At a recent June meeting, Emma Soneson and AJ Cosenza were selected by the Middletown Rotary Club to receive the 2010 Service Above Self Awards. Since 1910, the Motto of Rotary has been “Service Above Self,” and the Middletown club annually recognizes a local student(s) who encourage and foster the ideal of service in their community. Each recipient was given $300 from the Middletown Rotary in which they could pick a local charity to donate to; Soneson selected Doctors Without Borders organization, and Cosenza chose the YMCA Camp Ingersoll program.
Soneson, a sophomore at Haddam Killingworth (HK) High School, was nominated by Michael Malone, the pastor of First Congregational Church of Haddam. According to Malone, “Emma’s involvement in so many different activities demonstrates her extraordinary commitment to volunteer service.” Her outreach to the community includes participating in a county wide homeless awareness program, stocking food shelves at Amazing Grace, assisting with Sunday School, and supporting a child in Zambia through a monthly donation to the Christian Children’s Fund. Last Christmas Soneson donated $100 in her parents name to restock a medical facility in Africa. As a viola player in the Shoreline Youth Symphony Orchestra, she has also volunteered 15 hours to help younger musicians.
Cosenza, a sophomore at Xavier High School, was nominated by Sister Mary Dolan of St. Mary’s School of Religion in Portland. In her nomination, Sister Dolan described Cosenza as an “outstanding, energetic, and responsible service provider.” In the Parish Religious Education Program, Cosenza worked with a group anonymously to prepare foods, gifts, and general supplies for the needy elderly members of the community. He has also been a volunteer team teacher for the third grade religious class. As a member of Xavier High School’s Ryken Service Society, he has volunteered at St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen, participated in service projects at two Xavier retreats, and volunteered for the Head Start children’s program. He has also helped at the Portland Fair for the past two years. Cosenza received the Margaret Downey Scholarship Award for demonstrating Integrity, Hard Work, Respect, Character, Sensitivity and Willingness to help others.
The Middletown Rotary Club meets every week at noon at First & Last Restaurant, plans and supports a wide variety of service activities, and has informative guest presentations. For more information, visit www.middletownrotary.org.
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