Claire Bishop, left, received the Martha Beckenholdt Youth Philanthropy Award and a grant in her name was presented to the Hancock County Children’s Choir. With Bishop is Janet White, education officer of the Hancock County Community Foundation (center) and Lisa Heady, director of the choir (right).
Submitted photo
GREENFIELD – Claire Bishop received the 2021-2022 Martha Beckenholdt Youth Philanthropy Award, and a $1,000 grant was donated to the Hancock County Children’s Choir in her name.
The award was recently announced by the Hancock County Community Foundation and a check was presented April 1 at the dress rehearsal of the choir’s “Forging the American Spirit” concert.
Bishop, a Greenfield-Central High School student, was among four finalists for the award. The award is in honor of longtime Hancock County resident and philanthropist Martha Beckenholdt, and recognizes a Hancock County high school junior who has contributed outstanding time, talent and energy to philanthropic endeavors.
Laken Rosing, G-CHS teacher who recommended Bishop for the award, wrote in a letter, “I have never come across someone so committed to balancing academics, athletics, community service, and personal relationships with friends, family, and God. How one teenager finds time to do so much for others is what stands out for this candidate.”
The 2022 award recipient was chosen via a two-step process. The blinded applications were evaluated first by HCCF staff who used a scoring rubric to narrow the field to four finalists. These finalists were then interviewed by the HCCF Y-GIVE Youth Philanthropy Board to get deeper information about the students’ service hours. The youth board members also read through and scored the applications based on a provided rubric.
Bishop has been an active volunteer in 4-H Junior Leaders, Changing Footprints, as a STEM and VEX Robotics mentor at Grassy Creek Elementary School, TechPoint Foundation for Youth, and at Park Chapel Christian Church and Hope Church. She is also involved in 4-H, Vex Robotics, Hancock County Children’s Choir, and the Park Chapel Christian Church Youth Group.
She says, “community engagement is not just volunteering, but rather an opportunity to produce fruit for others all the while strengthening roots under the surface.”
