Students Honored as Hometown Heroes

On April 17, 2015, eight Ranney students will be honored as Hometown Heroes for their work as Junior Ambassadors at the K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune: Lily Elkwood ‘18, Michelle Krameisen ‘16, Pooja Nayyar ‘17, Jillian ’17 and Nicholas Ross ‘17, Alexandra Shay ’15, and Christopher ’14 and Anne Marie Weiland ’15. Anne Marie will be accepting the Hometown Hero award on behalf of the ambassador group, which also includes nearly 100 students from other high schools in the area. The group works throughout the year to educate the public about the hospital’s resources through volunteer and fundraising opportunities, such as running pajama drives and collecting and donating art supplies for the pediatric unit. Ranney students volunteer their time to the hospital every month.

The event, titled Superhero Soiree, will take place on the evening of April 17 at the Red Bank Molly Pitcher Inn with US National Team Captain and four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Christie Rampone presenting the award to the Junior Ambassadors. The award is presented annually to honor young philanthropists and leaders in the community for outstanding service to others in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Ms. Rampone is the spokesperson for K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital.

Ranney senior Anne Marie Weiland told the Coast Star that, “No matter how busy you are, you are happy that you made the effort to get to the hospital after school and you look forward to your next volunteer opportunity,” she says. “We are learning about compassion first-hand, and we are giving back.” See the full media story here.