This fall, all star athletes were challenged to reach out in their communities and go the extra mile to spread kindness. For the second year in a row, athletes were invited to participate in the USASF Season of Service by implementing a give-back project between October 1st and November 15th.

Maddie Harmon, a freshman at Career Magnet School and an all star cheerleader at Pa Starz is making a difference in her community by volunteering with the Healthy Community Partnership of Greater Franklin County for her USASF Season Of Service give-back project.

“I want people in the community to feel like they get to live the life they want. Giving back to the community is so important to me because everyone deserves a chance to feel good about themselves.” 

HCP is an organization that strives to help keep the children of Franklin County healthy. The organization holds multiple events each year and Maddie volunteered for their Go Girls Go 5K race and at their Power of Produce stand. 

The Power of Produce stand, or POP, is a stand for kids ages 2-16. The POP stand has an activity for the kids to help them learn more about fruit and vegetables and how to eat healthily.

"People in my community struggle every day with staying active and eating healthy," explained Harmon. "Thankfully I have been blessed to be able to do things to stay active and buy things to help me stay healthy. I really want to help people who are not as fortunate to still be able to do these things. It makes me so sad that some people are not getting what they need. So my goal is to be able to supply people with the things they need to be able to stay healthy."

Maddie decided to implement a Season of Service give-back project after getting the chance to participate in the USASF Bolt/March Leadership workshop along with the Advanced Leadership Workshop this past September.

“Everything I learned from those workshops was so amazing,” Maddie added. “From both of the workshops, I learned about the campaign. Another cheerleader on my team did Season of Service last year and I saw what a benefit it was to the community. All these things inspired me to this year do Season of Service.”

Maddie hopes that her project will inspire others around her to get more involved within their community so collectively they can help to build a healthier lifestyle for everyone.