Meet Victoria Siering, 2021 Giraffe Award Winner
This is part of a series of profiles on the 2021 Giraffe Award winners. Each week leading up to the Champions for Children virtual celebration on November 4th, we will feature a profile of a 2021 Giraffe Award Winner and showcase how they “stick their neck out” for Maine children, youth, and families. This week, we are pleased to introduce you to Victoria Siering.
Victoria Siering is a sophomore at Woodland Jr/Sr High School, while also being very active in her community, having dedicated a cumulative 700 hours of community service. Victoria began contributing in her community when she started pageants, where the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant focused on getting girls out in their community helping others, along with doing presentations at schools to raise awareness about their platform. Victoria loves being on the stage, but she loves helping others more. In her free time, she can be found hanging out with friends, playing soccer, cheerleading, or playing softball.
Last January, Victoria lost a classmate to suicide. She knew she needed to do something to let students know they are not alone and that they matter. COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on the students and they were struggling mentally. It was hard not being able to hangout with friends or to even be in school. When they did return back to school it was not the same. Victoria felt strongly that there needed to be an open discussion, and that students need to understand that it is okay if you are struggling. If the word is out there and students know where to turn when they need help we could save a life. She wished William had known how much people cared about him.
Victoria bought keychains that said “Your Life Matters” in memory of William and added lifesavers and a card with the number to the suicide hotline. She handed them out to every student in the school, as well as William's family and others who were close to him but did not attend the school.
Victoria Siering will be awarded the 2021 Youth Giraffe Award for her initiative to support the mental health needs of her classmates and her ongoing service to her community on November 4th at our Champions for Children celebration.
We hope you will join us for the 2021 Champions for Children and Giraffe Awards event ! And keep an eye out for upcoming profiles featuring the rest of our 2021 Giraffe Award winners.
