For the past two years I have been working on my hours for the Congressional Award. The Congressional Award was established by Congress in D.C. and is the highest honor in the U.S. for youth. There are 4 goal areas: Volunteering, Personal Development, Fitness, and going on a 6 day/night expedition planned entirely by the youth.

I have been volunteering most of my life and I knew I would enjoy the challenge to expand my volunteer skills. I leaned on my personal journey with health issues, disabilities, and homelessness to guide my volunteer goals to give back to the community and specifically to other Youth. 

The quickest one can accumulate their hours is 24 months and all 4 program hours must clock hours each month. I was able to accomplish my hours in 24 months. In 2022 alone, and during my Senior year of high school, I volunteered over 600 hours.

This Summer 2023, the Congressional Awards Ceremony will return to in-person with Congress in D.C. after being paused due to the pandemic. I have traveled very little in my life and would be thrilled to attend the 3 day Summit in D.C. with Congress and be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. 

Living in Texas makes this a huge trip. We are limited to driving our car no more than 15 miles from home because it is not dependable and we have no a/c. So we will need to rent a car to drive to D.C. and then all the additional travel expenses of gas, accommodations, food, etc...

It is going to be an amazing opportunity to meet so many people, see historic monuments and use the time to empower other youth to also give back to their community.

I will post more specifics about my goals during my two year Congressional Award journey soon.

Thank YOU so much for any help to achieve this trip.