Millennium High School selects 12th Grader Erin Ortiz to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award for Community Outreach.
Erin was nominated by Mrs. Jennifer Grumbling with the following narrative:
Erin Ortiz goes above and beyond to serve Millennium High School and our surrounding community. As Key Club President, she oversees 120 club members to make sure that the environment is inclusive and that all members are involved, engaged, and appreciated. Erin works tirelessly to lead the club and organize weekly club meetings. She spends countless hours recruiting club members to serve in events such as the mobile food pantry, Goodyear Make a Difference Day, and a handful of trunk or treat events, to name a few. Erin gets things done. For example, the Rotary Club of Goodyear PebbleCreek reached out to Millennium to have students participate in the Purple Pinkie Polio Project in recognition of World Polio Day on October 24th. Erin single-handedly organized and promoted two events to raise money for the Rotary. On October 23rd, Erin was out at lunches with a team of students and Senior to Senior community members to collect money and paint pinkies. On October 24th, Erin raised money at lunches with a handful of students by holding Teacher Pie in the Face competition. She even bought the whipped cream and pie tins with her own money, and I hear that she donated $50 towards her Physics teacher, the wonderful Mr. Wirth. In two days, Erin (and the Millennium Key Club) raised over $300 to help eradicate polio. For both days, Millennium students donated during lunches while learning about the need for polio eradication and getting involved in giving back to the world. Erin successfully rallied the Millennium students to get them enthusiastic about donating for this cause and to have fun while doing it. This is not an easy task. Great job Erin! Millennium is proud of you!