Meet Stella Stronsky, this week’s “Wear Your Character” profile.
Stella is an all-around fearless girl! She loves to read, sings with the Chicago Children’s Choir, and volunteers in her community. Each month at Pilgrim Lutheran she serves hot meals to people who are homeless, and at St. Ben’s she makes sandwiches for people who are hungry. Stella even keeps care packages in the car to give to anyone who needs one. We admire Stella’s fearlessness in pursuit of her passions and her kind and compassionate spirit.
Read below for our interview with Stella and what makes her an inspiring Makoshey girl.
Name: Stella
Age: 9 years
Favorite hobbies, activities, and/or sports:
Reading!! esp. fractured fairy tales like Land of Stories and Sisters Grimm; playing violin; singing all the time, especially with Chicago Children's Choir; acting (I attend Compass Creative theater camp in the summer); creating art - drawing, designing, sewing, sculpture, etc. My Auntie Tiff is a local Chicago artist, and I often go to her studio to create with her; helping the homeless - I volunteer at Pilgrim Lutheran once a month to serve hot meals to the homeless. I make bologna sandwiches for St. Ben's to hand out to the hungry. And I make care packages to keep in the car whenever I see someone asking for money, food or help, on the streets.
Who’s your hero?
I have three heroes, Ms. Choi (my CCC Conductor), Mr. Geoff Dolch (my violin teacher from Old Town School of Folk Music), and Monsignor Jim (the pastor at my church, Queen of Angels). Ms. Choi is my hero because she brings kids together to sing, and I want to bring people together to make music. I look up to Mr. Geoff because he helps me by showing me strategies for playing my violin, and I want to be like him and help kids learn to play the violin, too. Fr. Jim is my hero because he gives good advice in his homilies, and he helps me be a better person and be closer to God.
If you could have any superpower, what would you pick and why?
If I could have a superpower, it would be to grant any wish (that I choose to make sure they're good wishes) so I can help other people be happy.
What inspired you to do what you do?
Community: I was inspired to join the Chicago Children’s Choir after attending one of the CCC concerts. The choir sang so beautifully that I wanted to be a part of it. Singing makes me happy.
Charity: I am inspired to help homeless people because it makes me closer to God. I know I'm doing the right thing helping people who don't have a lot of money. I know I am very lucky to have a home and a family. I am happy to help those that do not have the things that I have.
What do you hope other kids can learn from your experience?
Community: Music helps bring people together and helps people be happy and joyful.
Charity: Kids can learn that we are lucky to have food, shelter, family and water because some people do not have all those things. We need to help them and make sure they can survive.
What advice do you have for other kids looking to get involved in the community or in charity?
Community: Find something that you enjoy. Do it! Make friends! And have fun!
Charity: My advice is to start small. First I started making sandwiches, and then I made care packages. Once I started serving people hot meals, I felt more connected to those in need. Fr. Jim says that we are all brothers and sisters, and we should not think of our community as us and them, but one people together.
At Makoshey, we designed these ideal blend, single word t-shirts for girls like Stella and you so you can be yourself and inspire others. The Power Word Collection also featuresCourageous, Strong, Adventurous, Goal Oriented, Curious, Independent, Gritty, Fearless and Sporty, with more coming soon. We thought it would be fun to tell the stories of awesome girls who inspire us to be the best possible version of ourselves. These girls wear their character out loud and deserve celebrating!
If you would like to submit a candidate for our Wear Your Character campaign, send us an email at team@makoshey.com.
