Hannah Roberts
Forest General Hospital
Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Each year Forrest General Hospital Spirit Girls who are Juniors or Seniors in high school are given the opportunity to compete for the Spirit in Action Youth Role Model Award. Candidates submit essays stating why they feel they are role models. Below is the essay submitted by this year’s winner, Hannah Roberts, a Junior at Sumrall High School in Sumrall, MS. Hannah is the daughter of Danna and James Roberts of Mt. Olive, MS.

Dr. Michael DeBakey once said, “Success is achievable without public recognition, and the world has many unsung heroes.” Since I started a non-profit organization, Pages of Love, in 2005, I have certainly found Dr. DeBakey’s quote to be true. Many people spend their whole lives searching for something to provide a source of happiness. Whether they try to find happiness in wealth, popularity, or fame, the majority of these people ultimately find themselves to be very unsatisfied and unhappy with life. However, the knowledge that one has done an act to make someone else’s life better is enough to provide the greatest happiness, even if the action goes unrecognized.

Through Pages of Love, I am able to provide sick and needy children in hospitals around the southeastern United States with new or slightly used literature. Many of these children are forced to miss school and miss the opportunity to have friends and to engage in normal childhood activities. Literature can provide an outlet for a sick child to escape the hospital room to the worlds unveiled in books. A simple book can distract a child from a shot or entertain that child in order to give their parents a well deserved rest.

I take book donations throughout the year with a large focus on the month of February. During this month, Pages of Love takes donations of books from Seminary Elementary School. The elementary classes compete for the most books donated, and at the end of February, the winning class receives a pizza party. Most of the books are given to area hospitals such as Forrest General Hospital and Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson, MS. For the past two years, the Spirit Girls of Forrest General have assisted my charity by donating books to be given to Forrest General’s Pediatric unit. Thanks to the help of all these generous donors, I have been able to provide over 10,000 children’s books.

In December, my organization donated over 400 books to St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Research Center. In addition, my youth group also donated a meal to the residents of the Target Outpatient House at St. Jude. Although my youth group and I were the donors of the gifts, I feel that we received the greatest gift of satisfaction and the knowledge that we had done something to better the lives of the patients and families. Through this charity, I am able to see how fortunate I really am.

What makes Hannah extraordinary is that even though she is from a small, rural town in Mississippi, she has big dreams and works hard to achieve them. Not only does Hannah help sick children, she helps those with whom she comes in contact by demonstrating a servant's heart--one that sees a need and takes action to help those who cannot help themselves. Other Spirit Girls, students and volunteers who witness her caring spirit are uplifted by her kindness and willingness to work hard and achieve their goals. In addition to her own charity, Hannah spends many hours serving the Hattiesburg community through Spirit Girl activities, such as providing items for bags given to cancer patients, playing with disabled children at the Association for Retarded Citizens home, and volunteering help at Spirit of Women events. Kathy Emmons, coordinator for Forrest General’s Spirit Girl program, said, “Hannah is truly a role model in our community. She is beautiful inside and out, is faithful to her commitments, and has a strong sense of purpose for such a young age.” Forrest General is proud to present her as a candidate for the national Youth Role Model Award.