There are so many awful things happening in our world right now that it's easy to give in to despair, to feel powerless and at the mercy of forces that seem beyond our control.

But take heart! There are lots of things you and your kids can do to make an impact, especially in the communities where you live. Sometimes it's as simple as picking up trash in a public place, or attending a fun community event and writing a thank you note to the organizers. Both of those activities were part of the 2023 Good Citizen Challenge, a youth civics project Seven Days and Kids VT created in 2018, with help from the Vermont Community Foundation.

Organized around the theme of Vermont libraries' summer reading program — "All Together Now" —the 2023 Challenge included 25 activities that appeared on a bingo-like scorecard, tasks relating to Vermont history, government, local news and community support. Participants did five activities in a row to get "bingo" and complete the Challenge.

We received completed entries from students from across the state, from Richmond to Reading, Arlington to Craftsbury, and everywhere in between.

On Thursday, November 2, we celebrated these Good Citizens at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier. They gathered in the House chamber, where they heard about the historic building from state curator David Schutz and got some words of encouragement from Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas. "I love the energy you bring to this place," she said.

Speakers from our Good Citizen partners also addressed the crowd and presented six "Distinguished Citizen" awards to acknowledge participants who went above and beyond with their entries or emphasized some of the Challenge's main themes. We've included their photos here, along with a shot of the grand prize winner, Cecilia "Cici" Neffinger of Ferrisburgh, who won the raffle for a free trip for two to Washington, D.C., including airfare and two nights in a D.C.-area hotel, courtesy of Milne Travel.

Vermont Humanities gave away two $500 library prizes, as well, to libraries whose kids did outstanding work. The money is meant to be used for civics-themed materials and programming.

Why should kids be good citizens? "Because," Cici said, "if no one's being a good citizen, then everything will just fall apart."

The 2023 Challenge in 7 numbers

Estimated amount of money kids raised for flood relief efforts:
$1,109

The Good Citizen group at the Morristown Centennial Library raised $529 for recovery efforts at the Johnson Public Library; Mallory Pittrich of West Rutland raised $320 to help her former nonprofit childcare center repair flood damage. Emry Mosehauer of Ferrisburgh wrote, "I convinced my brothers Ryker and Pearce to donate part of their allowance to VT Flood Response and Recovery Fund 2023 and all of us (me and my brothers) donated $260. I hope it helped!"

Siblings Taylor and Rose Smith of Reading volunteered their time at a local shelter after the flood. Wrote Rose, "Some of our friends came to help, too."

Number of Challenge finishers:
86

Number of kids who read an issue of their community newspaper:
28

Wrote Isla Slack of Lake Elmore: "I read the Stowe Reporter with my grandmother and discussed the articles."

Number of kids who interviewed members of their local fire department or rescue squad:
21

Wrote Abigail Lawler of East Montpelier, "I went to a fire station and talked to our local firefighters. One question was if they get prank calls and they said a lot! It would really help if people stopped prank calling."

Number of kids who visited their town offices:
36

Anna Ryan of Arlington went to the town clerk's office to meet and talk with clerk Robin Wilcox. She wrote, "Robin gave me a tour of the office, a large safe with town maps and other important info, and the town meeting space. What keeps Robin going through challenging times is the people that come in. She gets to see new people every day."

Number of finishers who listened to episodes of "But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids":
21

Kess Hunter of Orwell listened to the episode "Why Is Social Media So Addictive?" She learned that, "If people don't like your post, it can make you sad and it's OK to talk to adults about social media."

Number of kids who made art based on Vermont's state motto, "Freedom and Unity":
20

Wrote Tegan Bushey of Burlington: "When I hear the word 'freedom' the first thing I think of is birds, with the power of flight they are able to go wherever they want whenever they want. I believe the most unified kind of bird is geese. They have as much freedom as any other bird yet chose to travel together. To me, that is 'freedom and unity,' so that is what I decided to draw.

Distinguished Citizens

Atticus Lawler, East Montpelier

Atticus did Activity #10, Read the Newspaper, and found out about a community event that he and his family attended. He also did Activity #24, Take Control, and took steps to manage his digital devices more effectively, including turning off notifications on his texting app. He wrote: "I've noticed I've been checking my text messages way less, allowing me to be more focused." He won a $100 gift card to Phoenix Books.

Charlotte Krueger, Jeffersonville

Charlotte completed all of the activities. For #14, Organize Support, she held a bottle drive that raised $110.80 for the Franklin County Animal Rescue. She wrote: "We posted about the bottle drive on Front Porch Forum and 10 people wrote back to us so we could pick up their bottles." She won a $250 gift certificate to the Forget Me Not Shop, donated by Front Porch Forum.

Oliver Raymond, Hinesburg

Oliver did all 25 activities, including collecting three bags of nonperishable food for the Hinesburg Little Free Pantry. He won a $100 gift card to Phoenix Books.

Jacob Rye, Waterbury

Jacob completed all of the activities, including #8, Stay Safe. He visited the Mad River Valley Ambulance Service, where he talked to two volunteers named Wren and Howie. He learned, "Volunteering makes Wren feel helpful and great." He won a $100 gift card to Phoenix Books.

Riley Foley, Colchester

For Activity #14, Organize Support, Riley held a donation drive for COTS. He wrote: "I made posters and asked Burnham Library in Colchester and Fletcher Free Library in Burlington to hang them up and be a collection spot for donations. They even put it on their social media to get more people interested. PopPop wrote to Front Porch Forum to let them know about my hygiene drive." Riley collected enough for 16 personal hygiene kits and 11 more bags of various items. He won a $100 gift card to Phoenix Books.

Harriet Sterling, Fair Haven

For Get Together, Activity #4, Harriet participated in Castleton's Fourth of July parade and wrote this thank you note to the organizers: "I wanted to write to thank you all for your time, making the 4th of July parade happen! I rode in the Woodard Marine float. My favorite part was being with my friends. It feels really good to be a part of a community event. The parade is a favorite tradition of mine." She won a $100 gift card to Phoenix Books.

Look for a new Challenge next summer. Sign up for email alerts at goodcitizenvt.com. Can't wait that long? All of the activities from this and past Challenges are on the website, too.