Daniela’s Story
Service has no age limit
Meet Daniela
My name is Daniela Tejada, and along with my sister Ariela, we started the Meds4Kidz Foundation. I want to share with you a little bit of our story and what led us to begin this mission.
All my life I have witnessed poverty and its devastating effects, especially in my mom’s home country, Bolivia. My sister and I grew up with the desire to help those less fortunate and help them improve their lives. We always helped and volunteered to various causes alongside our parents, as community service is always one of our priorities when we travel.
However, it wasn’t until 2012, when I went to the United Nations as a Student Ambassador, that I figured out how I could really help at a larger scale. At the UN, I saw how I could open a non-profit organization, and with the support of others in my community, we could all together help save these children.
Sometimes you think: ‘Oh, you have to wait till you grow up’ but you really don’t. There’s a lot of things we can do even at our young age…just try your best. Even if you can’t open a non-profit, you know there’s always something that we can do.
– Daniela Tejada, Meds4Kidz Co-Founder & Vice President
First Steps
I felt empowered to take action, and in 2013, along with my sister Ariela, we started Meds4Kidz Foundation Inc. Initially, my sister and I sold hand-made rubber band bracelets, but soon realized this was not enough to get the kids all the help they desperately needed. So, after giving it a lot of thought, other ways to raise funds started taking shape, like organizing 5Ks and fundraising events, which we continued working on together to make the organization grow and help more kids.
My First Successful Campaign
After speaking to many people and working hard to raise awareness in my cause, I was very excited to get my first big contributor. In December of 2013, a larger non-profit, called Smiles Foundation, chose to support my foundation by giving Meds4kidz a check of $1,000.00 and named me their Ambassador of 2013.
Shortly thereafter, the Director at my school also gave us a very important donation. These motivated me to keep working as I saw I could get the kids more help, and the idea to organize Meds4Kidz Family 5K Fun Run/Walk was born. We had our first Family Fun Run that year, May 18th 2014 and it was a huge success.
Meds4Kidz Awards & Recognition
Honoring the collective leadership, youth service, and community impact of Meds4Kidz and co-founders Daniela and Ariela Tejada.
2019 Local10 News LifeChanger Youth Award
2019 Prudential Spirit of Community State Honoree
"Why I became a social entrepreneur” - My 2019 Tedx Talk about Meds4Kidz
2019 TV Interview by RedUno Bolivia news network and El Deber Newspaper
2017 Pinnacle Award
Meet Ariela – President & Co-Founder
My sister Ariela has been an integral part of Meds4Kidz since the very beginning. Having practically grown up inside the foundation, she served as our Vice President and now leads Meds4Kidz as President & Co-Founder, spearheading new initiatives and carrying our mission forward.