The Kiwanis Club of Alameda honored nine exceptional eighth graders at its 27th Annual Hope of America Awards luncheon on March 12. The students, their teachers, and their families attended the event at the Elks Lodge in Alameda, with a total of 72 people present to celebrate.
Vice Mayor Michele Pryor and Alameda Unified School District Board Vice President Ryan LaLonde presented their congratulations, and each student received a plaque from Kiwanis President Dawna Dowdell-Dos Santos along with an official certificate from the Mayor.
The Hope of America Award is given to outstanding eighth grade students who continuously demonstrate leadership, character, peer outreach, community service, and school spirit. Every Alameda school with an eighth grade class invites teachers to nominate students that fulfill those criteria. The Alameda Kiwanis Hope of America committee makes its selection based on responses received.
At the awards event, Kiwanians celebrated the students with spontaneous gestures, cheering, and applauding as the honorees entered the Rathskeller with their teachers and family members. Teachers spoke proudly of their students, sharing anecdotes that show why they each deserved the award.
Teachers and school principals appreciate this recognition for the students, but also for their efforts in the classroom and school. It is, in their words, “uplifting,” “very rewarding,” and “something (to) look forward to every year.” The happiness in the room was palpable, with adults networking after the meeting and kids talking together, bridging schools.
LaLonde commented that Hope of America began as a national program only two years before Alameda Kiwanis started its local recognition luncheon. He stated that, upon researching the students who received this award in past years, he found many who are now in careers that directly contribute to the community, the state, and the nation. Vice Mayor Pryor recognized the students as truly the best of Alameda youth.
The luncheon truly represented the Kiwanis Motto: “Serving The Children of The World, One Child and One Community at A Time, in Alameda since 1923.” For more information, visit the Alameda Kiwanis website.
