By U.S. Sen. Susan Collins
(R-Maine)
One of the privileges of serving Maine in the United States Senate is the opportunity I have to meet outstanding young people who are devoting part of their lives to community service and making a difference in their schools and communities. Whether we meet in Washington or at home, I always come away from these meetings inspired by their commitment and encouraged about the future of our state and our nation.
I recently had the opportunity to meet two such remarkable young people — Katherine Elliott of Scarborough and Marissa Bates of Westbrook. Both of these students were in Washington to receive the 2013 Prudential Spirit of Community Award, which recognizes and honors students from across the country for exemplary community service. From more than 26,000 nominees nationwide, only two students from each state are selected for this recognition, so it was a particular honor to meet these two impressive young Mainers.
Katherine, 18, is a senior at Scarborough High School who for years has been involved in volunteer activities with local charities. Having seen firsthand how much pressure is put on the shoulders of nonprofits to support the less fortunate, she took the initiative to establish “The Driving Force,” a community collection drive that benefits a variety of charitable organizations.
Each month, Katherine picks one nonprofit to support, contacts its officials to determine what they need most, and then asks area teenagers to help her collect and deliver donations. She created a Facebook page that she uses to communicate with her volunteers and publicizes her drives by hanging posters and stuffing mailboxes. So far, her drives have benefited the Ronald McDonald House, Salvation Army, Preble Street Soup Kitchen, Center for Grieving Children, Animal Refuge League, Lighthouse Shelter, Children’s Miracle Network and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“So many people rely on all of these organizations for different reasons,” says Katherine, “and these nonprofits would not be able to stay afloat without outside support.”
Marissa, 10, is a member of the Girl Scouts and a fifth-grader at Westbrook Middle School. After noticing that not all of her peers had warm mittens and hats to wear during the cold winter months, she told her mother that she wanted to help. Marissa proposed the idea of setting up a “mitten tree” on which mittens and hats could hang for any students that needed them.
Marissa brought the idea to her Girl Scout troop, which agreed to work with her on the project. After collecting donations of mittens and hats from friends and family members, the scouts set up a tree at an elementary school. It was such a success that she and her fellow volunteers, with the help of a dry cleaning company which made contributions, put trees in three more schools and at a community center.
Marissa now says, “No one in our community goes without warm hats or mittens anymore.”
Although Katherine and Marissa have embraced two different causes, these two exceptional students are united by the same desire to improve their communities. Each started with an idea. Each developed a plan of action and turned their ideas into reality. They have shown us that an individual has the power to make a positive difference in the lives of others, and also how that difference can be amplified by working with, organizing, and mobilizing others in the community around a common cause.
Katherine and Marissa’s stories are inspiring. But they are not alone. These two young people manifest the tremendous capabilities of our youth. Communities across Maine and all of America are brimming with young people making a positive difference. I see it everywhere, and it reaffirms my faith in our next generation of leaders and in our country’s future.
