Violet Richardson Award 2007
Kellie Kawaguchi
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 Soroptimist
International of Huntington Beach is very pleased to
announce Kellie Kawaguchi as its selection as the Violet
Richardson Award Honoring Young Women for Volunteer Action.
While most high school freshmen have enough to worry about
in adjusting to high school, Kellie has been working to make
a difference in her Huntington Beach community, in the
nation benefiting Hurricane Katrina victims, and in the
world to troops in Iraq.
Kellie has accumulated more than 300 community service
hours, an accomplishment achieved by only a few adults, but
by very few 15 year olds.
Locally, Kellie has volunteered her time to assist the
Huntington Beach Library for two summers, the National Down
Syndrome Society, Orange Coast Memorial Hospital, the
Huntington Beach Art Center and Adult Day Services of Orange
County. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast,
Kellie organized a school-wide fundraiser and raised over
$5,000 for the hurricane victims. She then asked Sport
Chalet to match the donations and ultimately donated over
$10,000 to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina
relief efforts!
Kellie organized designed and gathered 8,000 Valentine
messages of support to the troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar
through her “Butterfly Initiative”
project when she was only in 7th grade. Kellie believes, as
she stated so clearly in her 8th grade graduation speech,
“that each of us can make a difference, either individually
or as a group. Every single person can make a difference.”
The SIHB committee reviewing Violet Richardson candidates
found Kellie to be inspirational, motivated and “a real
go-getter!”
The Violet Richardson award is to honor and encourage a
young community volunteer. Kellie’s dedicated service and
desire to make a difference in our community and around the
world is to be commended and honored. Kellie’s initiative
and hard work epitomizes the spirit of the Violet Richardson
award.
The award from Soroptimist International of Huntington Beach
is $1,000 and a book dedicated in Kellie’s name given to the
Huntington Beach Children’s Library. SIHB will also be
forwarding her application to the Desert Coast District of
Soroptimist International for district-wide consideration,
where they will select a young volunteer nominee for
regional and national Violet Richardson Award consideration.
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