One of the city’s most celebrated youth volunteers has just been given further validation of her humanitarian efforts.
Katie Fitzgerald was recently recognized as a Young Achiever of the Year by the International Leadership Network. She was one of 28 students to be so nominated and one of three to win the recognition. She was also the only Canadian on the list. The award comes with a $500 prize that was presented to her last weekend by Thomas Eichhorst, the executive director of the organization.
“It’s not about the money at all, or anything like that. That’s not why I volunteer,” Fitzgerald said. “I volunteer to give back. It’s just a cool plus to be getting these awards and getting recognized for it. It’s such a big honour.”
The network is a non-profit organization based out of Missouri. Its mission is to develop programs that empower young people to succeed. A young achiever is any student in grades 5 through 10 who is a positive role model, a good citizen in her or his school and community, and does well academically.
Fitzgerald is known for her outstanding and extensive volunteer commitments that cover social service, animal aid, the environment, community groups and sporting events. She is one of four lead members of the youth volunteer promotional crew called Soaring. She is also well known as a competitive athlete and multi-talented artist and musician.
This has been a stellar year for the Paul Kane student. She was also given the Leader of Tomorrow Award (13 to 15) from the Community Information and Volunteer Centre back in May. She also received the United Nations International Women’s Day Award, for which the sponsoring St. Albert Bahá’Ä‚Â called her a “youth activist and volunteer extraordinaire.” The Rotary Club of St. Albert also honoured her work for service above self.
Last year, she received the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.
For more information about the network and its programs, visit www.ilnleadnet.com.
