Alameda Kiwanis Hosts 27th Annual Hope of America Awards
On March 12 th , the Kiwanis Club of Alameda celebrated 9 exceptional 8 th graders as Hope of America awardees for 2025. The Club invited the students, their teachers and their families to a luncheon held at the Elks Lodge in Alameda. With Kiwanis members, the total attendance was record-breaking 72. Vice Mayor Michele Pryor and Ryan LaLonde, Vice President of the Alameda Unified School District, presented their congratulations, with each student receiving a plaque from Kiwanis President Dawna Dowdell-Dos Santos, and the Mayor’s official certificate. The Hope of America Award is given to outstanding 8 th grade students who continuously demonstrate leadership, character, peer outreach, community service and school spirit. Every school in Alameda having an 8 th grade class invites teachers to nominate students matching these criteria. The Alameda Kiwanis Hope of America committee makes its selection based on the responses received.
Kiwanians celebrated the students with great spontaneous gestures, cheering and applauding them as they entered the Rathskeller with their teachers and family members! Teachers proudly spoke of their students, giving anecdotes to explain why they deserved this award. Teachers and school principals appreciate this recognition for the students, but also for their efforts in the classroom and school. It was, in their words, “uplifting”, “very rewarding”, “something that I look forward to every year”. The happiness in the room was palpable, with adults networking after the meeting and the kids talking together, bridging schools. Ryan LaLonde commented that Hope of America began as a national program only two years before Alameda Kiwanis started our local recognition. He stated that, upon researching the students who received this award in past years, he found many in careers that directly contribute to the community, the state and the nation. Ms. Pryor recognized the students as truly the best of Alameda youth.
Our Kiwanis Motto: “Serving The Children of The World, One Child and One Community at A Time, in Alameda since 1923”
Annual Hope of America Awards
Alameda Kiwanis Hosts 27th Annual Hope of America Awards
On March 12 th , the Kiwanis Club of Alameda celebrated 9 exceptional 8 th graders as Hope of
America awardees for 2025. The Club invited the students, their teachers and their families to
a luncheon held at the Elks Lodge in Alameda. With Kiwanis members, the total attendance
was record-breaking 72. Vice Mayor Michele Pryor and Ryan LaLonde, Vice President of the
Alameda Unified School District, presented their congratulations, with each student receiving a
plaque from Kiwanis President Dawna Dowdell-Dos Santos, and the Mayor’s official certificate.
The Hope of America Award is given to outstanding 8 th grade students who continuously
demonstrate leadership, character, peer outreach, community service and school spirit. Every
school in Alameda having an 8 th grade class invites teachers to nominate students matching
these criteria. The Alameda Kiwanis Hope of America committee makes its selection based on
the responses received.
Kiwanians celebrated the students with great spontaneous gestures, cheering and applauding
them as they entered the Rathskeller with their teachers and family members! Teachers
proudly spoke of their students, giving anecdotes to explain why they deserved this award.
Teachers and school principals appreciate this recognition for the students, but also for their
efforts in the classroom and school. It was, in their words, “uplifting”, “very rewarding”,
“something that I look forward to every year”. The happiness in the room was palpable, with
adults networking after the meeting and the kids talking together, bridging schools.
Ryan LaLonde commented that Hope of America began as a national program only two years
before Alameda Kiwanis started our local recognition. He stated that, upon researching the
students who received this award in past years, he found many in careers that directly
contribute to the community, the state and the nation. Ms. Pryor recognized the students as
truly the best of Alameda youth.
Our Kiwanis Motto: “Serving The Children of The World, One Child and One Community at A
Time, in Alameda since 1923”
For more information, please visit our website: www.alamedakiwanis.org