Isabel Lombardi attends St. Michael School and is a fifth-grader there. She wrote a grant and received $2,500 for a program she helped lead to provide necessary products for Canton City School students at Allen Elementary over the holiday break.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Isabel attends St. Michael School, but was nominated as a community volunteer by Canton City Schools.
Name: Isabel Lombardi
School: Fifth-grader at St. Michael School
Family: My parents are Mike and Melissa Lombardi. I have two brothers and one sister.
What led to this nomination? Isabel wrote a grant to purchase cleaning, hygiene, products, books, blankets, socks, gift cards and non-perishable items. She donated all the items to Allen Elementary to ensure that students and families could take home these essentials over the winter break.
What motivated you to do that? My project was called Totes of Kindess-Reaching Our Neighbors. For this project my goal was to provide 50 plastic totes full of daily necessities to families at Allen Elementary. Things included in the totes were blankets, socks, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, shampoo conditioners, toiletries, peanut butter, jelly and macaroni and cheese and more. I applied for the “Junior Leaders Grant” from the Junior League of Stark County and was chosen to receive $2,500 to use towards my project. With the grant money as well as help from family, friends, and my school we were able to fill all 50 totes.
What was the most rewarding part about the project? This project taught me I can do great things, even if I am still young. I know I helped many people and I hope they are happy when they received the totes. It also made me realize there are many people in our world, and in my own community, that do not have as much as I do. It is my responsibility to give back to my community and others, and show love to others. I think this project was a success and I want to thank all my friends and family who donated and helped.
What was the most challenging part? When I was calling people on the phone to ask them for donations. At first, I felt nervous because I was not sure if they were going to say yes or not, but the more I called the more confident I felt in myself. I was confident because I knew my project was going to succeed and make a difference in my community.
Hobbies? Acting, singing, tennis, basketball, piano, swimming, volleyball, golfing, reading, spending time with family.