Four High School Students were recognized by Violet Richardson Award in 2021

The Violet Richardson Award recognizes young women in high schools between ages 14 and 18 who make the community and world a better place through volunteer efforts.

This year, Violet Richardson Award Committee had received 49 valid applications from high school students in Vancouver and Richmond.

Reported by Ching, the Violet Richardson Award Committee, “We thought that we might receive only around 10 applications this year due to COVID pandemic, which caused less opportunities for students to volunteer in the community. However, we found that many applicants had not just volunteered for non-profit organizations, but also started up their own initiatives to help and support the people they found in need.”

Sheila Carter, Lisa Shen and Amaara Dhanji were invited to be judges this year. They had carefully evaluated each of the 49 applications. All applicants were excellent, and three judges finalized four students to be awarded this year:

1st Place: Aishwarya Heran – “The Prince of Wales Secondary School Feminism Club” & “Daily Feminist” – $350 award

2nd Place: Rachel Dong – “Ocean Wise” & “Kitchen on a Mission” – $300 award

3rd Place: Isabel Huang – “Dare to Care” & “Youth-to-Youth Wellness Initiative” – $250 award

3rd Place: Riea Singh – “Here4Peers” & “Because the Youth Cares” – $250 award

Due to Covid restrictions, there was a simple award ceremony held at the Prince of Wales Secondary School in Vancouver. Photos can be found here.

Four award recipients had also been interviewed in the latest episode of SI Vancouver’s “Dream It Be It Podcast for Career Mentorship Program for High School Girls” to talk about their volunteer works and how their volunteer experiences impact their life and career choices, and what their ways are to manage through the pandemic.