Long Island residents Olivia Bouler and Rachel Shuster were given A.L.L.Y. awards honoring their leadership roles in their communities and beyond at the 2011 International Year of Youth Culmination Celebration in NYC.
Olivia Bouler, 12, of Islip and Rachel Shuster, 14, of Dix Hills were among the 14 remarkable young women to receive A.L.L.Y. Awards at this year’s International Year of Youth Culmination Celebration on August 11.
A.L.L.Y. Awards, presented by AllyKatzz media company, recognize young women across the globe that have played leadership roles in their communities and are committed to working toward positive social change.
Bouler, in the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf, raised nearly $200,000 for the National Audubon Society via proceeds from her children’s book, Olivia’s Birds Saving the Gulf (Sterling 2011), and by creating original paintings for donors. She received the Artist Inspiring Conservation Award from the Audubon Society and was the 2010 ASPCA Kid of the Year.
Shuster got her start in volunteerism when she started a Kids Care Club chapter through GenerationOn. She now leads the club and organizes a variety of community service projects.
Bouler and Shuster, along with 12 other recipients from the U.S. and India, took to the stage at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, during the morning session of the Year of Youth event, alongside host Monique Coleman, the High School Musical actress and UN Youth Champion. Recipients participated in two panels, discussing global and social change with esteemed members of the media, and were addressed by notable attendees like Farah Pandith, the state department’s special representative to Muslim communities; Begona Lasagabaster, political adviser of UN Women; Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWoman; and Ann Shoket, editor in chief of Seventeen.
During the afternoon session, held at the French Institute Alliance Française, the award recipients and all 192 female delegates (ages 11-24) participated in hands-on leadership activities like assembling Promise Packs for orphaned and at-risk children, organizing food pantry donations, and participating in a LemonAID Warriors Pucker Up contest for charity. The 14 award recipients were also treated to a V.I.P luncheon with several female leaders.
“In providing young girls with this communication platform, the Culmination Celebration supported the UN Millennium Development Goals, specifically their pledge to promote gender equality and empower women worldwide,” said an AllyKatzz representative.
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