Millcreek 11-year-old earns Kohl’s scholarship

 Sixth grade Oakridge student Tia Smart is already thinking about turkeys and it is still summer. But that does not surprise anyone who knows her. This year will be the fourth year Tia has organized her Kid Power Turkey drive to provide turkeys for local families in need.

 This summer Kohl’s has chosen Tia to be a recipient of its $1,000 Kohl’s Cares regional scholarship to be used toward her post secondary education.

 Tia started Kid Power Tia in 2008 when she was just 8 years old. She wanted to help families who couldn’t afford a turkey for Thanksgiving.

“Even though we are just kids and don’t have a lot of money, we can help big time,” Tia said. “That’s why it’s called Kid Power.”

 That first year she went door-to-door asking for help. She passed out flyers, spoke to members of her church and once she had the money, she asked for discounts from grocery store managers when purchasing the turkeys.

 Tia is the daughter of Geoff and Kim Smart. “I think she has been somewhat influenced by her older brother and sister Sarah Hagadorn, 22, and Andrew Hagadorn, 18,” Kim Smart said.

Andrew has been active in working with The Road Home and Sarah has been involved with National Charity Week.

 The first year Tia and her friend collected enough money to purchase 417 turkeys and 720 cans of food.

”We are so proud of her and hope she continues with this,” Kim Smart said.

 For the past 11 years, the Kohl’s Care Scholarship program has recognized students who contribute to their community by performing volunteer service above and beyond what is normally expected of a student that age. More than 37,000 nominees nationwide were considered for this award; of those 200 regional winners were chosen.

 Tia also wrote an essay about her work with Kid Power and because of it, she was able to secure a check for $1,000 for the Utah Food Bank from the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation. The Sodexo Foundation is the charitable arm of Sodexo Inc.