15 year-old Nicole Shimandle is a sophomore at Aurora High School. She is also a beekeeper competing for a $25,000 grant to educate people about the plight of bees. Most people don’t realize that bees are a threatened species. We need bees because they polinate plants and they are vital for food production.

Nicole is a competitor in Pepsi’s Refresh Project, an online contest that gives grants worth $1.3 million each month to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations that aim to make a positive difference in their communities. At the project’s Refresh Everything Web site, visitors can vote for their favorite project, and the 32 top vote-getters each month, win a grant.

In July, Nicole finished among the top 100 in her category, which allowed her to continue in the contest for another month.

See the full story at the Akron Beacon Journal.

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