Rachel LeBarron, Guidance Counselor Richard White, and Chloe Otterbeck. (Photo submitted)
HUNTINGTON – Rachel R. LeBarron and Chloe Otterbeck, both students at Gateway Regional Jr. High School, received John F. Kennedy Make a Difference Awards at a ceremony at the Kennedy Library on Tuesday, April 9. The two were among 100 students in grades 6-8 across the state to be honored.
LeBarron said that attending the awards ceremony had been very interesting. “I liked hearing what other students had done, and how much money they raised for good causes,” she said. “It was very inspirational. It made me want to do even more.”
LeBarron was nominated for a community coat drive she completed last fall, where she collected 85 warm coats and jackets for families in need in the Gateway hilltowns. Working with the Gateway Family Center, LeBarron set up collection boxes at her school, the family center, Hilltown Community Health Centers, and her family’s church in Russell. She created flyers and posted them throughout the hilltowns to let area residents know about the coat drive. She was so thrilled with the outcome that she plans to repeat the project next year.
“It was nerve wracking, but very exciting!” said Otterbeck. “I’m pretty surprised.”
Otterbeck was nominated for volunteer work that she and her siblings did to rescue abandoned dogs that had shown up near her home. The children turned the dogs over to the care of Cedar Hill Kennels for a two-month recuperation period. In addition to walking the dogs every day, they used posters, collection cans and a digital presentation to share the dogs’ story throughout the community, in order to raise money to pay for shots, food and other care for the dogs. When they were well enough, the family adopted one of the dogs and found a home for the second. When a Chester resident found a litter of abandoned puppies while hiking last fall, he contacted the Otterbeck siblings for help in finding them homes. The children received the Dakin Youth Award from the Dakin Humane Society last October for their rescue work. Otterbeck has also been working to establish a student Chapter of the American Red Cross at her school, and offer a babysitting course to interested students. Still, Otterbeck is surprised at the attention. “I just thought of it as a simple, quiet project we were doing to help the dogs. It grew into a bigger thing.”
“President Kennedy believed that every person can make a difference and each of us should try” said Library Director Tom Putnam. “These students are an inspiring example of JFK’s timeless call to service.”
Guidance Counselor Richard White nominated the two students for the award, and accompanied them to the Kennedy Library in Boston last week for the ceremony. The award recognizes 100 students from Massachusetts in grades 6-8 for the difference they have made in their communities through service projects.
Special guest speakers at the ceremony included Massachusetts State Treasurer Steve Grossman and Mark Reilly, Comcast Senior Vice President for Government and Regulatory Relations.
The John F. Kennedy Make a Difference Award™ program is sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported, in part, by the Kennedy Library Foundation, a non-profit organization. The John F. Kennedy Make a Difference Award™ program is made possible with generous support from Comcast.
LeBarron is the daughter of Susan and Adam LeBarron, and is in the eighth grade. Otterbeck is the daughter of Martha and Brian Otterbeck, and is a seventh grade student. Both girls attend Gateway Regional Junior High. They are the first Gateway students to win this award.
