ASHLAND – On Oct. 27, Jennifer Eastman, a representative of the Maine Women’s Fund, presented Ashland Middle/High School student Miranda Donovan with the 2008 Samantha Smith Award.
The Samantha Smith Award is given to a young woman from Maine who has worked to promote social change in her school or community, who inspired other girls to become active in supporting long lasting change in Maine, who used her voice boldly to influence others, and who understands the power of philanthropy to make a difference in this world. Each award comes with a $1,000 grant that the winner can give to the non-profit of their choice.
Samantha Smith was born in 1972 in Houlton. Her family later moved to Manchester, Maine where her father was a professor at the University of Maine at Augusta, and her mother was a social worker. In 1982, Samantha gained international attention when she wrote to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, trying to understand Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States.
In response to her letter, Samantha and her family were invited to the Soviet Union and Samantha became known as America’s Youngest Ambassador. In the next few years, she continued to travel the world as a child ambassador, including meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, attending an international children’s conference in Kobe, and covering the 1984 U.S. Presidential Election. In 1985, Samantha and her father were killed in a plane crash on a return trip to Maine. To this day, Samantha remains an inspiration of idealism, a voice of change and a model for peace and understanding.
The individuals who nominated Donovan describe her as a young woman who is civic minded, who is an adventurer, not afraid to explore new territories and new directions in her life. Donovan believes in her causes and will take action to see them furthered. She is a girl who when she sees something she doesn’t like, asks why it can’t be different or better and tries to make a change.
Donovan was inspired by tragedy. After two of her friends were killed in a horrific car accident, she sought to reduce the danger of traffic fatalities on Route 11 and prevent a tragedy like this from happening again. She wrote a bill as part of the Youth in Government Programs to establish a commission to study traffic safety along Route 11. As part of the program, she worked as a mock senator to pass the bill in the student senate. The bill was unanimously voted the Best Bill Award for the 2007 program. She didn’t stop there. Upon return from her mock legislation in Augusta, she took the bill to her local representatives and town councils, with the result that the representatives agreed to pursue the situation further.
The Maine Women’s Fund is a public foundation that invests in positive, long-lasting change that makes society better for all people. They create this change by connecting women, who provide one another with knowledge, skills and support to improve their futures. Maine Women’s Fund envisions a future of economic security, without fear of violence, and with access to quality health care. Their programs engage women at every stage of life, encouraging confidence, supporting emerging leaders and improving our communities and the world for generations to come.
For 20 years, the Maine Women’s Fund has invested through a statewide grant making program and has awarded more than $1.4 million in grant making to 250 non-profit organizations promoting lasting social change in Maine.
Contributed photo
MIRANDA DONOVAN, a student at Ashland Middle/High School, was recently presented the 2008 Samantha Smith Award. The award is given to a young woman from Maine who has worked to promote social change in her school or community, who inspired other girls to become active in supporting long lasting change in Maine, who used her voice boldly to influence others, and who understands the power of philanthropy to make a difference in this world. Pictured are, from left: Jennifer Eastman, a member of the Maine Women’s Fund board of directors; Mikeal Donovan, Miranda’s father; Miranda Donovan, Tammy Donovan, Miranda’s mother; and Whitney Donovan, Miranda’s sister.
