Youngest AppreSHEation Award Winner Ever

Friday, 8 March 2019 14:25

A remarkable young woman from Woodstock has won the 2019 AppreSHEation award.

WOODSTOCK - Hundreds of people came out to show their support for International Women's Day today.

The Oxford Aud was packed as everyone enjoyed a free chili lunch and of course the ApprSHEation awards. 18 year old Makenna Hall is the youngest woman ever to win the award. She started getting active in the community after the suicide of one her closest friends. Hall has done a lot of work in the community but she is probably best known for organizing GROW Girls (Growth, Resilience, Opportunity and Worth) for Grade 9 female-identified students on March 6th for a day of celebration and connection. The event was designed to fall in line with International Women's Day and was an overwhelming success this year. Hall's goal was for the grade 9 students to build connection and self-confidence through a shared experience.

Hall says it was a huge honour to win this award.

"It's truly crazing and inspiring, this award, I mean it's not only for me it is for everyone who believed in me and believed in my vision in this event and had my back to create this day as a reality."

Her mother Laura Lee Hall says her daughters life changed her friends suicide in 2016.

"We just saw this enthusiastic, very energetic young lady fall into this despair, she needed crisis management through counselling and hospitalization at times and it was extremely disheartening to watch. Many days it was a struggle for her to even get out of bed."

Laura Lee hall says it is so amazing to see how far Makenna has come and how proud we all are of her today.

"It's just an unbelievable experience to really be a part of this whole journey and to see the ability to come and rise up above all those circumstances and have the courage and the bravery to speak it forth and a double honour because my younger daughter, her sister was at the event too and to see the both of them in such leadership was inspiring."

The event was Emceed by Heart FM's Sabrina Storm. The crowd was really enthusiastic this year as they celebrated the 10th anniversary this year.