VIRGINIA, USA — Let’s get uplifted with Annabelle Lombard, Max Blacksten, and Benjamin Joel; Northern Virginia teens who’ve received well-earned recognition — and $36,000 each — for the outstanding good works they’re doing.
They each are recipients of the Helen Diller Family Foundation’s Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards for their leadership efforts in trying to change our world for the better.
Annabelle is the co-founder of Generation Ratify. It's a young people’s movement focused on gender equality.
"Generation Ratify's main priority is to finalize the Equal Rights Amendment as the 20th amendment and enshrine gender equality for all people into the constitution," she said.
Benjamin and his brother Alex provided free online tutoring to elementary and middle school studens during the pandemic through the website, Intutorly they founded. They have since expanded internationally.
Max is the executive director of Youth Climate Action Team, a global non-profit placing youth at the forefront of the climate change crisis.
"Youth are going to be the future of the climate movement and the future of businesses and the future of our politics, so it's essential to get youth involved now," Max said.
Some might worry about the today's youth. But, as these three show, many of them are determined to build a better future for us all.
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