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The Rotary Club of Westwood and Westwood Youth and Family Services (WY&FS) proudly announce the recipients of the 2016 Recognize A Youth (R.A.Y.) Award.
Five Westwood High School students were honored at a Rotary Club Luncheon on June 7 for their initiative and commitment to community service. The recipients through their actions have demonstrated an ethic of caring for others that is essential for the health of our community.
This year’s honorees were Marisa Blum, William Collins, Courtney Cronin, Emily Dukeman and Caroline Fitzgerald.
Marisa and William attend Westwood High School and are in the transition program, which serves young adults with special needs and helps prepare them for life after graduation. Through this program they began volunteering at the Westwood Food Pantry. They were an important part of the Pantry’s initiative to provide essential provisions to the families that were living in the Budget Inn.
They were nominated for a R.A.Y. Award by Trish Tucke, Food Pantry Director, who reports the program would not have been a success without the help of these two young adults. Marisa and William also volunteer at Town Hall, the Recreation Department and the main office of the high school.
Courtney, Emily and Caroline, Westwood High School Juniors, were honored for their volunteer work at Saint Margaret Mary Parish.
The girls spent their short Wednesdays teaching CCD to a group of fourth graders, as well as assisting at the church’s summer bible camp for the last five summers. The girls were nominated by Pamela Dukeman. Karlene Duffy, the religious education director at the church states that the girls set a fine example for the younger children at the church and they are loved by their students.
At the luncheon, the honorees celebrated their accomplishments with their families and those that nominated them. They also received certificates of appreciation from Westwood Youth & Family Services and the Rotary Club of Westwood.
The Rotary Club of Westwood is a group of business men and women that meet weekly for lunch at the Holiday Inn in Dedham on Tuesdays from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Rotary focuses its service efforts in six areas; promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economics.
The club supports the R.A.Y. program as a way to encourage and recognize the community service performed by the youth in Westwood.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Westwood, visit www.westwoodrotary.com.
Nominations for the award are accepted year-round. For more information on the program and a nomination form, visit the WY&FS page at www.townhall.westwood.ma.us.
