A Batesville (Ark.) High School senior who collected nearly $7,000 and shaved her head to support research to find cures for childhood cancer has won the 2012 Daniel Cayce Award for Inspirational Leadership in Public Service.
As a member of the school’s EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) Initiative, in which students utilize technology to complete school and community-based projects, Kristi Canard decided to focus her efforts on raising awareness about the effects of cancer.
The Clinton School gives the Cayce Award, which includes a $1,000 scholarship, annually to a high school student who exemplifies outstanding public service.
Canard set a goal of raising $5,000 for the St. Patrick’s Foundation, a nonprofit that funds childhood cancer research. She met and surpassed that goal after presenting statistics on the effects of cancer to classmates and convincing her EAST coordinator, Jeanne Roepcke, to join her in shaving her head to raise awareness for the cause.
“The combined effort of me, my coordinator and the helpful volunteers and the dedication apparent in our efforts resulted in the funds being collected way exceeding my own expectations,” Canard wrote in her Cayce Award application.
On March 26, hundreds of students and community members watched as Canard, Roepcke and two other volunteers shaved their heads.
“The experience however left me with far more than just a bald head,” Canard wrote. “It taught me the value of dedication and instilled important leadership experience in me.”
The Cayce Award is named after 2005 winner Daniel Cayce of Bearden who worked for 14 years helping needy families in southeast Arkansas.
Canard was selected from a group of five finalists, including:
Samuel Hoskins of Little Rock Central High School who created a documentary film about the neighborhood surrounding the school through the Central High National Historic Site Youth Leadership Academy.
Mary Katherine Keller of Mount Saint Mary’s Academy who has volunteered for 11 years with Safety Town, a program that teaches safety awareness to 5-year-olds before they enter Kindergarten.
Claire Schmidt of Little Rock Central High School who has volunteered more than 1,000 hours at Camp Aldersgate, which serves children and youth who have medical or physical conditions or developmental delays.
Mattie Thacker of North Little Rock High School who raised $1,500 and collected sheets blankets and pillows the Our House Homeless Shelter, which serves the working homeless in Little Rock.