County honors Youth Hero
Madeline Payne saluted for humanitarian efforts to help homeless people
LANSDALE >> For Madeline Payne, a senior at North Penn, helping those in need, and being a leader, has become second nature. Involved in nearly 10 student clubs, Payne has had a busy school year. And now she is the recipient of the Montgomery County Youth Hero award.
Three years ago as a sophomore, Payne discovered her passion to help those less fortunate. Around Christmas, she decided to give out small items such as toothpaste, soap, hats and gloves to the homeless in Philadelphia.
Payne and her mom, Della,
would go to the nearby dollar store, purchasing as many items as they could to make small care packages to hand out.
“Since it was just us, the dollar store starts to add up after you buy a lot of things and it was kind of expensive,” says Payne. On Christmas Day, the items Payne and her mom bought were gone in seconds.
“I probably only helped, like, a dozen people,” she says.
Two years later, Payne submitted a proposal to North Penn High principal Todd Bauer that highlighted what her mission was and the actions that would be taken to implement it successfully. The proposal was approved.
To get the word out about the event, the Key Club, North Penn’s volunteer club for students to participate in outreach activities (which Payne is also the Vice President of), came up with an incentives plan that would draw more student participation.
“If students brought in small personal care items, they could get service time for their donations,” says Payne. The Key Club was able to nearly double the amount of items collected for donation.
More than just the incentives, Payne hopes that students gained much more from participating. “If people are never willing to reach out to others to see where they can be of assistance and help others, they’re never gonna be able to grow personally,” says Payne.
North Penn’s Key Club Advisor nominated Payne for the award. “I wasn’t even really that sure of what it when she nominated me,” says Payne. “I didn’t think I was gonna win.”
But Payne did win for her leadership in implementing a successful drive that gave non-perishable items to the homeless in Philadelphia. The Montgomery County Heroes Awards are given to those who exhibit leadership and humanitarianism through service in the community.
Though Payne is grateful to receive the award for doing something positive, she “doesn’t feel like it was something that deserved that level of recognition or praise.”
“I was overwhelmed and obviously extremely honored and humbled by it because I didn’t feel like it was something that I necessarily lived up to,” Payne adds.
Being able to transform the donation event from an idea to a success has had a tremendous impact on Payne’s life. “That was huge for me just to see that I was able to start something small and make it into something big,” she says. She hopes that in turn it will inspire others to challenge themselves to bring an idea, no matter how small, to fruition.
As Payne embarks on her next journey entering into college, she hopes her leadership roles will prepare and lead her into the right direction when it comes to her career path. “You can’t just have an idea and expect it to happen right away,” says Payne.
“I think that is gonna help me in college, to be able to access those leadership skills that I was able to realize with this project,” she adds.
Payne is looking forward to getting involved with organizations on campus at whatever university she’ll attend (still to be determined) that reflect all that she has done presently.
“I am passionate about what I’m doing and I definitely want to continue that.”