On May 20, 2010, Angela Ward, an eighth grade student at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, was honored at the State House for winning the Grand Prize in the 2010 Credit Union Student Essay Contest. The contest, sponsored by the Massachusetts Credit Union League Inc. and the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation, asked students this: “if you had unlimited time and money, what aspect of community service would you volunteer for and why?” Angela’s thoughtful and impressively written essay was judged to be the best among more than 1,200 entries from around the Commonwealth.
Tim presents a citation to Angela at the State House.
In her grand prize-winning essay, Angela writes that given unlimited time and money, she would use it to improve the quality of life of our senior citizens. “For five years I have had the privilege of living with my 93-year-old Granddaddy,” she writes. She goes on to describe how her Grandfather has needs, but requires the support and love of those around him to meet those needs. She recognizes, however, the fact that not all seniors have the help that her family is able to give to her Grandfather, and instead require the support of the community in order to have their needs met. What an insightful young woman!
Angela concludes her essay by saying this: “helping elderly people is an investment in their future and ours.” I couldn’t agree more, and in that spirit I will be writing a series of blog posts highlighting the issues our elders face, what services are available to them, and how to volunteer in order to make a difference in their lives. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for this important information.
Click here to read Angela's complete essay.
0 comments:
Post a Comment