The gold standard for service
Local youth awarded by congress for commitment to volunteerism, personal development
When it comes to community service, Garvey Blackwell needs no prodding,
With 4,700 hours of volunteerism under her belt, the 17-year-old Girl Scout and U.S. Naval Sea Cadet has devoted the bulk of her adolescence to serving others.
Her commitment has served to help her earn the Congressional Award Gold Medal – the highest honor presented to civilian youth by U.S. Congress. Of the 478 students across the nation awarded in last month’s virtual gold medal ceremony, Blackwell was the only recipient from Yuma and one of 11 from Arizona.
While medalists have traditionally received their awards in an in-person ceremony in Washington D.C., COVID-19 converted this year’s ceremony to a virtual event. However, after receiving an email from Garvey,
Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-4) made a special stop in Yuma on Oct. 6 to present the award to her in person.
A two-year process, earning the gold award
involves 400 hours of volunteerism, 200 hours of personal development, 200 hours of physical fitness and a 4-night, 5-day “expedition” of some kind. On the way to fulfilling these requirements, all of which must be documented and bear an advisor’s signature for each area, participants accumulate the program’s five other awards – the bronze, silver, and gold certificates and the bronze and silver medals.
“My husband and I, of course, couldn’t be prouder,” said Garvey’s mother, Gina Blackwell. “But we would be proud whether she did this or not – she’s always been driven. From the time she was little, she knew what she wanted and she always went after it. She started volunteering just as she turned 10. We fed the homeless and she went right up to them, gave them lunches and chatted with them and from the very first time, that was it for her – she wanted to do it every day.”
At 11, Garvey sat on her first organizational board, serving with the KIDS CuddleKit program. Today, she sits on six different boards on local, regional and national levels.
Locally, in addition to the Foothills library (where she’s volunteered since she was 14), Garvey has volunteered with about 20 different orga
nizations as well as Girl Scout and Sea Cadets events. One particular project she spearheaded with her Girl Scout troop brought together 40 organizations from across the county in an expo aimed to garner more volunteers for their respective causes.
“A lot of the smaller organizations we have here need a lot of help, but
because they’re so small, people don’t know about them and they don’t have the hours or the manpower to go recruit more volunteers,” Garvey said. “That’s why I created the expo; I felt it was important for the whole community to understand where they could volunteer.”
The high regard Garvey has for volunteering her time and resources was first modeled and instilled in her by her parents, who are also active participants in public service.
“My husband and I have always volunteered, that’s something that was ingrained in us by our parents,” said Gina. “The way it was put to us was, ‘As you succeed, you bring others along.’ You give back and make that way for others. So everywhere we’ve been, every country we’ve lived in, we’ve volunteered. We’ve always made that a priority in our lives and that’s become (Garvey’s) priority as well.”
For Garvey, it’s about more than the accolades. Although the Congressional Award Gold Medal concludes her involvement in the program, in no way is it drawing the curtain on her volunteer work.
“These are lovely (awards), but if I never saw any of them, I’d be OK,” Garvey said. “I found my career based on volunteering, so it’s hand-inhand for me.”
Garvey said she plans to become a librarian, a dream fostered by her many hours in the Foothills library, and to continue devoting her life to giving back and helping others.
“She’s almost made it a full-time job,” Gina said. “She puts in around 700 to 900 volunteer hours a year.”
Garvey noted that just as it takes a village to raise a child, it’s taken a village to help her earn this award.
“It’s not something I could have done on my own,” said Garvey. “It took, basically, the city of Yuma to help me earn this. If they didn’t allow me to go and volunteer, if Girl Scouts and Sea Cadets hadn’t allowed me to do some of the leadership stuff, I wouldn’t have accomplished this.”
From a mother’s perspective, Gina sees that as Garvey has given so altruistically of herself along the way, she’s gained lessons and experiences that are even more valuable.
“She’s learned about leadership, she’s learned about giving back, she’s learned about what’s important,” Gina said. “She’s earned more than she’ll ever be able to give back. (The awards) are amazing things but even if they didn’t happen, she’d still show up at the food bank and package food, she’d still show up at Girl Scouts and help other girls earn a badge, she’d still go and hand out sandwiches to the homeless. It is who she is, it’s not about trying to earn those things. Those things come because of who she is and what she’s willing to do.”
According to Gina, Garvey’s deep-seated relationship with community service also attests that anyone can volunteer their time and energy, no matter their age.
“She wants to make a change, and she’s made it,” said Gina. “She’s made a change in our family, she’s made a change in herself, she’s made a change in the people she knows and she’s made a difference, I think, in Yuma. She’s shown that kids can do things. Yuma is a great place for that because they are about doing things, they are a community that’s about helping each other. We’ve been very honored and she’s been very fortunate in all the people that have helped her along the way.”
To read more about the Congressional Award program, visit www.congressionalaward.org/program.