Month: June 2026

Twelve- year old, Leo Berry, a member of the City of Carmel Promise Project and Green Action Club Youth Leaders and Helping Ninjas Founder, offered his public comments in support of a climate action plan on June 20, 2022 at the City of Carmel City Counsil Meeting.

Leo Berry, age 12, and other project youth leaders of Carmel, Indiana, provided public comment in support of a Climate Action Plan for Carmel at the June 20th City Council Meeting. Urging council members to vote yes to the Climate Action Plan and adapt the solutions and tools our city needs to address our changing climate and its effects. Alongside residents who offered public comment in support of the Climate Actin Plan were petitions to reduce the City’s carbon pollution.

“We’re so proud of these young people for stepping up to raise their voices on the most important issue of our time. And we’re grateful for CGI’s partnership with the Green Action Club.” said Leslie Webb, president, Carmel Green Initiative, Carmel, IN.

Helping Ninjas’ Leo Berry offered public comment in 2022, in support of adopting the City of Carmel’s first-ever Climate Action Plan.

At the time, Leo Berry was the youngest member of the community to have given public testimony at a Carmel City Council meeting.

Leo is a Stakeholder of the Climate Action Plan that was presented and soon after, passed.

“The Carmel Climate Action Plan would not have been possible without the crucial input from the Carmel community. The City of Carmel thanks all of those who contributed to this initiative.”

On August 1, 2022, Carmel City Council voted unanimously to adopt a Climate Action Plan for the City.

Leo Berry of Helping Ninjas mention in City of Carmel’s Climate Action Plan Acknowledgments:

View FULL City of Carmel’s Climate Action Plan PDF

Carmel Climate Action Plan takes next steps 

Archives

June 2022 City of Carmel City Council Meeting

In June 2022, Leo Berry was the youngest member of the community to have given public testimony at a Carmel City Council meeting. Leo is a CAP Stakeholder and plated an integral part of creating and establishing the Climate Action Plan presented for acceptance.

Watch the archived video of Helping Ninjas’ Leo Berry and Lindsey Berry offer public comment in support of adopting the City of Carmel’s first-ever Climate Action Plan.

Video of Leo and Helping Ninjas and fellow youth of the Mayor’s Promise Project and Carmel Green Initiative giving their testimony at the June 2022 City Council Meeting.

Watch Video: https://carmelin.new.swagit.com/videos/175844

Jun 20, 2022 City Council Meeting 06-20-22 TRANSCRIPT: HELLO, LEO BERRY. WELCOME. >>       HI, MY NAME IS LEO BERRY. I’LL BE SEVENTH GRADE  AT CARMEL CLAYS SCHOOL. I LIVE AND THE TRIALS NEIGHBORHOOD IN WEST CARMEL. I’M HERE TODAY TO ASK YOU THAT YOU VOTE FOR THE CLIMATE REDUCTION PLAN TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE. I THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF CHOICES THAT SOCIETY MAKES NOW WILL DETERMINE IF WE THRIVE AND SURVIVE. I DO NOT WANT TO GROW UP IN A A WARMER CLIMATE DECREASES PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT. IF NOT TO LATE EFFORTS WILL CAUSE NEGATIVE AND POTENTIALLY IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES. GLOBAL WARMING, RISING SEA LEVELS AND FOOD INSECURITY. THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITIES IS AT STAKE. RETURN RESEARCH HAS SHOWN WARMING OF 35 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT TO PUSH THE MELTING OF ICE SHEETS AND TOP GREENLAND TO THE POINT OF NO RETURN. IT’S ENOUGH FROZEN WATER TO LIFT OCEANS 43 FEET. THIS WILL MAKE EARTH UNINHABITABLE TO HUMANS. ACCORDING TO SCIENTISTS OF 12 YEARS TO CUT MISSIONS AND HALF AND TO PREVENT CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE LATER THE CENTURY. TO REACH HIS GOAL DRAFT ARTICULATE WITH ALL OF US DOING OUR PART. TODAY I ASK YOU TO DO YOUR PART TO STAND UP AND BE A LEADER. WHILE I AM NOT OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE YET I’M OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE A SAY IN MY FUTURE AND FUTURE OF THE GENERATIONS TO COME. I’M OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR CLIMATE AND TO SEE THE NEED FOR APPROVAL. I’M OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND TIME IS RUNNING OUT. EVIDENCE CAN’T BE ANY CLEARER. I UNDERSTAND THAT TAKING ACTION NOW CAN MOVE AS TO MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD. I AM 13– IS IT CLEAR TO YOU? THANK YOU FOR MY TIME. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH>>

Learn more about the City of Carmel’s Climate Action Plan here: https://climatecarmel.com

Given its strong passion of maintaining a healthy and thriving city, Carmel is equipped with the tools to ensure it can play an active role in limiting the impacts of a changing climate.

Helping Ninjas packed over 1000 meals to families in need during their volunteer service hours at Second Helpings!

Helping Ninja students Sophia, Sid, Leo, Layla, Sawyer, and Skyler volunteered alongside Second Helpings Food Rescue and Hunger Relief Chefs, Staff and Volunteers. Our Helping Ninja volunteers had the opportunity to experience a hands-on food rescue and hunger relief kitchen at local non-profit Second Helpings in Indianapolis.

For more than 25 years, Second Helpings has operated a three-part approach to addressing hunger and poverty in Central Indiana. Helping Ninja volunteers helped to pack home-made and nutritious meals made by the Second Helpings Culinary Kitchen into family meal to go kits.

Helping Ninjas helped to prepare family meal boxes. Each family meal box was unwrapped and stickers were placed on boxes and each meal was carefully weighed.

These meals were made in the Second Helpings Kitchen with rescued food that Second Helpings collects each week in their vans.

That rescued food is used to create more than 5,500 nutritious meals each day that are distributed to more than 200 social service agencies that feed those in need.

Second Helping’s family meal kit stickers included the name of the dish, the date packed and a feedback review code sticker.

Helping Ninjas packed over 1000 meals to families in need during their volunteer service hours. Second Helpings provides more than 200 local nonprofit partners over 1 million meals each year, at no charge.

Each meal approximately 2 lbs per family of four. Home-made and healthy meals that were packed today included pulled pork, ravioli and beef ravioli.

Collectively, Helping Ninjas packed 14 bins full of pre-packed nutritious meals that will be distributed to families in need. Each orange bin contains 18 family kit meals for a family of four.

These meals are provided for free to more than 100 partner organizations: day cares, community centers, after-school programs, homeless shelters, and more, that feed families in need.

Second Helpings prepares and delivers more than 5,500 nutritious meals EACH day.

Each day, Second Helpings volunteers and staff rescue prepared and perishable food from wholesalers, retailers and restaurants – preventing unnecessary waste. Second Helpings rescues more than 3.7 million pounds of food a year.

Helping Ninja volunteers had the opportunity to put some of this rescued food to good use!

Helping Ninja volunteers opened packages of spring mix veggies, kale and snow peas for a nutrition packed stew that would be made in the kitchen tomorrow to be distributed to families in need.

Helping Ninja volunteers got to compost at Second Helpings.

The Second Helpings food rescue team is so efficient, that they recycle everything from cardboard food cartons to composting any food scraps and they also donate any non-perishable items not needed in the kitchen to local non-profits.

Did You Know?

At Second Helpings, the rescued food is turned into meals for those in need by Second Helpings Chefs and Culinary Job Training program in-training chefs and volunteers?

And, Second Helpings was founded by three Chefs set forth to solve all four problems—food waste, hunger, job training, and a source of skilled labor for the local food service industry—with one solution: turn unused food into meals and jobs.

In 1998, the first full month of operation, 37 volunteers helped rescue 7,000 pounds of food and prepare 3,074 meals.

Today, Second Helpings is a community kitchen that prepares and delivers more than 1 million meals to the central Indiana community each year.

“We’re not just teaching people to cook. We’re providing an avenue for people to transform their own lives. We don’t just collect food. We rescue food, because we refuse to stand by and allow waste, while so many in our community do not have the healthy food they need to thrive.”

Second Helpings offers a free Culinary Job Training program available to unemployed and underemployed adults in Central Indiana. (It is a program which prepares adults with barriers to employment for careers in the food service industry.) More than 1,000 adults have graduated from their program. Second Helpings alumni are working in Central Indiana as cooks, executive chefs, business owners and culinary instructors.

Collectively with fellow classmates and friends, I had an opportunity to organize and host a Teens For Bold fundraising event. 

Teens For Bold Fundraiser Event: Saturday, June 21, 2026

Teens for Bold fundraising initiative to reach our goal of $10000 was met & exceeded.

The event alone raised $5000.  Fundraising event included an entrance ticket / donation & a silent auction & a euchre tournament & a 50/50 raffle. Over 50 attendees were present and enjoyed a Bold dance performance and routine. 

Using personal funds  purchased & donated $200 of items for our silent auction.  

PHOTO OF SILENT AUCTION ITEM

To date, through outreach efforts & donations, I have helped to achieve percentage of our monetary goal.

Through my help with media directives and creative awareness efforts, Teens For Bold obtained two article features in our local community magazines: Carmel Magazine June 2026 issue and the Towne Post.

Carmel Teens Rally Around Inclusive Ballroom Program

Leo Berry, Layla, Berry, Skyler Berry and Mary volunteered as teen volunteers at the Games Station at the VBS in Carmel IN.

Each day over 250 children ages 5-11 visiting the games station, with daily ever-changing and new activities and games to play in both large and small groups. Games led included kickball, capture the flag, water balloon dodgeball, face paint, and more.

Benefits Gained as a Teen Volunteer at VBS

• Leadership & Teaching Experience: Teens step into roles as camp counselors, and learn how to communicate effectively, manage group behavior, and guide younger children. 
• Teamwork, time management, and reliability. 
• active spiritual role models. 
• Community Building: It provides a safe, structured environment to build friendships with peers and adult mentors. 
• Responsibility & Patience: Guiding children through games and large-group activities teaches patience and empathy. 

Helping Ninjas Dylan, Skyler, Beck, Leo and Mitch of Carmel, Indiana volunteered at Second Helpings during the annual Second Helpings Food Rescue and Hunger Relief Kitchen Great Pasta Push with Channel 8 WRTV.

On average, Second Helpings uses about 1,500 pounds of pasta per week and is used to create nutritious meals for people in central Indiana who may otherwise not get a full meal today.

As the pasta drives were coming to a completion at nearby Kroger collection sites, the Second Helpings vans needed to be unloaded, our Helping Ninjas helped to unload and weigh in all of the communities’ pasta donations from the Second Helpings vans.

Second Helpings relies on pasta drives and donations to bring much needed non-perishable items to our Hunger Relief kitchen.

Second Helpings prepares and delivers more than 5,500 nutritious meals each day. Nutritious meals are distributed to shelters, senior centers, after-school programs, and also delivered to the homes of those who can’t access food any other way.

Pasta doesn’t tend to get donated through our regular sources – the shelf life is so long that wholesalers and grocery stores don’t need to move it along as quickly.

Second Helpings Gr8 Pasta Push is an annual food drive.

Learn more:

Gr8 Pasta Push

A community-wide pasta and fund drive

Second Helpings and WISH-TV 8 for their seventh-annual Gr8 Pasta Push. Second Helpings uses roughly 1,500 lbs of pasta each week in the hunger relief kitchen. The first Gr8 Pasta Push was in November 2020, partially born out the basic needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations of pasta (spaghetti and macaroni preferred) as well as monetary donations appreciated.

Hunger at all angles.