Anoka High School junior Abbigail Sullivan earns President's Volunteer Service Award
Anoka High School (AHS) junior Abbigail Sullivan has earned quite the honor: the President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA).
Sullivan earned the award for her volunteer service through the creation of the Crooked Lake Kindness Project.
Instead of placing the focus on eliminating negative behaviors, as is done in more traditional anti-bullying programs, the Crooked Lake Kindness Project emphasizes positive behaviors through encouraging and nurturing a culture of kindness.
The project is based on peer-recognition where students and teachers are asked to watch for student acts of kindness throughout Crooked Lake Elementary School. Names of those recognized are then collected, and each week those students are able to participate in a fun team building event, focusing on the importance of kindness.
Crooked Lake Elementary School staff and teachers feel the program has been beneficial to the school.
“Abbi’s efforts were inspiring to our students and staff, and it definitely made an impact on our school,” said Crooked Lake Principal Sam Anderson.
Sullivan measured the success of the program by distributing a survey to students and teachers. “Feedback from everyone was unanimous – the program was extremely successful,” she said.
She counted the acts of recorded kindness, and how many students participated in the weekly team building event. “In the beginning of the year, we would have 15 students attend. As we built momentum, we had 30 or more students attend each week,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan believes that her years spent at Anoka-Hennepin schools have provided the foundation to help see her project come to life.
“This project wouldn’t have been possible without the wonderful support, encouragement and advisement of Julie Bowman. She was my fifth-grade teacher when I attended Crooked Lake. She was an inspiration to me at a young age, and continues to be so today,” said Sullivan.
She also received support and encouragement from Principal Anderson, as well from Mike Farley, principal at AHS.
“Mr. Farley has especially taught me through his daily example the importance of creating a culture of kindness, and the powerfully positive impact that can happen within a community,” said Sullivan.
(Pictured to the right: Kindness Wall on display at Crooked Lake Elementary. This was the first thing parents saw when they picked up their students. The wall included kindness coupons that students received, as well as student artwork showing acts of kindness).
The PVSA, granted through The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of time to serve their communities and their country.
“Volunteer activities were judged on criteria including personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth,” said Katie Bruck, AHS school counselor.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is sponsored by Prudential Financial, in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), and is recognizes middle and high school students across America for outstanding volunteer service. For more information on PVSA and how to get involved, visit presidentialserviceawards.gov/the-award.