Courtesy photo Kathryn Kieley, a rising 7th grader at St. Christopher Academy in Nashua, has been named one of the two recipients statewide of this year's CMC Heart & Hands Scholarship. With her are St. Christopher Academy principal Cynthia Clarke, right, and 6th grade homeroom teacher Mary Lou Wefers. (Courtesy photo)

MANCHESTER – Rising St. Christopher Academy of Nashua 7th grader Kathryn Kieley has been named a recipient of this year’s “Heart & Hands” scholarship, an award that pays tribute each year to two Catholic school students for their “commitment to the needs of others through leadership and service,” the Diocese of Manchester has announced.

The scholarships, which are sponsored by Catholic Medical Center, are presented to two Catholic school students – one in middle school and one in high school.

This year’s high school recipient is the appropriately-named Emma Service, a rising senior at Trinity High School.

Catholic Medical Center president Alex Walker praised the recipients for their deep commitment to serving their respective communities.

“These students have already made significant contributions to their communities,” Walker said. “It is inspiring to see the works of students like Kathryn and Emma and the example of servant leadership they set for their peers.”

Courtesy photo Emma Service, a rising senior at Trinity High School in Manchester, is one of two recipients of this year's Heart & Hands Scholarship, which recognizes two Catholic school students in grades 7-12 for their involvement in community leadership and service. She is pictured with Tim Soucy, senior executive director of Support Services and Mission at Catholic Medical Center. (Courtesy photo)

According to Lauren Collins-Cline, director of communications for CMC, and Alison L. Mueller, director of marketing, enrollment and development at the Diocese of Manchester, students applying for the Heart & Hands scholarship were asked to submit a resume of their service work and describe a community service project or program that they would like to implement.

About Kathryn Kieley

Kathryn has been spearheading community service projects from a very young age, when she began setting up a lemonade stand to benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Often with the help of her sister, Kathryn has been involved in a number of projects to encourage and uplift her neighbors and fellow parishioners.

Her proposed service project would deliver free activity kits to K-8 remote learners. “I would deliver bags with activities for the week and ideas for fun things to do at home (hopscotch, blanket fort, etc.) to each child who signed up for it,” Kathryn said.

“With activities to keep them occupied, remote learners will reduce their screen time, and stop bothering their parents.”

About Emma Service

Emma holds leadership roles in the National Charity League and the Kiwanis Key Club at Trinity. She is also involved as an after-school program volunteer and in Campus Ministry.

Emma proposed to create an organization dedicated to visiting and helping elderly and mentally ill nursing home residents.

“Although this may not be one of the most pressing problems in our flawed world, it is a very frequent issue that has a very easy fix: We don’t need millions of dollars and volunteers to make it happen,” Emma said.

For more information about the CMC Heart & Hands scholarships, go to catholicnh.org/schools/visitors/scholarships.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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