For Immediate Release s135

3120 McDougall Ave., Ste. 200 Everett, WA 98201 Ph: 425.374.5500 F: 425.374.5555

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 24, 2015

Contact Sara Haner Communications and Events Manager, United Way of Snohomish County 425.374.5519 office 206.714.3304 cell [email protected]

United Way Announces Winners of Varsity Letters in Community Service

(Everett, Wash.) – As this school year wrapped up, 66 local students from the Darrington, Edmonds, Everett, Granite Falls, Lake Stevens, Marysville, Monroe, Snohomish and Stanwood school districts earned varsity letters in community service through a partnership between the districts and United Way of Snohomish County.

The 66 students spent a total of 12,964 hours volunteering with over 190 agencies and schools. The varsity letters awarded this year represent a 38% increase in awards from 2014, and a 94% increase from 2013, the first year the awards were offered in Snohomish County.

“We’re proud of these students and their commitment to volunteerism,” said Dennis G. Smith, president and CEO of United Way of Snohomish County.

To earn a Varsity Letter in Community Service, a student from a participating high school has to complete 145 hours of community service in 12 months, with at least 50 hours being in a non- school-related community volunteer activity. This program recognizes the contributions that outstanding teens are making in their community, and encourages students to make a challenging, but attainable, goal around volunteerism.

For more information on the program, please visit http://www.uwsc.org/varsityletter.php.

Here is a complete list of winners by school district:

Darrington School District (2)

Darrington High School: Oliver Rankin and Taryn Tamez

Edmonds School District (6) Edmonds Woodway High School: Kayla Gouy, Libby Knell, Mikala Monroe, Olivia Egejuru, Sebin Lee

Mountlake Terrace High School: Hailee Malins

Everett Public Schools (24)

Cascade High School: Alex Cizck, Edna Vetter, Ivleen Kaur

Everett High School: Ben Seaberg, Claire Stephens, Cooper James, Danielle Scanes, Dylan Scanes, Sophia Maggio

Jackson High School: Alex Gim, Aman Kaur, Claire Kelly, Diana Reiman, Elizabeth Cho, Ella Strange, Emily Heng, Kaitlyn Cobb, Madison Ransom, Mattie Torve, Molly Olson, Reina Miyamoto, Sabrina Sandhu, Sailu Kodavati, Sailu Kodavati, Syndey Gasparich

Granite Falls School District (1)

Granite Falls High School: Ari Wyatt

Lake Stevens School District (4)

Lake Stevens High School: Taryn Chitwood, Kennan Sykes, Karen Hoffman, Grace Fortney

Lakewood School District (1)

Lakewood High School: Maddy Cox

Marysville School District (11)

Marysville Getchell – ACE: Micah Hoot

Marysville Getchell – BMA: Taylor Cerra, Ruth Bas

Marysville Getchell High School: Angelica Mendoza, Lyda Ebadani, Mallory Ford, Nicole Buell, Rilee Louangphakdy

Marysville Pilchuck High School: Eryn Hall, Kennedy Doty, Tiffany Johnstone

Monroe School District (10)

Monroe High School: Isaac Cirillo Sky Valley Education Center: Corrine Booth, Emily Martin, Emily Parry, Frances Scott-Weis, Bella Cripe, Keilah Sommer, Natalie Day, Natalie Parry, Sarah Camerer

Snohomish School District (7)

Glacier Peak High School: Audrey Metcalf, Coco Lovera, Michael Froton

Snohomish High School: Jessamine Anderson, Christina Deierling Kennedy O’Shea, Holly Methven Noyes

United Way is a community impact organization serving Snohomish County for 75 years. In addition to funding 106 programs through 40 agencies with a special focus on local health and human services, United Way of Snohomish County supports a number of initiatives focusing on early learning and education, financial stability for families, a youth program, North Sound 211 and an emerging initiative in survival English. To find out more about United Way of Snohomish County, including how you can find help, how to volunteer and how United Way serves our community, visit their website at uwsc.org.