Rockford students honored for serving the community at Harkins memorial event

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Seven Rockford students were recognized for serving their community at Harkins Memorial Foundation’s annual dinner.

The foundation was created after James Harkins died in a drowning accident almost 30 years ago.

“It’s all about him, and it’s also all about the young kids,” said Marva Brown.

The rewards aim to remind the students that all they do for the community is valued.

“At the end of the night, these kids are going to go home, and they are going to know that they are valued, that they are worth something,” Brown continued.

18-year-old Anthony Powell-Ramirez was nominated for his involvement with the Rockford Park District. His next step in his journey will be to attend Ottawa University, where he will study Biology.

“It just motivates you to keep striving, and you show the younger people, put in the work, and this is where you can be,” said the 18-year-old.

Brown said she wants the youth of Rockford to thrive in the same way as her grandson would have.

That message was echoed to the winners.

“Anytime you get an award, especially for hard work, it does a good job of showing you that when you do hard work, you get an outcome,” said Adebayo Kuye. “A lot of times, the things that you do in life consistently that are positive, you don’t see those rewards for a very long time. So, make sure that there is an award or weight to incentivize and to keep on with this good behavior that is very powerful.”

Each award winner was a scholarship, a computer and a trophy.