Will County Gazette

Students involved with a leadership program at Valley View School District 365 were recognized for their hard work after they received an award for showing a strong connection to the program's mission. 

The Valley View students were awarded Operation Snowball, Inc.'s "High Five" award for hitting all five pillars of the project, which include fostering youth-adult partnerships, social-emotional learning, ability to adapt, high lightly youth influence, and community involvement.

"I'm just going to go through each kid individually really quick as they get their certificates. And thank you guys for your awesome hard work and everything that you guys have made possible for them," Briana Hall, program director for Valley View's Operation Snowball, said during a May 23 Board of Education meeting.

During the meeting, Hall mentioned that one of the student directors earned the Youth Excellence Award for volunteering 100 hours of her time to the program.

According to the district's website, Operation Snowball is a retreat-style youth leadership program that includes workshops, small groups and keynote speakers. The goal is the increase the number of teenagers making healthy decisions while teaching them leadership skills. 

Thanks to donations from 11 different organizations, 27 Valley View students were able to attend the retreat for free. Hall added that the hope is to maintain those donations, so more students can benefit from the program.