ANNOUNCEMENTS Quality of Life Awards presented to local youth

It is with great pleasure that the Youth Task Force of the McDonough County Quality of Life Advisory Committee would like to announce their annual Youth Awards to:

From Macomb High School: Kathryn Killian-Johnson, Samantha Johnson, Celena Mangalaraj

From West Prairie High School: Madison Richmond, Macy Branch, Megan DeWeese, Skylar Hunt, Eirlyne McCurdy, Auslynn Thrapp, Taylor Phelps, Madelynn Sullivan

The Youth Advisory Committee annually recognizes youth in McDonough County that have been nominated by our citizens who have excelled and/or demonstrated an act of excellence to improve the Quality of Life in McDonough County through community service They were all recognized for excelling and demonstrating an act of excellence to improve the Quality of Life in McDonough County through service to the community

The West Prairie HS students were nominated for the following acts:

Raising money through a bake sale to buy Angel Tree gifts for children in need;

Making homemade dog toys out of old shirts and hand delivering them to the McDonough County Humane Society;

Putting together "care bags" with hygiene products and personal products for the school counselor and social worker to distribute to students in need;

Creating Valentine's buddy bags for 40 kindergarten students; C

Kathryn Killian-Johnson was nominated numerous times for raising money to pay off overdue lunch money accounts at school, volunteering at the Macomb Arts Center, and raising money for a mental health speaker at the high school.

Samantha Johnson was nominated for organizing to clean up of Argyle State Park and Blandinsville Park. She was also involved with a backpack program food drive, pet food drive, and other acts

Celena Mangalaraj was nominated for her involvement with the 4-H Macomb Bots robotics SPIN Club and the Macomb Youth Leadership Organization. She demonstrates an incredible willingness to advocate for those who don’t have a voice and articulates the struggles and needs effectively to her peers.

Nominations for these awards are opened every Spring for students in grades kindergarten through high school. Teachers, pastors, or any volunteer youth leader is eligible to submit a nomination at that time Thank you to the teachers, school counselors and non-profit organizations who recognized the contributions of these students to the local community.

The Youth Task Force of the McDonough County Quality of Life Advisory Committee wants to congratulate this year’s award winners for serving as role models for other young people who can learn from their leadership. They are all wonderful examples of improving the Quality of Life in our County through service to our community