Samantha (Sammy) Lizarraga is a junior at Rancho Bernardo High School and has been volunteering with FFCC since she was a young girl. This month Sammy was awarded the Violet Richardson Award from the International Soroptimist in Poway for her community service efforts locally and abroad.  With the award comes a check for $500, which she can donate to the organization of her choice.  Sammy chose FFCC. We asked her why FFCC and for what specific purpose does she want the money used for. Here is Sammy's response:

"I picked FFCC. It's an organization that does such great things and changes lives every day.  I also chose FFCC because I know that the money will go where it's supposed to. 

Right now I'm really involved with gender equality and empowering girls through education.  I believe that all girls should have the right to go to school and receive an education.  When girls don't receive an education, they become trapped in poverty their entire lives and are denied basic human rights because they were born a girl.

I chose to focus my efforts on educating girls because I am very passionate about girls' rights and gender equality.  It's not a "women's issue", it's really a world issue.  People need to see the whole picture.  When you educate a girl, you empower her.  By educating her, you change her life, you change her children's lives, you change her community, and if enough girls are educated and enough communities are changed, you can change the world.  When you give a girl an education, you reduce the risk of her being sold off, given away, or even becoming a child bride.  When you educate a girl, you help her to get out of poverty, you help her to support her family and that can change many generations to come.

There are so many third world countries with people living in poverty.  When I look at these countries, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, I see a common thread.  That thread is how they all view the worth of their girls.  If the entire world would just stop and take a long hard look at what they've allowed to happen, they'd see that they could fix so many problems in their country by changing the lives of girls.                

A few months ago I heard a story about a girl named Malala who took a stand against the Taliban and went to school.  The Taliban entered her school bus and shot her in the head.  She survived.  My friends and I now wear a necklace to honor Malala.  The necklace says "GirlTopia" and represents a perfect world for a girl.  We sent Malala the same necklace while she was recuperating in a hospital in England.

I've asked that the $500 donation go towards building the girls' dorm in Haiti.  I hope to someday go to the school and somehow help in the process of educating these girls."

Congratulations, Sammy!