State Honoree

Chasity Barbett, 13, an eighth-grader at Kramer Middle School, volunteered full-time last summer as a counselor at a camp for disadvantaged children funded by the Metropolitan Police Department. Chasity was recommended for the position based on her sense of responsibility, and decided it would be a fun and meaningful way to spend the summer. "I felt that it was important that I volunteer so that I would be a better person in life," she said. In addition, she said, "I wanted to help kids with things such as discipline, self-awareness and academic growth."

Chasity worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday at the camp, guiding and organizing a group of 6-year-olds in educational, social, and leisure activities, including field trips to amusement parks and museums. She made sure that the kids were safe and orderly at all times, and that they ate all of their breakfasts and lunches each day. She also taught them manners, self-respect, and academic skills. "The most difficult part of this job was to have to keep taking these kids back and forth to the bathroom," said Chasity. "These kids always had to use the bathroom!"