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Last Year's Winner:
Brooke Larsen
SI SLC celebrated
our Violet Richardson winner at our February
meeting. Brooke Larsen
from Highland High is our winner this year.
Brooke has volunteered at many organizations in
Salt Lake but her dedication at Youth Making a
Difference reflects her dedication to
humanitarian efforts.
YMAD works to create youth leaders that will
make a positive difference in their community.
She spent ten months in leadership training at
YMAD and spent ten days in Baruipur, India
partnering with Nishta Organization working to
bring education to girls to better the lives of
women. The group she traveled with not only paid
their own way but gathered and shipped nearly 10
tons of humanitarian aid. The training and
education in this poverty stricken village helps
to end early marriage and abuse, provide
resources for prostitutes and their children and
to grannies thrown out of their homes.
The Salt Lake group spent time with the
villagers, took the girls to a museum in Kolkata
- the first time the girls had left their
village. Brooke presented a video she created on
her trip to India with the volunteers and
children. The happy smiles, laughter and singing
reflected the love these Indian people felt
towards the youth volunteers.
Brooke is now designing her own local service
project designed around helping children and the
environment. She's looking at a possible food
co-op for low income families and creating field
trips for low income children to learn about the
natural areas surrounding Salt Lake.
YMAD has college
internship programs to travel to India and
Brooke wants to take part in this next year. She
hopes to help the villagers sustain themselves
during the months they cannot farm. She is an
outstanding young lady. She devotes so much of
her time in the area of service to children
because she believes they are the carriers of
future generations. Her family and friends
joined Brooke at dinner and the presentation.
Our club presented Booke with a VR certificate,
lovely flowers and $500 to use as she wishes. We
are very proud of Brooke and hope someday she
becomes a Soroptimist.
To submit
an application:
Please complete the Violet
Richardson Award emailable
application form and
BY DECEMBER 1, 2011.
For more information, please contact
Kathy Franchek (801-608-5721) or Janette
Kozinski (801-560-3254).
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