Stratford Students Receive Presidential Volunteer Achievement Awards

Press Release

Sterling House Community Center is honored to recognize 15 youths for providing 2,520 hours of volunteer service this year to the Sterling House Community Center. According to Independent Sector, the value of volunteer time per hour in Connecticut is $26.43, which would translate to $66,603 in volunteer time donated by these students. An award ceremony was held on Saturday, October 18 at Sterling House.

The students that were recognized are Mackenzie Bakos, Josh Brown, Roula Kouvatas, Megan Peterlin, Meghan Reynolds, Seira Siriwardene, Daniel Slosser, Kaya Wells, Megan White, Dasia Clemons, Mark Senello, Emily Winter, Christopher Brown, Abigail Granton, and Kara Pepper.

Each student received the Presidential Volunteer Student Achievement Award which includes a presidential certificate and a special letter of recognition signed by President Barack Obama.

To be eligible for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award through Sterling House, each young person must provide at least 100 hours of community service between September of 2013 and August 2014. Students participated in positive youth development programs, such as “Sterling Teens Recognizing Opportunities Benefiting Everyone” (S.T.R.O.B.E. is Sterling House’s Youth Group), Smart Buddies, Summer of Service and the summer day camp Junior Counselor program. All of these programs fall under the Youth in the Community umbrella of programs provided at the Sterling House Community Center.

Positive recognition reinforces strong social and developmental assets. The 2011 Profile of Youth in Greater Bridgeport published by RYASAP found that recognition of positive behavior helps young adults develop essential skills of empowerment, service to the community, building a sense of purpose, building positive relationships and integrity. These volunteer activities promote and enrich the core of the developmental needs such as commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity.

For more information about Sterling House volunteer programs and opportunities, please contact Bob Wargo at (203) 378-2606 or rwargo@sterlinghousecc.org. For information about the Presidential Volunteer Service Awards, please visit www.presidentialserviceawards.gov. For more information about RYASAP’s programs for youth development, please visit. http://www.ryasap.org .

Pictured: Front row, from left to right: Seira Siriwardene, Mark Sennello, Mackenzie Bakos, Abi Granton, Roula Kouvatas, and Kaya Wells.Back (L to R): Chris Brown, Dan Slosser, Josh Brown, Kara Pepper, and Meghan Reynolds.

Sterling House is a multi-service community center located in the heart of Stratford, CT. Sterling House services more than 13,000 children, teenagers and adults per year by providing child development services, community services, positive youth development services and adult programs to the residents of Stratford and the Greater Bridgeport area. The mission of Sterling House is to foster the physical, social, emotional, artistic and intellectual growth of the communities we serve.