MILWAUKEE — A 17-year-old Milwaukee student received $25,000 to grow her love of gardening.
With the money, Alexzandra Coolman hopes to inspire other teens to try urban gardening.
“I almost cried,” Coolman exclaimed. “I’ve never really won that much money before.”
The award comes from a partnership between the water brand, LIFEWTR, and LeBron James as part of their “More to Life” campaign. They distributed over $100,000 in grants to people across the country pursuing their passion.
Coolman’s passion is gardening. She has a plot at Alice’s Garden where she grows her own vegetables and herbs.
“I’m just happy to be here. If I’m stressed out, sad, or just in a bad mood, getting my hands dirty and growing a new life, planting a new seed, is just fantastic, I love that feeling,” Coolman explained.
With the money, she wants to do things like host teen nights.
“I’m hoping to get a lot more young people, especially young people, out here to collaborate. Doing this instead of being out doing bad stuff,” Coolman said.
Her mom, Andy Coolmman, said they also want to support the "CAGE" program. CAGE stands for Community Agricultural Growing Experiences.
“We really hope we can encourage other youth to come through and do something different like find peace, read a book here, or eat lunch,” Coolman’s mom explained.
The Coolman family spends a lot of time at Alice’s garden, usually coming two or three times a week after school. Coolman hopes to bring her classmates and peers as summer approaches.
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