Centerville High student sets an example for others

Community Service Award goes to senior.

She’s an organizer, a leader and a student who inspires others with her selfless acts of charity.

Centerville High School senior Noe Camp was honored by the Washington Twp. trustees on April 17. She received the 15th annual Community Service Award that recognized “her dedication, her important contributions to the community, and the superior example of service she has set for us all.” The award was established to draw attention to the importance of public service.

“Noe models service above self,” said Stella McCrory, a CHS guidance counselor who helps coordinate the award. “She has assumed a pivotal role in the growth of the Interact Club. Her investment in doing good work for the community has been a tremendous asset.”

Over the past three years Camp has assumed the roles of behind-the-scenes volunteer, tireless fundraiser and project leader for the interact Club, one of CHS’s four service organizations. Because of her strong commitment to the club, this past year she was promoted to co-president.

One of the projects she has taken a strong interest in is the Interact Club’s Book Drive. Her leadership resulted in a total donation of 10,000 books for Eastmont and DECA Prep elementary schools. Collection boxes had to be decorated and strategically placed. But Camp didn’t stop there. She coordinated a competition among the CHS advisory groups that raised interest in the book drive and resulted in more donations.

When Noe helped to deliver all those books and watched as each first- and second-grader chose one to take home, it quickly became her favorite volunteer project.

“We walked in with these big boxes of books, and their faces lit up,” said Camp of Washington Twp., whose parents are Sofie Ameloot and Greg Camp. “They were so cute. Seeing the kids receive the books made it seem more real.”

Another situation that is real is the lack of local clean water supplies for some villagers in Malawi, a landlocked country in southeast Africa. She led the effort to raise $3,000 to install a fresh water pump. The club had a clever way of drawing attention to the problem. Water bottles were sold with the catchphrase: “The World is in Your Hands. Water You Doing?”

“While some students’ participation and dedication wavered, Noe worked consistently,” said Interact advisor Elizabeth Cameron, an English teacher. “When the school year ended and the project was not finished, she took it upon herself to complete the sales during the summer.”

It was Cameron who nudged Camp to join Interact Club in the first place. Camp has had quite a successful run as a volunteer, so Cameron’s time mentoring the young student was not wasted.

“The way she talked about helping people inspired me. Through her, I got connected to the group,” said Camp. “My true goal originally was to make Mrs. Cameron happy. She’s literally the best teacher I’ve ever had. Now I just have a blast volunteering; we have so much fun.”

In addition to the book and water projects, Camp has helped multiple refugee families with bedding and household items, and toys. She has spent time tutoring local refugee students at River’s Edge Montessori School. She also helped homeless teens at Daybreak Dayton, and raised $1,050 for the Artemis Outreach Center.

As if all this isn’t enough, she still has time for the CHS dive team, Varsity B tennis team, and the French Club. She plans to major in education at Ohio University this fall.

Her teacher inspired her, and now she wants to be a teacher herself. She’ll be paying that inspiration forward.

Contact this contributing writer at PamDillon@woh.rr.com.

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