Stephanie Davis has a website that says it all: www.stephcares.com. And believe it. Stephanie does
care—About children. About volunteering. About autism.

And she’s been caring about others ever since she was six years old. Because of her years of volunteer service, Soroptimist International of Northeastern Region nominated Stephanie for the Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award, which recognizes girls, ages 14 to
17, who work to better their communities and the world.

As the region award recipient, Stephanie received $1,000 for herself and $1,000 for the Lighthouse Program where she volunteers.

Stephanie also received $250 from the Soroptimist International of Bridgeport, Connecticut, club, with an additional $250 going to the Lighthouse Program. As the overall finalist, the Lighthouse Program received $2,500 in Stephanie's name.

Today a 15-year-old student at Trumbull High School in Connecticut, Stephanie started volunteering as a child, going with her mother to Operation Hope in Bridgeport, a shelter for homeless women.

“My experience there made me want to do more for my neighboring community,” she says. “When I was 11, after years of persistence, I convinced my mother to help me find my own volunteer job and she connected me with The Lighthouse Program in Bridgeport.”

The program is located in 24 elementary schools in Bridgeport, an urban community about 10 minutes from suburban Trumbull, where Stephanie and her family live. Economic conditions in Bridgeport are difficult, she says, and many parents must work late to support their families. The program offers children a safe after-school environment where they can do homework and receive tutoring.

“In my years of volunteering there, I have worked in two Bridgeport Schools, volunteering every Tuesday for almost four years,” Stephanie says. “I help students with their homework, read them stories and play a variety of games with them … or just spend time with them.”

Stephanie has done much more for the program, however. Two years ago she began a winter clothing drive when one of the students came to her, crying hysterically because she had lost her only winter hat. Stephanie mailed out flyers to family and friends and was able to collect winter clothing, as well as some cash donations.

When an increase in fees forced 1,000 families to drop out of the program, she began an annual fundraising campaign, writing letters to businesses in Bridgeport and telling them about the program’s need for funding.

“I have continued the fundraiser for two years and now have 30 companies that contribute to scholarships for students to attend the program,” she says. “In 2007, my campaign raised $1,900 and in 2008 it raised $5,495 resulting in scholarships for over 60 children for the summer program run by the Lighthouse.”

In addition to the money that Stephanie raised, monies from the Violet Richardson Award helped send in total 173 kids to the summer program on scholarship, she says, enabling her to go past her fundraising goals.

Through her association with clubs in her high school, Stephanie also raises awareness about the program to recruit more volunteers. “My goal is to have enough new volunteers to fill a small school bus that will run from the high school to Bridgeport once a week,” she says.

If all that weren’t enough, Stephanie is vice president for the STAND (Students Taking Action Now in Darfur) club at her high school and also volunteers to raise awareness about autism, citing her two older cousins with autism as her inspiration and motivation.

Despite all her volunteering, she finds time to do “ordinary teen things,” she says. She loves art and expressing herself creatively, but admits that ultimately, her heart is in community service.

“I love being involved and supporting causes I dedicate myself to,” she says. “Although it’s hard, I always try to get my friends involved in helping and spreading awareness of causes. It also feels so good to get younger children involved and inspired to take their time to do service work.”

Admitting genuine surprise at receiving the award, she says, “I know there are so many people doing amazing things and there is so much more I can do for the causes I support. I often feel that I’m not doing enough. I was mostly so excited to know that I could send more children on scholarship to the Lighthouse Program.”

Stephanie hasn’t decided on which college to attend yet, but she says that no matter where the future takes her, she plans on volunteering and community service for the rest of her life. “There is nothing like the feeling I get from helping others,” she says.