Two Marietta Students Win Georgia Youth Leadership Award

21st Century Leaders, a Georgia-based non-profit youth leadership and talent development program, announces the top 20 youth leaders selected for the 8th annual Georgia Youth Leadership Awards to be held on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Since 2008, 21st Century Leader’s recognizes 20 outstanding high school students throughout Georgia who have made a significant impact on their schools, communities and beyond.

Thomas Gilbert, a senior at Johnson Ferry Christian Academy in Cobb County, has used his passion for the Performing Arts to help raise money for the Advocates for Children in Bartow County for the past five years. The Advocates for Children is a non-profit organization that deals with the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. The organization relies on local support for half of its annual budget. The “Every Child’s a Star” talent show has been the organization’s annual fundraiser for 22 years.

However, dwindling interest and a lack of leadership threatened to end the fundraiser and the financial support the organization needed to continue. Wanting to help and bring new ideas to the event, Thomas approached the CEO requesting permission to be the director, a position only reserved for adult volunteers. Under his leadership, Thomas implemented a Business Expo, a People’s Choice Award, and a tangible prize to the highest ticket sales winner, which created community interest, generated funds, and brought awareness to the Advocates’ organization.

The results showed in the bottom line, of which $11,160 was raised (twice the amount than the previous years), as well as the highest performer participation, audience attendance, and local business sponsorships in the event’s history. In addition, Thomas applied and received several grants like the “Leadership in Action” grant from the Georgia 4-H Foundation to ensure sustainability of the talent show for years to come.

Laura Zhang, a junior at Joseph Wheeler High School in Cobb County, is the co-founder and co- president of Wheeler Community Music Outreach Club, an organization that is dedicated to serving the community through music. Laura has a passion for community services and has been a longtime volunteer at assisted living homes. She feels that the elderly often do not receive enough attention from our society and she wants more students to be involved in serving this community.

She co-founded the Music Outreach club at Wheeler with an aim to bridge the gap between student music talents and their passion for community services. Under Laura’s leadership, the club went from 10 students to 50 members in just two years and served over 60 hours within the community. She has organized multiple performance events at senior homes, elementary schools, and special needs childcare centers.

Laura is also an accomplished pianist, winning numerous piano competitions. She was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in 2014.

The students will be honored at the Georgia Youth Leadership Awards on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at the College Football Hall of Fame. Through corporate sponsors, each youth leader will be presented with a $250 mini-grant, with one student awarded the Turner Voices Innovative Leadership Award – the event’s top award which includes a $1,000 mini-grant from Turner Broadcasting.