On Wednesday night May 25, eleven students competed in the final round to win a donation for the charity of their choice through the Youth Empowered through Service (YES) program.
YES is a partnership between the Mariposa Museum and the ConVal Social Studies Department. Every quarter, students research various charities. They explore their mission, research their cost structure and administrative overhead, and track their respective records in service delivery. The students then explore which of the charities is likely to benefit the most from the fixed amount of money — $3,000 — that they are competing for.
Student presenters compete against each other for a spot in the finals which is held annually in May before a panel of judges. This year, the finalists were Ivy Battaglia, , Emma Brown, Chris Charbonneau, Anthony Clark, Hannah Garfinkle, Arielle Garner, Bailey Guinn, Maryssa Williams, and Taryn Wing. As judges this year served:
- Steve Bartsch, Dean of Students at ConVal Regional High School;
- Gina Goff, Director of Community Involvement, C & S Wholesale Grocers, Keene; and
- Warren R. Muir, Senior Fellow, Granite Research Institute, and Founder of the Cyprus Friendship Project.
The winning student team consisted of Delaney Beaudoin and Anna Lyons. Their presentation was in support of the Amara Legal Center, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping people victimized by the sex trafficking industry in the Washington, D.C. Metro area. On behalf of the team, Beaudoin and Lyons accepted the winning check from Mariposa Museum Director Karla Hostetler.
