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10 Amazing Kids Recognized by WBIR-TV 10, Children's Hospital
In the fall of 2003, Children's Hospital and WBIR-TV began a program to recognize children from throughout East Tennessee who have done something out of the ordinary – whether through extraordinary volunteer work or an amazing talent or by impressive service to their community.
"We were looking for outstanding youngsters who had done something amazing: overcome an incredible physical or emotional situation, demonstrated outstanding talent and achievement through their art, or exhibited a passion for helping to make life better for others," said Jeff Lee, WBIR's General Manager.
From that desire to recognize area children, 10 Amazing Kids was created; the first group was honored in the spring of 2004, and additional groups were honored in April 2005, April 2006 and April 2007. In December 2007, announcements on WBIR-TV asked viewers to nominate a child they know who has done something exceptional – for their family, friends, school, city, place of worship or the community. Dozens of entries were received featuring children who truly have done a variety of amazing things, and the selection process was extremely difficult.
The 2008 10 Amazing Kids are:
- Lizette Aparicio, age 13, Pigeon Forge Middle School – When this Amazing Kid moved to Pigeon Forge in 2004, she made a great difference with her contribution and help to other Hispanic children that could not speak English. What her teachers didn't realize at the time is that Lizette's Spanish was very limited and she would ask her parents, who are natives of Cuba, to translate the required subject in order to help the students the following day. She serves as School Ambassador at Pigeon Forge Middle School to show new students and their parents around, is active in Beta Club and Student Council and will got to the state 4-H speech competition finals. Her nomination form said "you will find Lizette the first to volunteer and help in any way she can no matter how mundane or complicated the task."
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- Julia Cecere, age 17, Gatlinburg Pittman High School – This Gatlinburg Pittman High School senior's teach said that "her volunteer spirit and community service are highly noteworthy. Many of our Interact Club's community service projects would have fallen far short of our goals if it had not been for Julia's willingness to go beyond what was required." Recently, she started a voter registration effort to encourage her fellow students to register to vote and has raised a total of $500 plus ____ for the Star 102.1 Radiothon to benefit Children's Hospital through her "Hearts for Healing" program. Julia also has raised awareness for the local animal shelter through both student and community support and has the highest multi-year average (99.63) of any student presently in her school.
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- Mason Daniels, age 5, Adrian Burnett School – This first grader at Adrian Burnett challenged others to help him help others last December and ended up collecting 70 shoe boxes of gifts for "Operation Christmas Child," which are provided to children in third world countries. The team coordinator for the charitable project said that she is "proud to have him on our team" and said Mason has already set a goal for this Christmas to fill 180 shoe boxes with gifts. When he was just four-years-old, Mason helped raise $350 for victims of Hurricane Katrina with the help of his Beaver Dam Baptist Child Care Center classmates. The now seven-year-old also is active at church, playing soccer and basketball and loves fishing with his dad.
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- Casey Douglas, age 13, Elk Valley Elementary (Newcomb, Campbell County) – Having limited physical mobility has never kept this eighth grader from Campbell County from reaching for the stars. Casey has SMA (???) and requires assistance in many daily activities. At Elk Valley Elementary School this year, Casey has served as Beta Club and 4-H President, was Basketball Queen, was a multiple 4-H speech winner, and is a cheerleader. Her teacher said "she wants to make a difference at school, at home and in her community. She is a positive role model, and does not let her limitations stop her." This Amazing Kid is also an honor student who often stays after school to help tutor other children.
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- Mia Fisher, age 6, Sevierville Primary School – Her grandfather called her an amazing kid for many reasons, particularly because "despite her young age, she possesses the heart of one far beyond her years." Her teacher at Sevierville Primary School said the first grader asked her what she could do to help make the patients at Children's Hospital happy. Then Mia encouraged her classmates and her principal to help her raise money to buy crayons, coloring books and batteries for toys. And she also contributed her birthday money to help the cause and personally delivered the items to Children's Hospital. A friend who nominated her said, "I wish she was running for office in view of her insight to see a need and do something about it. We could all learn from this young lady's actions."
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- Weston Hamilton, age 9, Rural Vale Elementary School (Tellico Plains) – There are few nine-year-olds who realize that they can make a difference but this Rural Vale Elementary School student is an exception to this rule. Last year for his eighth birthday, this Amazing Kid decided he wanted to do something different and decided to donate the gifts he received to Children's Hospital. His birthday party asked each child to bring a book that was then delivered to the hospital from his home in Tellico Plains. For his ninth birthday this year, he collected over 30 fleece blankets to donate for children at the Knox Area Rescue Ministry. Weston also is active at church, loves to play sports and in the FOCUS club at school.
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- Will Johnson, age 9, Claxton Elementary – This Claxton Elementary School student has made a goal for himself to raise awareness for autism, a condition that he himself has. He accomplished this in part by setting out to beat the world record for the "most high fives given in a month" – giving high fives to children at his school, at a Smokies' baseball game and at a local Home Depot store. From all the publicity he received from this, people in his community now have a better understanding of what autism is. One of his teachers said that this energetic seven-year-old has "the ability to see past others differences" and helped other students learn that autistic children have much to offer and teach others.
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- Skye Sanders, age 16, South Doyle High School – This Amazing Kid often finds herself soaring above the crowd – literally, and she is very appropriately name for a teenager about to receive her pilot's license. With her dad as her flight instructor, she has been flying since she was 12 and negotiating both the airways and in the classroom at South-Doyle High School, where she has distinguished herself at South Doyle High School as a scholar and high academic achiever, and is described by her school counselor as "an incredible young lady that impacts her school, community and home." Skye is also active in her youth group at First Baptist Church in Knoxville and is a member of the Junior Olympic Diving Team at the University of Tennessee.
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- Rachel Stacy, age 12, Powell Middle School – This 12-year-old's "claim to fame" in Powell, where she attends Powell Elementary School, is for sharing her birthday with her favorite charities. Since the age of four, she has selected a local charity each year to be the recipient of her birthday presents – from food for Second Harvest to backpacks for children served by the Salvation Army. Rachel is a trained volunteer for the Remote Area Medical Clinic portable eyeglass lab, working alongside her grandmother. This Amazing Kid is a great student and had the highest math average of the 900 students at Brickey-Cloud Elementary when she graduated from there in 2007. She also is active in sports and sings with the ET Middle School Honors Choir.
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- Maleka West, age 12, Tennessee School for the Blind – Despite being born blind, a letter nominating this 12-year-old to be one of this year's Amazing Kids said that Maleka "has greater vision than most well-sighted people I know. She is a positive role model by teaching other children at school, church and in the neighborhood to love other kids that may have some deficiencies in their physical or mental state. She shows others that everyone is special in their own way." Maleka attends Tennessee School for the Blind in Nashville throughout the week; each Friday, she boards a bus and goes home to Sevierville for the weekend. One of her teachers at TSB said that she is an integral part of the class and is a leader in helping others keep a positive attitude. "Even though she has many extra things to learn because of her blindness, Maleka approaches tasks with a willingness to work and learn and encourages her classmates to do the same."
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Each of the 10 Amazing Kids' stories was featured on "Live at 5" on WBIR-TV each weekday from April 7-18.
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