LifeSmarts program awards scholarship to student leaders from Anacostia, DC and Douglas County, GA – National Consumers League

January 22, 2018

Contact: Carol McKay, National Consumers League, (202) 207-2831, carolm@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—Today the National Consumers League (NCL) has announced two scholarship recipients, honored for their involvement in a community service and leadership initiative made possible through its consumer literacy program, LifeSmarts (LifeSmarts.org). The students were awarded $1,000 academic scholarships for their winning entries based on their experiences serving as Safety Smart® Ambassadors, a partnership between LifeSmarts and UL that pairs high school students with elementary classrooms to teach lessons about health, safety, and the environment.

The scholarship winners are:

  • Takia Holsey, a freshman from UPO P.O.W.E.R Program in Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, DC
  • Rachel Dunnell, a junior from Douglas County 4-H in Georgia

Since 2013, when the LifeSmarts UL partnership began, hundreds of LifeSmarts students have become Safety Smart Ambassadors. Working in teams, high school students have made more than 1,000 interactive 30-minute presentations, sharing empowering, educational safety messages with thousands of younger children throughout their communities. LifeSmarts is a national program that competitively tests high school students’ knowledge of consumer awareness, with subjects including personal finance, health and safety, consumer rights and responsibility, technology, and the environment.

“We are so proud of our students who participated in the Safety Smart Ambassador program and the positive impact they made on their communities, and especially these two stand-outs,” said Lisa Hertzberg, LifeSmarts program director. “We truly appreciate this partnership with UL. It has been extremely gratifying to see LifeSmarts students embrace the Safety Smart Ambassador program, provide education and mentoring to younger children, and learn about themselves in the process.”

The LifeSmarts-UL partnership has underwritten the Safety Smart Ambassador program and provided LifeSmarts with access to the vast knowledge base of UL, including resources for LifeSmarts to bolster its science and environment curriculum, resources, and competitive opportunities.

For more information, please visit LifeSmarts.org/SafetySmart.

January 2018 Safety Smart Ambassador award winners – in their own words 

“Students really loved the video, even the older students, and they liked hearing the new vocabulary words and by the end of the session they were singing the Going Green song and using the vocabulary words.” – Takia Holsey

“I appreciated the opportunity to teach in front of children and to help them learn useful skills they will need as they grow older. They loved giving examples and reasons to conserve and protect our water.” – Rachel Dunnel

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About LifeSmarts and the National Consumers League

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. LifeSmarts educational resources are available online throughout the year at LifeSmarts.org. Competition begins again in September. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit nclnet.org.