Newsletters 2014-15 Focus newsletter, [3] spring | Page 2

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE

PAGE 2

AMSA sixth-grader Alanna Worrall earns
national recognition for volunteer service
In 2009, when Alanna Worrall was just a kindergartner,
she underwent a surgical procedure at Gillette Children’s
Hospital in Saint Paul.
“It was scary,” said Worrall, now 12 years old and a
sixth-grader at Anoka Middle School for the Arts
(AMSA). “But the nurses — I remember they gave me a
blanket and a stuffed animal and blew bubbles for me.
They helped me to smile and laugh.”
The experience inspired her. “I thought kids should be
able to be kids even when they’re in the hospital,” she said.

“We get a lot of donations from my church, too,”
Worrall said. “We get toys and Easter grass to put in the
baskets — I think we’ve gotten enough Easter grass to
cover my whole lawn!”
In addition, Worrall has used some of the monetary
donations to buy DVDs, video and board games, and
craft supplies for the hospitalized children. Target helped
too, and hand-stuffed hundreds of plastic Easter eggs so
the children at the hospital could have an egg hunt.
Worrall’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed. This month, The
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards named her as
Minnesota’s top middle school youth volunteer for 2015.

Anoka Middle School for the Arts sixth grader Alanna Worrall
has been named Minnesota’s top middle school youth volunteer for 2015 by the Pru [