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Respect is alive and well among the young people of Davie County.
So is community service.
The Davie Respect Initiation celebration for the first quarter awardees was held at Bermuda Run Town Hall with Mayor Mike Brannon officiating.
“The work coming from Davie Respect Initiative creates a tiny spark of positive energy when you find young people in our community doing good things through their projects,” Brannon said. “That spark grows to become an even brighter positive force for other youth (and adults) to see what good things can come from ideas founded in respect for others.”
The Davie Respect Initiative (DRI) is a challenge for young people 12-21 to come up with and implement an idea that increases the amount of expressed respect in Davie County.
Emma Martin is a freshman at Davie County High School and she has taken her passion for sewing and turned it into a Respect Project.
In eighth grade, Emma learned to sew and the first thing she learned to make was a pillow. Before she knew it, she had made more than 200 pillows of all shapes and sizes.
After supplying her family with pillows including her twin brothers who received pillows for their stuffed animals, Emma came up with an idea: it would be nice if kids who didn’t have stuffed animals could have something comforting.
Her thought was to give a pillow to children entering the foster care system – something soft and cuddly that would be theirs. Emma’s mother connected her with Blue Door Restore, a place where foster families can shop for clothing, toys and more. Blue Door has asked Emma to learn to sew bags for the children to use while shopping or to carry their belongings.
Emma wrote in her application: “Your hobby can make a difference in someone else’s life.” What a difference Emma is making in the lives of children in foster care with her pillow project.
“A Piano with Purpose,” is the brainchild of Sean Lane, again using his love for alliteration to name his project.
Sean is a second time winner with his first project being “Cards for Kindness,” which involved creating positive hand-crafted pop up cards that were delivered to older adults who needed a little boost.
His latest idea involves the restoration of a piano, including painting and tuning, which will be put in a sheltered public location in downtown Mocksville. This will be a community piano that anyone can play at any time. Sean has the full support of the Town of Mocksville and he has had several offers for pianos and is excited to pick just the right one.
Sean has a love of music and like Emma, is turning his passion and hobby into a service. Sean not only is a two time Ambassador, but he has been a volunteer panelist for over two years.
“Becoming so involved with DRI has really fostered a mindset of improvement and community betterment in me and when I had this idea, combining a love for music with a love of spreading respect, I knew I had to see it through. Music is so powerful, it can connect people and really bring a community together.”
That is music to our ears and DRI wishes Sean all the best in locating this piano with a purpose.
In many ways Sean has been a huge asset to the Davie Respect Initiative. Not only has he been an active member of the selection panel, but Sean has been involved in or leading a multitude of DRI service projects including caroling at local nursing homes, bingo at Somerset Court, trash pickups and more. Sean is active in a number of clubs and school activities including Junior Civitan, Future Business Leaders of America, Red Cross, the school band and more. He will be attending UNC in the fall and hopes to be involved with nonprofit fundraising in his future.
Do you know a young person between 12-21 who has a good idea to bring out even more respect in Davie County? Nominate them or have them fill out an application at www.davierespect.com. Applications are reviewed by a volunteer selection panel. Up to three are selected each quarter to receive $1,000 for their idea or a project already in motion. Those selected become Ambassadors of Respect (AoR) for Davie County. All of the AoR’s have additional opportunities.