A North Shore High School student has been named one the recipients of this year’s Shapiro-McCormick Young Woman Leader Award from the Women’s Fund of Long Island for her volunteer work with the North Shore Holiday House in Huntington.
Tayler Bradford, a junior, was one of two recipients selected from 15 girls who were nominated for their leadership roles in advocating for women and girls in their communities, according to the Women’s Fund of Long Island’s Web site.
Bradford will be honored with the award at the 2013 Women’s Achievement Breakfast at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury on Oct. 24.
“Tayler has the talent and drive to accomplish just about anything, and her career path could take any number of directions,” said Bradford’s guidance counselor, Tim Shea, who nominated her for the award. “But one thing is for sure – whatever she does, she will utilize her sharp intellect and creative talents to do good. She is an instrument of change who desires to constantly improve the quality of life of those around her.”
Bradford said her work with the North Shore Holiday House, which serves as a free summer camp for underprivileged and sometimes troubled girls, began in 2012 after she and a friend last year raised $1,200 by teaching art classes to children in the local community and wanted to donate the funds to a local charity helping girls in need.
Bradford’s mother Sharyn directed the girls to Stacy Scarpone, the Women’s Fund of Long Island’s executive director, who put them in contact with the North Shore Holiday House.
“I was so inspired by what the NSHH provided for underprivileged girls that we decided to donate all of the proceeds to support their art program,” Bradford said.
During her summer break, Bradford taught art classes at the North Shore Holiday House, teaching the girls how to make a memory box because it allowed the girls “to keep their favorite memories stored in one place so they can always cherish them,” she said.
“One of the most inspiring things I experienced while teaching at NSHH was being hugged by one of the girls,” Bradford said. “Through this experience and teaching art classes at NSHH, I was able to see how much I was helping improve their lives first-hand.”
Bradford said her passion for the arts comes from her parents, and has been involved with photography in the North Shore School District since her freshman year.
Bradford has been named a Student of the Month for Health, has been on the school’s honor roll since her freshman year and is taking four advanced placement courses this year. She also plays on North Shore’s varsity tennis team and sings in the school’s Concert Chorale.
But Bradford said she understands the importance of finding an outlet to express one’s feelings, no matter how difficult life can be, and wanted to extend that to the girls at the North Shore Holiday House.
“The girls at NSHH come from troubled backgrounds and many times their voices fall through the cracks,” Bradford said. “I would like to lend them my voice so they are not forgotten.”
