Youth Receive Prestigious Jefferson Award for Their Achievements
Individuals from Lake Forest High School Jobs for Delaware Graduates, Lake Forest High School Interact Club, Loving Hands Community Outreach, Milford High School Jobs for Delaware Graduates, and Greater Milford Boys and Girls Club will be honored tonight during a City Council Meeting at 7:00PM by Mayor Bryan Shupe for their outstanding service in the community through the Jefferson Awards LEAD360 Challenge. This year a total of 104 service projects were submitted in Delaware with over 149,000 lives impacted and a financial impact of over $938,000. The City of Milford’s 5 Projects engaged 281 volunteers, generated 2,223 volunteer hours, impacted 870 lives for a total financial value of $52,000. All the projects and ideas that were submitted will be recognized by Mayor Shupe tonight at 7:00pm during the City Council Meeting in Council Chambers.
LEAD360 is the platform that powers youth service ideas: to realize their vision, act as the megaphone for their voice, empower them & the country to ACT with MAXIMUM IMPACT. Launched in 2010, this program has recognized over 6,900 Delaware youth in 578 service projects in collaboration with the offices of seven Mayors including Dover, Georgetown, Lewes, Milford, Newark, Seaford, and Wilmington.
In Phase 2 of the LEAD360 Challenge, three national youth projects were activated in 2016 in the area of Hunger and Poverty called Score on Hunger, Health and Wellness called Teddy Grams for Troops, and Peace and Justice called Survivor Packs. Delaware participants in these projects were the University of Delaware Parking Services, MOT Charter School 2nd & 3rd Grades, St. George’s High School, Braeden Mannering for Brae’s Brown Bags, Western Sussex Boys & Girls Club, Greater Newark Boys & Girls Club, Laverty Lane Housing, Seaford High School JDG program, William Henry Middle School Stars Program, Delmarva Christian School, Delaware Students In Action program, Nor Enterprises and Martina Duffy. The collective impact for all these projects had a financial value of over $49,000 and impacted over 7,400 lives. More information about these national projects and the 2017 national winning project can be found at http://lead360.jeffersonawards.org.
Mayor Shupe states, “It is inspiring to see the youth in our community take a proactive approach to serving others. The Jefferson Awards allow us to recognize the ongoing efforts by the next generation to create a better world for all of us”
Sam Beard, Founder and President Emeritus of the Jefferson Awards Foundation stated, “LEAD360 is designed to seek outstanding youth ideas and replicate them nationwide. For the past seven years, Delaware has been the nation’s leader in this program and has once again distinguished itself by the number of youth engaged, lives impacted and people activated.”
Milford High School JDG: Mayor’s Top Project
This past December, Milford High School hosted their 18th annual Santa’s Workshop Program. This year, over 200 high school students, 22 teachers, and volunteers from the Morris Early Childhood Center, Greater Milford Boys and Girls Club, and The Learning Center participated in Santa’s Workshop Program. Milford High’s Jobs for Delaware Graduates (JDG) program made several important contributions to this event. They sponsored a room full of inflatable toys, including a train, where the children could play. The students spent countless weeks leading up to the event creating paper hats for attendees, ensuring their classroom was decorated for the event, and coordinating the logistics to make sure the event as a whole was welcoming for the kids. Over 475 children in the community attended the event.