Victoria LeBlanc
Victoria LeBlanc, a member of Vermilion Parish 4-H and a home-school high school graduate, organized an annual talent show that raised more than $9,000 in its first three years for a local hospital, deployed soldiers and their families, and hurricane victims.
Victoria, an experienced piano player and a strong proponent of community service, was looking for a way to combine these two interests when she hit upon the idea of a fund-raising talent show. “I truly believe in the performing arts and their ability to enhance a person’s life,” said Victoria.
A talent show, she reasoned, “would be a fun way to give 4-H’ers and community members an opportunity to get involved in the performing arts, and raise money for a great cause at the same time.”
For the first “Showcase of Talent Benefit” in 2003, Victoria coordinated every detail, choosing performers, securing a location, promoting the event, selling tickets, encouraging donations, and producing the show. The proceeds of more than $3,600 were donated to St. Jude’s Hospital.
For the second benefit, Victoria asked the Jr. Leader Club to take an active role in the production, and ended up raising an additional $2,600, which was used to make “hero packs” for the children of deployed members of the 256th National Guard Infantry, and to ship needed items to the troops.
Victoria appointed a co-chair for the third annual Showcase of Talent, in hopes that the benefit might continue after she graduated. The benefit was held to raise money for the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Over $3,000 was raised and the money was used to purchase gifts and throw a party for the children who had lost their homes and many of their possessions to the hurricanes.
Although Victoria has graduated, as she hoped, the Showcase of Talent has become an integral part of the Jr. Leader Club’s service learning projects. This year, it will be held as a benefit for their community service learning project “Coast Savers”.
Ryan Ernstes
Ryan Ernstes, a freshman at The Walker School in Marietta, organized a five-kilometer race called the “Hot Lips Hustle.” Ryan started the race to help pay for a cleft lip and palate surgeries for children around the world who otherwise cannot afford treatment. Ryan was born with a cleft lip and was fortunate enough to have received excellent treatment for her birth deformity. Realizing how lucky she was and how needy the children are, she decided to raise money for cleft children.
After deciding upon a 5K run, Ryan secured a race date and location, recruited sponsors and volunteers, and began promoting the event. She also gathered supplies, printed T-shirts, ordered trophies, and purchased food for the race.
With 225 registered runners, the race was a great success. The 2nd Annual Hot Lips Hustle was held in September of this year and proceeds from the races generated thousands of dollars for The Smile Train, a nonprofit organization that provides training and funding to doctors around the world to perform cleft surgery at no charge for needy children. To date, the Hot Lips Hustle has funded surgery for 34 children!
Ryan has made the race an annual event. “The experience taught me that the most rewarding thing you can do is help others, even those who you do not know,” she said.
Stephanie Abston
Stephanie Abston, a ninth grader at Evergreen High School, has raised more than $6,400 over the past five years by making and selling crafts to benefit the local Ronald McDonald Houses.
Stephanie’s desire to make a difference came after she and her friends participated in a fund-raiser at her school and thought it was fun. “We all then made crafts on our own to raise money to donate to the charity we chose,” said Stephanie, who decided to work on behalf of the Ronald McDonald House where her grandmother volunteered.
After the first year, Stephanie’s friends moved on to other activities, but Stephanie remained steadfast. She gives up many weekends to make her crafts and sell them to friends, co-workers of family members, and to the public at open houses and bazaars. The money she has raised helps pay for families of sick children to stay at the Ronald McDonald House and to buy different supplies for them.
During 2006 she has increased her volunteer time with Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Oregon and Southwest Washington directly, both at fundraising events and at the House. She volunteers regularly to make cookies and crafts at the House with the children and their families. “I realize that children my age are going through life-threatening illnesses and it makes me think if it was me how I would want people to help and be supportive,” said Stephanie.
Jason Tolkin
Jason Tolkin, a junior at Mercer Island High School, formed a nonprofit corporation called “Beams and Dreams” that organizes free boat outings for cancer patients and their families.
After hearing many stories about cancer patients and their grueling battles from his mother, a long-time volunteer with Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Jason decided to share with them his passion for boating.
“It never ceases to amaze me how refreshed and invigorated everyone aboard feels after even a short outing,” said Jason, “It seemed to be a natural fit to somehow combine the boating spirit with Hutch patients.”
Jason incorporated Beams and Dreams, and then with his brother’s help, he persuaded a large boat dealer and a marina to provide vessels for his outings, borrowed life preservers from a local retailer, and began reaching out to cancer patients and survivors. Jason also provided his guests with custom T-shirts and cookies.
Over the past three years, Jason has hosted nine outings for cancer patients and their families, totaling more than 400 guests. Several families told him that it was the first day in a long time that they had spent together outside a hospital setting.
“If I can help provide cancer patients and their families with a short respite from their horrific medical challenges, then I have added joy to the lives of those who need it the most,” said Jason.
Logan Medlin
Logan Medlin, an eighth-grader at Tatum Junior High School, is an active volunteer and fundraiser for a program that provides free meals to senior citizens in his small town.
“I became involved in this activity because seniors play a big part in our community,” said Logan, noting that older citizens often volunteer at his school or serve as substitute teachers. “I think this is extremely important because many seniors do not eat properly.”
Logan’s participation began a year ago when, at the encouragement of a mentor, he helped make and sell Christmas candles to benefit the seniors’ meal program. He then donated ingredients and helped prepare pre-cooked meals to sell to busy families as another way to raise money for the program.
Finally, Logan helped convert a cow pasture into a golf course for a benefit golf tournament. In all, Logan and other students working for the program have raised more than $2,000, which has gone to provide free meals to as many as 12 senior citizens daily.
In addition to providing free meals, Logan’s volunteer group is now offering to help the senior citizens in other ways, such as doing yard work. “People in small communities have to take care of each other,” Logan said.
Zachary Pezzillo
Zachary Pezzillo, currently an eighth-grader at Seabury Hall School in Makawao, has helped raise and train six service dogs over the past five years for disabled people in his community.
When Zachary, who was raised in a strongly volunteer-minded family, first learned about Hawaii Canines for Independence (HCI), “the program seemed like a great opportunity to work with animals and people and to make a difference in the world,” he said.
Each time Zachary gets a puppy from HCI, he takes care of it for a year, teaching it obedience skills, housebreaking habits, and nearly 100 commands. He also spends a lot of time socializing the puppy by taking it to stores, movies, restaurants, and even to school. At the end of the year, Zachary presents the dog in a formal graduation ceremony to its new owner, and helps teach the owner how to handle the dog.
“It is hard to say goodbye when the dogs have been such a big part of my life,” said Zachary. However, when Zachary sees how much the service dogs change the lives of those they are helping, he says he knows what he is doing is important.
Zachary also volunteers at a veterinary clinic, cares for foster puppies and kittens at the Maui Humane Society, and spent several days last summer volunteering at an animal sanctuary in Utah.
Cameron Mansanarez
Cameron Mansanarez, a senior at Monte Vista High School, played a leading role in the creation of a statewide student council community service project dedicated to helping disadvantaged children, called “Caring for Colorado’s Children.”
As a state student council representative in his junior year, “I wanted to begin a project in Colorado that could be carried out in the future, would make an impact on a large number of people, and would have high participation,” he explained.
He began working with the state student council president to involve schools across the state in a broad campaign to collect money, food, and other items for needy children, and to provide volunteer labor for projects benefiting children.
In the end, the project yielded more than $70,000, 368,000 pounds of food, thousands of volunteer hours, and many other contributions. As part of the effort, Cameron also recruited students at his school to collect children’s books and then deliver and read them to local elementary school students.
Cameron, who is now Colorado’s state student council president, plans to make “Caring for Colorado’s Children” a project that can be passed down to future state presidents, with greater results each year.
The project also received national attention at the 2005 National Association of Student Councils Conference, and has inspired similar projects in several other states. “More than anything, the feeling that I was in some way a help to a child in the state or my community is the most rewarding thing from this project,” said Cameron.
Kaitlyn Meiss
Kaitlyn Meiss, a senior at Horizon High School, has been leading cystic fibrosis awareness and fund-raising activities for the past four years, inspired by the hope that her younger sister will one day benefit from research into the deadly disease.
Kaitlyn has watched her sister, Lauren, struggle with CF almost her whole life. But when she saw how much a new treatment had helped, “I started to think about how many more advancements in treatments for CF could take place if more money was raised,” she said.
Her first step was putting together a team for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s annual Great Strides Walk in her eighth- and ninth-grade years. The following year, Kaitlyn founded a CF awareness and fund-raising club at her school that now boasts close to 50 student members.
So far, Kaitlyn’s initiatives have raised more than $30,000 for CF research. And her club’s success has led Kaitlyn to help organize a multi-school CF “youth leadership council” and to assist in the establishment of CF clubs at eight other high schools.
“I will continue to work closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation until CF stands for ‘cure found,’” said Kaitlyn.
Anna Stomberg
Anna Stomberg, a senior at Blackduck High School, worked with two friends to organize an annual “Walk for Thought” that has raised more than $12,000 over the past three years for brain injury research.
Three years ago, two students in the Blackduck area suffered severe brain injuries in car accidents. “These tragedies devastated many and affected the whole community,” said Anna. “My friends and I decided we wanted to find a way to help.”
A call to the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota resulted in the decision to host a local version of the association’s Walk for Thought. To promote their fund-raiser, Anna and her partners distribute posters and seek news coverage from local media.
They ask local businesses to become sponsors, and recruit local organizations to help register walkers, collect funds, run refreshment booths, and handle other details. The walks have not only raised a significant amount of money for the Brain Injury Association, but have inspired another Minnesota city to plan a similar event next year, said Anna.
In addition to the walks, Anna and her friends have organized activities in their town throughout the year to focus attention on personal health and traffic safety, with particular emphasis on the importance of wearing seatbelts and driving safely. To ensure that her effort continues, Anna has persuaded local chapters of the National Honor Society and Family Career and Community Leaders of America to coordinate the Walk for Thought after she leaves for college.
Jacqueline Kenyon
Jacqueline Kenyon, a senior at Michigan Lutheran High School in St. Joseph, has served for the past five years as ambassador of an annual camp for children with congenital hand differences. “I was born without all my fingers due to what is called Amniotic Band Syndrome,” Jacqueline said, “Because I have had many experiences with my hands, I can help those who aren’t comfortable with their differences.”
At the Hands to Love Congenital Hand Camp in Florida, Jacqueline counsels young campers and their parents, both individually and in groups, answering questions and sharing stories about her own experiences.
She gives advice, helps children with personal struggles caused by their differences, and tries to build each child’s self-confidence “by encouraging them to look at their differences as blessings and not a curse.”
Jacqueline also urges parents to embrace and encourage their child’s differences. In addition, she helps organize activities at the camp, and participates in two benefits each year to raise money for the camp.
“What you do or don’t have doesn’t matter,” she said, “It’s the real live person that you are that people will see you for.”Jacqueline Kenyon, a senior at Michigan Lutheran High School in St. Joseph, has served for the past five years as ambassador of an annual camp for children with congenital hand differences. “I was born without all my fingers due to what is called Amniotic Band Syndrome,” Jacqueline said. “Because I have had many experiences with my hands, I can help those who aren’t comfortable with their differences.”
At the Hands to Love Congenital Hand Camp in Florida, Jacqueline counsels young campers and their parents, both individually and in groups, answering questions and sharing stories about her own experiences.
She gives advice, helps children with personal struggles caused by their differences, and tries to build each child’s self-confidence “by encouraging them to look at their differences as blessings and not a curse.”
Jacqueline also urges parents to embrace and encourage their child’s differences. In addition, she helps organize activities at the camp, and participates in two benefits each year to raise money for the camp.
“What you do or don’t have doesn’t matter,” she said. “It’s the real live person that you are that people will see you for.”
