VietLead sometimes has to tackle environmental problems directly. The group was working on a school garden with students at Furness High School in South Philadelphia when the team discovered that the soil was contaminated by lead. Lead can cause serious health problems if it gets into the body. Ms. Nguyen says the students and VietLead made officials in city government and the school district aware of the lead contamination and received $130,000 from the district to clean it up. “What I like about my job is when you see a problem in the community, you have the freedom to imagine a solution and you work toward those solutions creatively,” she says. “There really is no barrier.” Ms. Nguyen says that starting VietLead taught her the importance of teamwork in getting an idea off the ground. Even kids can have a big impact, she says. “You only need three or five people. You don’t need 100 people,” she says. “You just need people to say, ‘I am willing to do this. I am willing to volunteer. I am willing to try this out.’” —By Healthy Mission staff Spring Garden School 21 Illustration by Michaila Matthews, fifth grade, Community Partnership School Healthy Herald