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Young Inventor Helps Those in Need

Rebecca Young designed a way to help people experiencing homelessness in her city to keep warm.

Rebecca Young stands wearing her school uniform.

Courtesy of TIME and the LEGO Group

Rebecca Young of Scotland earned international recognition for her invention, which helps people experiencing homelessness.

If a teacher asked you to design something that could help people in need, what would you create? 

When 11-year-old Rebecca Young received this assignment for a school project, she wanted to help people experiencing homelessness in her home city of Glasgow, Scotland. Rebecca knew they needed something to help them keep warm during the cold winters. She wondered, what if they could have a portable warming device? 

Rebecca designed a solar-powered backpack that can charge an electric blanket inside the backpack. Solar panels on the backpack collect the Sun’s energy and turn it into electricity to power the blanket. This gives the backpack wearer a warm blanket anywhere they need one. 

“The idea came from seeing how hard it is for people living on the streets of Glasgow, especially during winter, and wanting to create something that could make a real difference,” Rebecca, who is now 13, told The Guardian.

Rebecca’s backpack design won an engineering award in the United Kingdom. An engineering company used her design to make 30 backpacks with blankets. The company donated the backpacks to charities that help Glasgow residents who are experiencing homelessness.

Now, Rebecca is among the 10 young people named in Time magazine’s Girls of the Year list, which recognizes young leaders who are inspiring their communities. 

“Knowing that something I came up with is helping others makes me feel really proud. By seeing themselves as builders, girls can challenge norms, pursue any passion, and shape the world,” said Rebecca.

The 10 young people from Time’s 2025 Girls of the Year list stand smiling together in a composite image.

Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Images: Courtesy Photos via TIME and the LEGO Group)

Time named 10 young leaders from around the world in a first-ever Girls of the Year list.

The other nine girls on Time magazine’s list are

  • Rutendo Shadaya, 17, a book author from New Zealand
  • Coco Yoshizawa, 15, an Olympic skateboarder from Japan
  • Valerie Chiu, 15, a teen science educator from China
  • Zoé Clauzure, 15, an anti-bullying advocate from France
  • Clara Proksch, 12, an advocate for child safety from Germany
  • Ivanna Richards, 17, a racecar driver from Mexico
  • Kornelia Wieczorek, 17, a biology researcher from Poland
  • Defne Özcan, 17, an airplane pilot from Turkey
  • Naomi S. DeBerry, 12, an organ donation advocate and author from the United States
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Did You Know?

Solar panels have been around for more than 140 years. The first solar panel was invented in 1883, and it used gold to help turn sunlight into electricity! 

A solar panel is attached to a street light.

© rolfo allgaeu—Moment/Getty Images

A solar panel powers a street light in Bavaria, Germany.

Getting to School Around the World!

It’s back-to-school time! How do you get to school every day? Is it in a car? Is it a big yellow bus? Or maybe it’s something else. 

Kids around the world travel to school in different ways. Some kids ride a bike, and others take a boat! Here are just some of the ways children get to school.

© Leo Ramirez—AFP/Getty Images, © Noel Celis—AFP/Getty Images, © Lucas Ninno—Moment/Getty Images, © Mohsen Karimi—AFP/Getty Images, © Barry Lewis/In Pictures Ltd.—Corbis Historical/Getty Images, © Shaw Photography Co.—Moment/Getty Images

The Power of the Sun

A child plays with a wooden space station toy that is powered by a small solar panel.

© DoganKutukc—E+/Getty Images

Solar energy can power toys, like this wooden space station with a small solar panel.

Every day, the Sun sends a lot of energy to Earth! Plants use the energy to grow, but what can humans do with it? We can collect that energy to make electricity! 

Learn more about solar energy at Britannica.

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Word of the Day

innovate

Part of speech:

verb

Definition:

: to do something in a new way

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