Local Student Receives State’s Champion Service Award

12 year old Taylor Richardson, a student from Fletcher Middle Gifted and Talented, received the Champion of Service award at the Florida Cabinet Meeting in Tallahassee for her extraordinary efforts in literacy and book drives.  The Champion of Service Award is the only statewide volunteer recognition award; it is awarded to volunteers and organizations that go above and beyond in service to their community.  Volunteer Florida presents the Champion of Service Award at Cabinet meetings and other events across the state.  Taylor Richardson is a future astronaut, literacy advocate, and agent of S.T.E.A.M. and a local pre-teen who collected books for children ages 3-18, within various organizations, to promote childhood literacy. Taylor’s Take Flight with A Book program works in conjunction with the United Way ReadingPals program. Since February 2015 she has collected nearly 200 books, and donated them to North Shore Elementary School located on Jacksonville’s north side.  She also visited North Shore and read to the Pre-K class; while wearing her astronaut suit. The future moonwalker had this to say about her book program, “I feel every kid deserves a book. Books can take you to great places and those places can lead to great possibilities.” Since the program’s inception, Taylor has read to hundreds of kids about space and science.   If you’d like to donate a new or gently used book to Taylor’s Take Flight with A Book program to promote literacy, email lsr1913@gmail.com. The talented teen is shown with Governor Rick Scott.

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