustee of the Foundation’s Board Sheri Spader says.
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