I want to share about two young women that are making a huge impact at Orange County Rescue Mission and the surrounding community. Katherine McPhie and Milan Narula were named winners of the 2019 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. Each year, the Barron Prize celebrates 25 inspiring, public-spirited young people from across the U.S. and Canada who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment.

Katherine and Milan co-founded Open Sesame for Kids to teach computer programming skills to children in homeless and domestic violence shelters. So far, they have helped more than 100 children learn computer skills and coding, many for the first time. They have written grants to raise nearly $30,000 to purchase Chromebooks and other materials with the goal of empowering all children to pursue coding and new opportunities.

We are very grateful that Katherine decided to donate her award to Orange County Rescue Mission. The work that she does is outstanding, and is something that will impact generations to come. Thank you, Katherine, for investing in these children’s futures. It is truly inspiring to see the work that you do, and we look forward to seeing what you’ll do next!