Shaugnessy Lambert, left, received the 2018-2019 Westfield Kiwanis Club Good Citizen Award from club president Kellie Brown. The club is encouraging high school students in Westfield and Southwick to apply for the 2019-2020 awards. (KIWANIS CLUB PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – The Westfield Kiwanis Club is asking for help in finding four deserving high school students to receive the club’s 2020 “Good Citizen” awards.
In a normal year, the club depends on guidance counselors at Westfield High School, Westfield Technical Academy, St. Mary High School and Southwick-Tolland Regional High School to get the word out about the Good Citizen awards, one of the oldest continuously-presented student awards in Western Massachusetts. The awards have been an institution in Westfield since the 1940s, according to Westfield Kiwanis Club President Frank Sposito.
This year, with schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club must rely on the media, and social media, to encourage students to apply for the awards, Sposito said. The honor will be given to one student at each of the four schools this spring. The honor includes a $500 cash prize.
Sposito emphasized that the Good Citizen award is not considered a scholarship and is presented directly to the student in recognition of the student’s demonstrated record of community service. He encouraged students who have engaged in volunteer service to download an application from the Kiwanis Club’s web site, www.westfieldkiwanis.org. Completed applications can be either mailed to the club at P.O. Box 773, Westfield, MA 01086-0773, or scanned and e-mailed to club secretary Geana Delisle at [email protected].
Sposito said that because the club is concerned that many eligible students may not be made aware of the awards because schools are currently closed, Kiwanis is reaching out to local media and on Facebook to students and their families. He said the awards will be made in May, and urged anyone who may know an eligible student to share information about the program.
The deadline for applications is April 15, Sposito said.
