Help Us Grow Health, Leadership, and Equity in Aurora’s Schools

In Aurora, Colorado, a group of middle school students is reclaiming something vital—not just a garden, but a sense of agency, community, and hope.

Led by Thinkering Fellow and educator Loretta Erickson, this capstone project is transforming a long-dormant school garden into a thriving hub of student leadership, food justice, and hands-on learning. What began as a quiet patch of soil is now sprouting something powerful: a movement.

Welcome to The Chill Changemakers.

🧠 The Need

Aurora is one of Colorado’s most diverse communities—but also one of its most impacted by health disparities.
Many families live in food deserts, with limited access to fresh, affordable produce.
The local grocery store is gone. The student-run farmers market that once served the neighborhood is gone.
Meanwhile, 1 in 5 students faces childhood obesity, and more struggle silently with the effects of poor nutrition and disconnection.

Loretta saw more than a health issue. She saw a learning opportunity—a chance to empower students through wellness, creativity, and real-world impact.

💡 The Response

Loretta’s project is rebuilding that garden as a living classroom—a space where middle schoolers can learn to grow food, lead market events, make healthy choices, and become advocates for themselves and their community.

With your support, students will:

Grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs using sustainable methods
Re-launch a student-run farmers market, open to the public
Sell produce at SNAP-eligible prices to increase food access for families
Mentor younger students and collaborate with local high school horticulture programs
Integrate garden work into science, math, and literacy curriculum
Build pride, confidence, and purpose—one seed at a time

This is education that feeds the body and the spirit. And the best part? It’s student-led from the ground up.

🚜 The Impact

Your donation directly supports:

✅ Seeds, soil, and tools for the school garden
✅ Supplies and infrastructure for a mobile farmers market
✅ Healthy snacks and nutrition programming for students
✅ Professional development for educators building garden-based learning
✅ A replicable model of school-community food justice

This isn’t a short-term project. It’s a long-term investment in health equity, youth empowerment, and community resilience.

“Gardening is mindful, it’s fun, and it’s exactly the kind of low-risk, high-reward activity kids need to connect, belong, and grow.”
— Loretta Erickson

🌻 Join the Movement

When you donate to The Chill Changemakers, you help students:

Learn with their hands and hearts
Lead with vision and courage
Nourish themselves and their neighbors

Let’s grow something real—together.

📥 Make a Donation Today

Changing the world one classroom at a time

Our Mission

As a 501c3 Nonprofit, our mission is to elevate a child’s creativity and interests alongside traditional academic metrics, fostering passion-driven learning with real community impact.

To be a Thinkerer is to be a curious changemaker, open to solving longstanding challenges with fresh ideas.

We collaborate with leading organizations, educators, and innovators to create pathways that nurture student passions. By humanizing education, we aggregate and analyze learning experiences, building a global framework that values creativity and curiosity as essential to academic and personal growth.

Growing Chill Changemakers - Loretta Erickson

Community, Health, Food Justice, and Growth

Team Members