Royal spotlight: Caring Youth Award

Seven years ago, Andy Pelerine, junior, saw an ad in the newspaper advertising Loaves and Fishes, a mobile Minneapolis food shelf. Immediately, Pelerine became interested and began volunteering there.

Last week, he received recognition from the city of Hopkins for his volunteer work there.

Pelerine was given the Caring Youth award for astounding community service, awarded to students grades seven through twelve who are making a measurable impact on those around them.

This year, nine HHS students were recognized: Jessica Melnik, Dante Reminick, sophomores, Korinna Bakey, Emma Buttress, Andy Pelerine, Evan Pelerine, juniors, Yusuf Yusuf, LaDajia Davis, Jane Kyllo, seniors. They join more than 80 HHS alumni who have garnered the award in its 11 year history.

In order to receive the Caring Youth award, the recipient must meet certain criteria. They need to live in the Hopkins, Minnetonka or Golden Valley Area, attend school in Hopkins or Minnetonka, and volunteer.

However, the type of volunteering can vary widely, from starting a club with an emphasis on helping others, to volunteering at a local hospital. As long as you are serving your community out of your own volition, it isn’t important how.

For Pelerine, the goal in volunteering was simple, to influence positive change in his community. He never considered the possibility that he would receive an award for doing something as simple as helping those in need.

“Volunteering at Loaves and Fishes has definitely given me a sense of accomplishment, and it’s always nice to see the kids faces when you hand them a sandwich. But, I was surprised [when I got the award], I didn’t even know it existed, so it was cool when I got it,” Pelerine said.

Other recipients were equally surprised when they received the news they had been identified as students deserving of the Caring Youth Award.

“I didn’t know it was going to happen, but in the mail, when they sent me [a letter] that I won an award it made sense. But I didn’t know it was going to happen,” Melnik said.

Melnik’s club began as a group of her friends meeting once a month to talk about pressing social issues faced by girls her age, and evolved into a collaboration conversation about female leadership with 4th through 6th graders.

Introduced to the spirit of volunteerism early in life, she quickly discovered how rewarding it was, and decided volunteering was something she wanted to continue well into the future.

“I think that I’ve started to really enjoy volunteering, and I think that that will just increase as I get older. Having started to experience it now will definitely benefit me in the future,” Melnik said.

Kyklo, too believes that the volunteering she does now will continue to have an impact not only on herself, but others as well. Kyllo has interned at the Hopkins Education Fund since her sophomore year, and received the Caring Youth Award for her work there.

“I have three younger siblings in the Hopkins district, so Hopkins will be a big part of my family until 2024 when my youngest brother graduates. I want them to have as good of an experience as I have had at HHS,” Kyllo said.

Pelerine, Melnik, and Kyllo, along with the six other HHS students who received the award, were acknowledged Thurs. March 9 at the Minnetonka Community Center.