Elizabeth Stiles
- Woodbury, NY
- Our Lady of Mercy Academy
Four years ago, Elizabeth began assisting her neighbor with childcare. One of her neighbor’s three children had been a victim of pediatric cancer and Elizabeth’s help enabled her neighbor to focus more on work, fundraisers, and blood drives. This led Elizabeth to found Helping Hand Babysitting, a not-for-profit organization comprised of teenage babysitters. She held a school-wide assembly to publicize her efforts and recruit volunteers. Elizabeth organized a CPR certification course allowing 100 of Helping Hand sitters to become certified. In the organization’s first year, they logged over 200 hours of service. Elizabeth has been featured in Newsday’s “Way to Go” column and Verizon Fios 1 has covered the program in a television segment. Elizabeth is also captain of the basketball team. She attends Our Lady of Mercy Academy on a full scholarship for her outstanding reputation as student and athlete. She aspires to pursue oncology in college while also working to further expand Helping Hands nationally.