Needham Youth Services Presents...

Left to right: Needham Business Representative Samantha Sherman, Chief Development & External Relations Officer, BID Needham, Katie Mullen, February RAY Recipient, Katy Colthart, Clinician at Youth Services

February 2016 Recipient – Katie Mullen

Katie is a senior at Needham High School. She was nominated for her volunteer work with Needham Youth services VIP (Valuable Interaction among Peers) program. VIP is a peer mentoring program designed for high school students (Big VIPs) and elementary students (Little VIPs) to spend quality one-on-one time together.

Katie has been a “Big” to an elementary school student for the past four years. “We have built a strong relationship and I hope that I’ve had as big of an impact on their lives as they have had on mine”, Katie says about her little.

Katie has a passion for helping others, whether it is coordinating student government events, tutoring in a special education classroom, or educating middle school students about refusal skills for substance abuse prevention. For the past four years she has been a member of Students Acting to Make a Difference (SAMD).Members of this high school club produce and perform in a show that raises approximately $8,000 annually for local and national charities.
Katie is also a member of an A Capella group in Needham High school called the Treble Rebels. This past year the Treble Rebels group raised nearly $10,000 towards cancer research for Relay for Life.

“All these activities have helped me to figure out that this is what I want to do with my life which is give back to my community. Balancing academics with involvement is a necessity to me because volunteering and being involved in my community gives my life purpose. Volunteering in the Needham Community has been the highlight of my high school experience,” says Katie.
Watch the ceremony honoring Katie at: https://youtu.be/hFI5tegeZnw

For more information please visit www.needhamma.gov/youth/ray