For her ongoing work on behalf of the environment, Enumclaw’s Sophia DeMarco was among six teenagers from across the country honored with the DHL Youth Volunteer Fellowship Award.
The Fellowship, according to its sponsors, “recognizes exceptional young Americans who are moving the needle on some of today’s pressing social issues through transformative actions that create lasting impact.”
As one of the six teens honored, DeMarco recently returned from a culturally-immersive trip to Ecuador, where they met with like-minded youth. She worked on building a water tower to provide clean, potable water for one community, while helping with construction of a high school in another town.
The six winners have received invitations to attend one of the WE events taking place across America in 2019; are invited to attend a leadership session with senior members of DHL and WE to learn firsthand from accomplished social leaders; and will receive mentorship from a WE leadership member, who will provide one-on-one support to ensure recipients have the tools and support necessary to bring their action plans to life.
DeMarco has active at the school level to promote planet-friendly efforts. A news release explained her efforts this way:
“Sophia DeMarco takes action on a number of community-level and global-minded issues but has helped make a visible difference in her community when it comes to preserving the environment. Through her participation in her school’s student council, Sophia quickly created a county-recognized recycling program that has reduced her school’s waste by 70 percent and saved over 200,000 water bottles. Sophia got her school involved through countless classroom presentations and the creation of informational videos; she even visited neighboring elementary schools, inspiring them to start their own recycling programs.”
DeMarco’s fellow winners included Pablo Ramirez, 16, from McAllen, Texas; Mari Young, 18, from Lincolnshire, Illinois; Hannah Yanover, 15, from Los Angeles, California; Ryan Keller, 15, from Plymouth, Minnesota; and Izzie Segal, 14, from Lincolnshire, Illinois.
Program sponsors are DHL, the world’s leading international express services provider, and WE, a family of organizations aimed at educating and empowering young people to perform good deeds throughout the world.
