Know a child making a difference in Arizona? Enter 'Caring Kid' contest

Winner #1:  7-year-old Victoria

Victoria is always a giving and caring child.  Recently, she earned some money for doing additional chores around the house.  She proudly went into the dollar store to spend it on the highlighters she had been saving up for and noticed a homeless man in front of the store. 

I watched as she considered the markers and then moved over to the food section.  She carefully evaluated her choices and chose items that would help the man the most.  She spent all of her money, without prompting, on food items for him, as well as something for his dog to eat. 

Vicky has organized and collected food for her own food drive during the holiday season to donate to the local food bank.  She adopted four children from the angel trees at Christmas time to buy presents for them. 

Vicky always helps at home with her baby sister and mom with medical needs. 

She is polite and respectful in the community, holding doors and offering up her seat to an older person.  She also helps an elderly neighbor with chores the neighbor is unable to do, without incentive or payment. 

She is currently working on making care packages with her mother to  hand out to the homeless.  She has a heart of gold.

For all of these reasons, we are proud to award Vicky with the AmTrust Bank Caring Kid Award for February.   Vicky will receive $150 and a new AmTrust Bank savings account. 

Winner #2: 16-year-old Rhiannon

Rhiannon volunteers at the Maricopa Animal Shelter every other weekend. There she cleans up after the animals, exercises them, and counsels people on adopting animals.

She's participating in the Teen Treks program at the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the weekends and helps with pet adoption events there, as well. This program teaches kids how to handle and care for animals of all types, which helps Rhiannon work toward her goal of becoming a veterinarian.

She also worked with the Jr. Drama Club at Westar Elementary School last fall, instructing children in acting and stagecraft.

Additionally, she helps out with the semiannual blood drives at her high school. She can always be counted on to help others in need.

All this while maintaining the highest GPA in her sophomore class!

Winner #3: 13-year-old Sydney

Sydney Mooneyham is a thoughtful and caring 13-year-old leader who is always looking for ways to contribute to her community, whether it's leading the efforts to raise money for a neighborhood dog's vet bills, or donating her art work for use on the program cover for a 2011 immigration and naturalization ceremony.

When Sydney found out that a neighbor couldn't afford the vet bills for Penny, a sick dog, Sydney decided to raise "Pennies for Penny" to help with the vet costs. She raised $150.

For her birthday one year, Sydney asked to be taken to "Best Friends Animal Sanctuary," where she and her family donated their time mucking stalls, feeding animals and working on shelter improvements.

Sydney's commitment to public service isn't limited to her immediate neighborhood. She wants to reach out and help others in need no matter where they live!

When Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake, Sydney led a community donation drive for UNICEF by setting up a lemonade stand that raised $1,200. The funds were donated to UNICEF for earthquake victims. 

While on vacation in Mexico, Sydney saw many hungry stray dogs and also lept into action. When she returned to Arizona, she organized a dog food drive for a dog shelter in Mexico that was sorely in need of more food.

Sydney's leadership in public service should be an inspiration to us all, both children and adults!

If you know a Caring Kid, nominate them here .