By: Sindy
Sindy: You and your organization have been honored with many awards, including the National Seventeen/Cover Girl Volunteerism Award and Teen Magazine's "Top Teens Making a Difference". How does it feel to be recognized and appreciated for your work?
Annie: It's great, especially for the project. It gets more people aware of what's going on. It's exciting, but it's not all about me. It's about the kids who need the help.
Sindy: You also received an Angels in Action Award. Tell me about that.
Annie: It was the Angel Soft Angels in Action Award. The mayor nominated me for that, and so me and my mom went to LA a couple of weeks ago and we were there for two days, and there were 10 other kids. It's always so much fun to hear what other kids are doing. It's so neat. It's one of my favorite parts of the awards.
Sindy: What's been the most rewarding experience in your work with Care Bags?
Annie: Sometimes we send evaluations to the people to see how they like the Care Bags. And those are really neat to get back, to see what Care Bags meant to them. And also we get pictures back. Other countries are really good at getting pictures back to us, so it's always neat to see kids holding the Care Bags that we filled.
Sindy: In 2002, you met President George W. Bush! What was that like?
Annie: It was really unexpected. It was exciting. I never would've thought that anything like that would happen, but it was fun.
Sindy: So who are your role models?
Annie: My family, my parents. We have always volunteered since I was little, done different things, like with church. We have a day around Christmas when we do a good deed for the neighbors, and we carol. It's always been a part of our family, so I've grown up with it.
Sindy: Being the president and director of the Care Bags Foundation must keep you really busy! Do you ever find the time to just be a regular teenager?
Annie: Yes, somehow I do. I do stuff with friends on the weekend. Weekends are usually pretty busy. I usually babysit. And we have a lot of time on Saturdays because we have band competitions, so I get to spend a lot of time with my friends, or I have show choir competitions.
Sindy: What are your future plans for Care Bags?
Annie: I'd like to continue Care Bags for as long as there's the need. I would love that kids would have everything that they needed, but I'm not sure that that's ever going to happen. I'll try to continue it for as long as I can.
Sindy: Any other future plans?
Annie: I will definitely go to college. I want to be a kindergarten teacher.
