Avon Lake Student Receives Award For Outstanding Philanthropy

AVON LAKE, OH — An Avon Lake High student will receive the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award 2020.

Elisabeth Lendal, a senior at the high school, was named this year's award recipient by the Greater Cleveland Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals. She'll receive her award on Nov. 6.

Lendal is the youngest board member on the Avon/Avon Lake Community Resource Service (CRS). As a freshman, she became one of the youngest Girl Scouts in the nation to achieve the prestigious Gold Award, for a project which raised awareness of the CRS food bank.

For her project, she organized a community campaign to collect donations of 1,200 spice bottles for the food bank. She ten expanded her project by making a cookbook of "friends' favorite recipes" using items commonly available at the food bank. The 26-recipe book was donated to clients at CRS, along with spice bottles collected during the campaign.

Since the CRS began distributing her cookbook, 25 other nonprofits began offering Lendal's cookbook to clients.

In March, when coronavirus spread through Ohio, Lendal rallied the community and collected enough money to donate more than 450 hygiene and cleaning products to CRS. During her high school career, she has donated more than 3,500 hygiene products to the organization.

Lendal is also involved in a multitude of societies and groups at Avon Lake High. She's a member of student council, the French honor society, honor society and Pep Club. She remains involved in her Girl Scout troop and has participated in two, 10-day mission trips with her youth group. She helped building, roof and paint houses in Maine and New Orleans.

Also an avid athlete, Lendal plays varsity tennis and varsity lacrosse. She is the captain of both teams.