Spark the Change Fund

The forest holds her secrets close. We live deep in the Oregon woods, miles from civilization, yet I never felt alone. Marching through the forest armed with a stick and a laminated guide to scat, I created trails, scanning the ground. Scat and tracks left proof of a hidden world of woodland creatures, busily going about their lives. The forest wasn't silent… It was whispering, calling me deeper. I decided to invite these creatures into my world, hoping to bribe them into my home with a trail of nuts. I succeeded in luring mice, but learned my mother wasn't impressed. I needed Plan B. After weeks of searching and late-night research, Plan B finally emerged: Oryctolagus cuniculus (yes, bunnies). I studied everything bunny: health, diet, and care. I determined housing needs and start-up costs, thinking through every detail. Strangely, the planning and designing of this vision was exhilarating. The biggest challenge would be convincing my parents. Worn down by my thoroughly researched presentation and unrelenting enthusiasm, my parents caved. Slinky, my lop-eared bunny, joined our family. Slinky inspired Love Lops Rabbitry, my first business, devoted to bringing love to others. The dream was clear; the plan was not. Captivated by rabbit breeding and rearing, I devoted hours to research, design, and skill-building, teaching myself website design professional enough to disguise that I was a kid. Each hop and wiggle was documented on social media, drawing in a community of bunny lovers who bonded with their baby bunnies from afar. The same joy Slinky gave me found its way to others. My parents learned the legitimacy of my business when a woman knocked on our door asking for her “boutique bunny”. When my parents suggested there must be a misunderstanding, she declared she had driven 4 hours for her “Angela-raised bunny.” The bunnies kept coming, the content kept growing, and my little business thrived. But each adoption carried a quiet cost: my sister Priscilla’s tears at every farewell. Everything changed when her friend Naomi, who had a feeding tube for chronic illness, visited. A single bunny in her arms lit up her face with a smile. That moment showed Priscilla that joy isn't something to possess; it's meant to be shared. Together, we set out to spread joy to others. I created a campaign to bring bunny-love to special-needs groups throughout our community, creating connections, transforming children, and magnifying kindness. From creating visions to building communities, each project sparked the next. Soon, new ideas hopped in: helping others bring their dreams to life. Faciliti Consulting, Making Your Dreams Grow, was born. Like Encyclopedia Brown solving mysteries for twenty-five cents, I began solving them for entrepreneurs, free of charge. An early “client” was Oscar, an immigrant who dreamt of building a construction business. The skills were there, but he didn’t know where to start. He imagined it required an expensive truck to earn clients, money he did not have. I encouraged, “If you can build a house from scratch, why not a business too?” We designed the blueprint and started building. We created the name, logo, website, and LLC. I realized I had learned a lot. We made an onboarding process for new clients and role-played. With a crisp white shirt and baseball cap adorned with his logo, Oscar was ready. It worked! He signed his first client, and a grin spread across his face. Something I understood completely. The company he once sketched on paper now supports five employees and has completed more than 50 projects. The little girl with a scat guide, tracing hidden lives through the forest, never imagined she’d one day help others find their own trails. I've created Spark the Change Scholarship to encourage other high schoolers to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams while also building up their community.