From Jocelyn Sikorski, executive director, Genesee County Youth Bureau:
The City of Batavia and Genesee County Youth Boards hold a Youth Recognition Banquet annually to recognize those youth and adults who continuously go above and beyond for our community. The Youth Recognition Awards are presented to youth who are positive role models, have performed outstanding service for their community, and/or have assumed extraordinary roles within their families.
The Adult Youth Worker Award is presented to a paid professional who emulates dedication and service to youth and families above and beyond their paid position. The Adult Volunteer Award honors an individual who is a role model for the youth of today and gives of themselves to better the life of children.
Even though the banquet scheduled to take place this spring was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Youth Boards wanted to share and celebrate these individuals.
We would like to recognize the 20 youth and two adults who would have had a night to celebrate their contributions with their nominators, family and friends by sharing a brief bio about each of them and why they were selected by the boards to receive the awards in 2020.
They are all in receipt of their awards at this time, which include Commendations from Genesee County Legislature, City Council, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, and Senator Michael Ranzenhofer. They also received T-shirts and a certificate from the two Youth Boards.
The City and County Youth Boards congratulate all our 2020 recipients and thank you for your commitment and service to our youth and community!
This year’s recipients of the Youth Recognition Awards are:
Amanda Bergman, 17, of Notre Dame High School has exceeded all expectations in regards to community service. She has contributed time to many organizations such as Challenger Sports, Interact Club, The Diocesan Youth Board, Stone’s Buddies and Crossroads House. During her work setting up events at her parish and working at the Crossroads House garage sale, Amanda has had many intergenerational conversations full of insight and advice.
Justine Bloom, 17, of Byron-Bergen Central School, proactively participated in starting the Alliance for Equality Club, a club devoted to supporting the LGBTQ+ youth in her school and community. She went above and beyond with researching regulations and using proper delegation and chains of command to start the club. Justine holds many roles in Alliance for Equality, including cofounder, vice president and treasurer. Justine is also a member of GLOW OUT, an organization in Genesee County that provides education and awareness around the LGBTQ+ community.
Shannon Breton, 16, of Alexander Central School, babysits during Parent-Teacher Association meetings and volunteers her time with the Big Buddy program, where she goes to the elementary building for 80 minutes every four days to mentor younger students. On top of her involvement in Student Council, Gay Straight Alliance and National Honor Society, she volunteers outside of school at the Salvation Army. Shannon has volunteered at steak dinners, Thanksgiving dinners and a shoe drive.
Sydney Brown, 17, of Byron-Bergen Central School, has performed incredible community service for Genesee County by serving as a volunteer firefighter with the Elba Volunteer Fire Department, where she participated in 61 calls during 2019. She has recorded 87 state training hours as well. She is constantly seeking further training and has set a goal to become an EMT while continuing her work with the fire service.
Emily Cerefin, 15, of Alexander Central School, has been volunteering her time to Challenger Sports since sixth grade. She helps participants play basketball, baseball and with swimming. Emily is also an integral part of the school’s SADD/Donate Life Club. She was planning Donate Life week, including a poster series and event to educate students and the community about the effects of drugs and alcohol. Emily has also started training for Purple Pony, an organization that provides individuals with special needs the opportunity to horseback ride.
Elizabeth Clark, 15, of Batavia High School, has been volunteering four to six hours a week of her time at All Babies Cherished for approximately a year and a half. As a current 10th-grade student, she has already exceeded her graduation volunteer hours requirements. Elizabeth also volunteers for Meals on Wheels, Care-A-Van and for the Town Clerk of Ashford where she helps envelope tax slips and sorts them by numerical order. Elizabeth is a member of Z-Club at her school and has volunteered her time at the Zonta Holiday Festival and Jackson Primary Open House.
Ally Flint, 17, of Le Roy Jr./Sr. High School, is a member of Rotary Interact and this year her group is working on a Butterfly Effect project and raising money to donate to support youth sports programs for underprivileged youth in the community. Ally regularly serves and prepares meals at her local community kitchen. She also provides company to the residents at the Le Roy Village Green where she plays card games and does puzzles with them. She is also a peer counselor to a group of seventh-grade students.
Tate Fonda, 16, of Batavia High School, has volunteered in many capacities on behalf of Zonta Club. She joined as a freshman and immediately jumped into leadership roles. The club as a whole depends on Tate as a dynamic member who helps with organization and brings new ideas to the group. In addition to Z-Club, Tate is active with many other school organizations such as Student Government, Model UN, Mock Trial and National Honor Society.
Luke Geiger, 15, of Batavia High School, is a selfless young man who volunteers at many organizations, including the United Methodist Church, John Kennedy School and his own school. He has built horseshoe pits at his church, volunteered at multiple spaghetti dinners at John Kennedy School, and conducted a flag ceremony to helps raise funds for youth who would otherwise not be able to attend summer camp. Luke is also conducting an Eagle Scout project that consists of raising funds and supervising and participating with other scouts to build a hiking trail behind Northgate Free Methodist Church.
Sally LaDuke, 15, of Alexander Central School, has played an extraordinary role in the adjustment and transition of her younger siblings from developing countries into her family. Sally intrinsically knows and demonstrates an amazing array of nurturing techniques that help and guide her siblings. She is skillful at reading their nonverbal cues and is able to redirect, sidetrack, add humor and otherwise discretely help her siblings to regroup.
Julie Muntz, 16, of Oakfield-Alabama Central School, is involved in the Youth Court program where she does exceptionally well in her role as defense attorney. Julie went to Albany this past February on behalf of the Youth Bureau to help advocate for funding and speak about how the Youth Bureau programs have made such a positive impact on her. At school, Julie takes on a big role in Link Crew, which is an organization that mentors freshman. Julie rearranged her academic schedule to tutor a student who was struggling academically.
Eva Rhoads, 16, homeschooled, has volunteered at Purple Pony for the last two years. Purple Pony is a program that provides individuals with disabilities the opportunity to benefit from interacting with horses. Eva began her volunteer work as a side walker, keeping the riders safe and engaged. She quickly progressed to leading horses, which involves monitoring the horse’s demeanor to ensure the horse is calm and the rider is safe. Volunteers are a vital part of the Purple Pony program, as it is 100-percent volunteer based.
Kelsey Schlagenhauf, 16, of Oakfield-Alabama Central School, has far exceeded the expectation of her Advanced Placement English project. Kelsey chose to hold a Christmas Toy Drive to allow less fortunate families from our community to “shop” free of charge. After much hard work, organization and advertising, she turned her school cafeteria into a winter wonderland with 500 new and gently used toys that helped 25 families. Kelsey warmed the hearts of many and brought Christmas to families who may not have had a Christmas without her hard work and dedication.
Donovan Sherman, 17, of Elba Central School,is an integral part of a student-led club called 2impact (To Influence My Peers as a Christian Teen). This group was required to be student led and he stepped up to the plate. Donovan led a project to reach out to a family in dire need of encouragement as that family’s father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Posters were placed around the school asking to write notes of encouragement and kindness. The notes and a gift card were placed in a box and delivered to the family by Donovan.
Madaline Spencer, 19, of Notre Dame High School, has volunteered many hours for the past two years at Vacation Bible School. In Madaline’s first year, she was an assistant group leader where she was partially in charge of a group of students. In her second year, she was promoted to leader for the activities station where she was responsible for teaching and supervising students. Over the past five years, she has also volunteered her time at multiple churches and The Salvation Army.
Montana Weidman, 18, of Notre Dame High School volunteers because she enjoys serving her community and bringing joy to the people around her. She utilizes her talents in sports and in working with people with special needs by doing partner work with special needs athletes with Genesee ARC. Every year, Montana volunteers time to the Annual Special Olympics by directing individuals to starting lines, completing paperwork and sometimes even running races with participants. She also spends time volunteering at the St. Joseph’s Penny Carnival, Tri County Flag Football, and Challenger Basketball.
Lily Whiting, 17, of Batavia High School, spent her summer volunteering at GO ART!’s Summer Creative Arts Camp where students explore “all things artistic.” Lily is a peer leader for Source of Strength, a school program that raises awareness of suicide and combatting negative triggers. Lily has also volunteered in the community on behalf of the club at the Veteran’s Home. Lily is involved in band, chorus, orchestra, and school musicals.
Isabella Wilder, 17, of Byron-Bergen Central School, brought the idea of starting a Gay Straight Alliance club to her school; she is currently the President of the club, Alliance for Equality. Isabella has assisted in school wide events, such as club fair, and participated in community events that bring local schools together to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride and awareness. Isabella is also involved with GLOW OUT, a GLOW region organization that helps provide the same pride and awareness at the community level. Isabella is also involved in music, volunteering at Girls Rock! And Queer Rock! in Rochester.
Rachael Wight, 14, of Oakfield-Alabama Central School, has been a positive member of her community for many years. Rachael has been in many leadership positions, to include Spanish Club at her school, her church’s AWANA program, and the WNY Perinatal Bereavement Network. At her church, she has helped with Communion preparation, the church nursery and in the kitchen. She has also participated in ARC dance, Girl Scouts and marching band. For the ARC Dance, she was awarded the Lakin Pearce Award for helping with dance classes.
Maxwell Whalen, 15, of Pavilion Central School, volunteers for the youth soccer program as a referee. He goes above and beyond to help the elementary students understand his calls and learn the game. Max is also active with Future Farmers of America and volunteers many hours to promote leadership and agriculture in his community. Most recently Max traveled to Albany to meet with state senators and Assembly members to discuss the importance of agriculture education in New York. Max also volunteers his time to Genesee County Youth Court.
Maria Casper, recipient of the 2020 Adult Youth Worker Award, has been an employee at Elba Central School for the past 18 years. Casper is one of the founders of Elba School’s Threads & More store, where students can shop for new and gently used clothing, shoes, and outerwear, personal hygiene items, and school supplies. Casper was instrumental in putting the store together, from installing shelves, painting the room, organizing supplies and letting students shop privately. Aside from the store, Casper goes above and beyond to support students so they have the opportunity to be a kid. Faculty at Elba School recently joined together to purchase tickets for a student who the school thought would enjoy seeing a musical in Buffalo. The student was thrilled to be given the opportunity; however, faculty soon learned that the student did not have transportation to the event. Casper stepped in and graciously provided transportation and lunch for the student. Casper is the type of employee who wants all children to feel loved and special and that is exactly what she does.
Michael Wilson, recipient of the 2020 Adult Volunteer Award, is employed with Pembroke Jr./Sr. High School. Aside from his employment, the volunteer work he does for the students and community of Pembroke is nothing short of a miracle. For the past nine years, Wilson has led the Shooting for a Cure event at the school. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research at Roswell Park in Buffalo. This event was started to benefit Toni Funke, the varsity basketball coach’s wife. Wilson has spent numerous hours seeking donations from local businesses and community members by writing letters and making phone calls on behalf of the event. What is truly inspiring to see is how Wilson’s students get involved in participating in the event; giving back is not only something that he teaches, but models for his students. He has also led a trip for the girls’ basketball team to deliver the check from the fundraiser directly to Roswell Park to see firsthand the impact they are making. Shooting for a Cure has raised more than $120,000 for Roswell Park, all of which is directly attributed to the efforts and selflessness of Wilson.
