October 15, 2009

‘Super Heroes’ Featured at BC Student Leadership Conference in Kelowna

KELOWNA, BC: Hannah Taylor, the 13-year-old founder of the Ladybug Foundation, and 12-year-old Alaina Podmorow, founder of Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan will be two of the special guests at the BC Student Leadership Conference beginning on October 22, 2009. They will speak to approximately 300 students from across the province and 200 local students.

“These girls are amazing examples of what can be achieved with hope and determination,” says Norm Bradley, Director of Instruction and one of the conference organizers. “We are pleased that they will be able to speak at our conference since both of them are actively making a difference in people’s lives. Hannah has raised millions of dollars to fight homelessness and Alaina’s efforts are paying the salaries of Afghan teachers who risk their lives to educate girls. This is especially impressive given their young age. I think they will inspire secondary students to believe that they can accomplish almost anything they set their hearts and minds to.”

Alaina Podmorrow is currently a Grade 7 student at Davidson Road Elementary. When she was just 10-years-old, she established Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan, a branch of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. Alaina’s mission is to raise money to hire teachers to educate girls in Afghanistan. The salary of an Afghan teacher is approximately $750 per year. To raise money, Alaina began by collecting recyclable materials and selling doughnuts, but soon discovered it would take ages before she could reach her target. She teamed up with the Lake Country Rotary Club and also inspired students throughout SD23 to get involved.

Hannah Taylor was just five-years-old when she noticed the indignities experienced by homeless people and soon after created the Ladybug Foundation. She painted jars red and black to look like ladybugs and placed them in stores and other venues inviting people to donate spare change. She also met with individual business leaders requesting their assistance. Soon that turned into “Big Boss Lunches”. Her foundation has collected approximately $2 million, which is given to numerous established charities involved in housing, feeding and changing the lives of people living on the streets. To date, Hannah has given more than 300 talks to raise awareness and funds. The conference’s opening ceremony takes place at Kelowna Secondary on October 23 at 8:30 a.m. .

Approved by the Superintendent and Norm Bradley on October 15, 2009

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For comments, please contact:

Norm Bradley, Director of Instruction, (250) 860-8888

Hugh Gloster, Superintendent of Schools, (250) 860-8888

For background information, please contact Lisa Harrison lharriso@sd23.bc.ca or 470-3284.