HELPING OTHERS

Teen's formula for philanthropy: Bees and Legos

In May 2020, Charlie Jeffers was due to get his second-degree black belt in taekwondo, but COVID-19 had other plans.

Like everyone else, Jeffers had to put regular activities — in his case, a martial arts practice — aside during the restrictions of the early pandemic.

With extra time on his hands, Jeffers learned how to manage a beehive that his father had received as a Christmas gift in 2019. The hive was placed in a wooded area on a hillside behind the family's Tiburon home.

Three years later, Jeffers, now a senior at Redwood High School in Larkspur, and his father have five active beehives and have sold 350 pounds of honey to friends and family. The sales

of $5 or $10 jars of Stars of the Earth Honey have raised about $2,000, all of which they have donated to SchoolsRule-Marin, an organization that promotes educational equity.

“It's been great to spend time with my dad, to be in nature and to learn about bees, which are awesome creatures,” said Jeffers, 17.

SchoolsRule-Marin, which was founded in 2011, raises money for enrichment programs such as art, music, technology and health. The campaign collects about $700,000 to $1 million a year, which is distributed to the volunteer parent foundations at each Marin school district.

The money is divided on an equal per-student basis among Marin's school districts based on enrollment, not on the commu

"What an exceptional young man to have recognized the importance of helping others at such a young age."

— Trisha Garlock, executive director of SchoolsRule-Marin

PHOTOS BY ALAN DEP — MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL Charlie Jeffers, a Redwood High School senior, gets into a beekeeper's suit with the help of his father Crockett at home in Tiburon. They were preparing to inspect one of the hives in their backyard. Jeffers has raised money from sales of honey and donated it to SchoolsRule-Marin, an organization that promotes educational equity.

Charlie Jeffers holds a Lego cow. He started a nonprofit called Pass the Bricks to clean, sort and repackage used Legos to give to underserved children.