Student philanthropists awarded for improving their worlds
Abby Diuble
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is proud to announce the six nationwide winners of the prestigious “Power of Children” Awards. The honor recognizes and rewards students in grades 6–11 who are improving the lives of others through selfless commitment to service and the betterment of society.
Taking pages out of the headlines, young leaders are fighting to eradicate cultural intolerance, empower dyslexics, provide shoes to those without, and so much more. On Friday, Nov. 9, these remarkable young people will be honored during a special dinner and program at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis presented by the Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Trust. The award recipients will each receive a $2,000 grant from the Kroger Foundation to expand their philanthropic projects, and they may choose a partial university scholarship from Indiana University- Purdue University Indianapolis, the University of Indianapolis, or Butler University in Indianapolis.
Among the 2018 winners is Abigail Diuble of Manchester, for her WHIP (Warning Hearing-Impaired People) project. Following is a description of her project statement:
Abigail Diuble knows how precious life is. In a flash, she nearly lost her mother and hearing-impaired sister Lilly during a tornado. Lilly, who does not wear hearing aids to bed, was difficult to awaken as the storm bore down. Lilly and her mom made it to the basement stairway just as the twister destroyed their home. When the crisis passed, Abigail began researching alarm systems that help hearing- and visually-impaired people stay safe.
“It is my desire that all hearing- and visually-impaired people—especially children—will stay safe in emergencies by having an alarm system like the one I am providing,” said Abigail. She has raised more than $50,000 for her nonprofit WHIP (Warning Hearing-Impaired People) and has distributed many dozens of systems in her community. The systems have a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm attached to a bed-shaking device. They also include NOAA weather radios that help awaken hearing-impaired people, as well as LED strobe lights for the visually impaired.
Abigail will use her Power of Children Award money to purchase more alarm systems for children in need.
Abigail joins other recipients Caragan Olles of DePere, Wisconsin; Ella Comerford-Barnett of Indianapolis, Indiana; Ella West of Avon, Indiana; Olivia Russo-Hood of Deltona, Florida; and Peyton Klein of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Keynote Speaker for the event is Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. She is a professor, speaker, and author of four award-winning novels. Professor Shabazz promotes higher education for at-risk youth, interfaith dialogue to build bridges between cultures for young leaders of the world, and she participates in international humanitarian delegations.
The 2018 honorees will inspire and educate many more young people about the power of philanthropy when they participate in the Power of Children Symposium the day after receiving their awards. The special event at The Children’s Museum creates an opportunity for young people in grades 5–10 to understand and design ways in which they can make a difference in their world. The symposium will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018 and is free to the first 50 registered participants. For more information or to register, please contact Debbie Young at debbiey@childrensmuseum.org or at 317-334-4140.
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