William James Middle School Student Ava Mincey has quite the accolade to share.
The sixth-grade student has been selected as one of two Georgia recipients of the national Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for 2021, due to her extensive community service with the Alzheimer’s Association and its Walk to End Alzheimers.
Known as Ava’s Lemonade, she dedicates this effort to her late great-grandmother, Daisy Littles, for whom her fundraising team is also named. Besides these initiatives, she also advocates for personal devices for caregivers that alert them to the exact location of their Alzheimer’s patients.
“I feel like if she was still here today that she would support me more than anybody else,” said Mincey, referring to her great-grandmother.
She’s also eligible to win an award from the President of the United States thanks to her efforts. We’ll learn more about that as summer approaches.
From Bulloch County Schools:
Mincey was officially notified of the honors on Feb. 5, when she and her family received a letter from Prudential. Over 21,000 students applied or were nominated, and only 102 state honorees in the nation were chosen. Nominated by her principal, Julie Mizell, Mincey will receive a $2,500 scholarship, an engraved silver medallion and a virtual celebration with the nation’s other recipients.
Annually each state and the District of Columbia (D.C.) choose two honorees, one from middle school and one from high school. Mincey was selected as Georgia’s top middle school level youth volunteer. Kruthik Ravikanti, a senior at Alpharetta High School is the state’s other recipient.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Award honorees are chosen based on their service initiatives, their impact and effort, and personal growth over the course of the project they conduct. Mincey has raised over $2,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association through online contributions to her Walk to End Alzheimer’s team and by selling lemonade throughout Statesboro and surrounding counties.
Mincey’s community service has become a family affair. Her two brothers and parents often help her with the lemonade stand. Her father even helped her create the lemonade recipe she now sells. She has expanded the stand to include a variety of juices made from fresh fruits such as pineapples, peaches, strawberries, and raspberries.
“I think Ava has affected the community in such a positive way,” said her mother, Yolanda Mincey. “Through her volunteer efforts, she has met many amazing people that have encouraged her. She loves helping others on a daily basis.”
