Visiting a town clerk’s office. Designing a new “Future Voter” sticker. Picking up trash on a local trail. These are some of the 25 activities in this summer’s Good Citizen Challenge, a youth civics project aimed at building a new generation of active, engaged citizens.
Organized by Kids VT and Seven Days — with support from the Vermont Community Foundation — the Challenge invites kids in kindergarten through grade 8 to do some or all of these activities, then upload the evidence to the Good Citizen website. So far this summer, we’ve received nearly 800 entries from students across the state, from Richmond to Newfane, Montpelier to Middlebury, Burlington to Brandon and South Hero to Stowe. Some are part of summer camps or classes, some go it alone, and others do the Challenge with friends and family.
Every Thursday, one of these participants wins a $50 Phoenix Books gift card — we raffle it off on “Channel 3 This Morning.” And one lucky winner will enjoy a free trip for two to Washington, D.C.!
Here are a few notable submissions from our 2025 Hall of Fame. Find more, along with a list of activities and a submission form, at goodcitizenvt.com. There’s still time to enter as of press time — the deadline is Labor Day, September 1.
Fun in the Sun
Frankie Houghton, 8, of Middlebury completed activity No. 5 when she jumped into the Middlebury Town Pool. This incredible action shot of Frankie — taken by her grandfather, Steve James — made it in the Addison County Independent’s “photos of the week” section!
Behind the Scenes
Russell Locke, 7, of Johnson went above and beyond in completing activity No. 21, Watch or Listen to the Local News, by viewing WCAX-TV’s noon newscast from the studio. Russell got a tour from vice president Jay Barton, met reporter Ike Bendavid and even got to participate in a weather forecast. “I learned that it takes a lot of time to actually make the news,” Russell said. “It’s also very complex!”
Flower Power
Ella Brown, 9, of Newfane completed activity No. 1 after she created her very own new “Future Voter” sticker. “I drew the shape of Vermont with a red clover inside (state flower) and blue ‘future voter’ on the sides,” she said.
Hilltop Monument
Brennan and John Paul Brouchard of Sheldon, ages 5 and 8, completed activity No. 3 by visiting Wolf Monument at the top of Aldis Hill in St. Albans. The monument commemorates local politician Lawrence Brainerd’s successful hunt of a large gray wolf that had been ravaging Franklin County.
Special Delivery
Ollie Grant, 7, of Burlington completed activity No. 13, Organize Support for a Cause, when he raised $25 for the humane society by running his very own lemonade stand. Ollie (pictured here with siblings) even delivered the money himself!
LifeSavers
Piper Blanchard, 9, of Randolph completed activity No. 7 by visiting her local fire department. Piper got to sit in a fire truck and learned all about how the department works. “[It’s] a volunteer fire department,” Piper said. “The firefighters don’t sleep there. They have to drive to the station when a call comes in.”
History Lesson
Amelia Dabritz, 11, of Burlington completed activity No. 16 by visiting Stowe’s Bloody Brook Schoolhouse and learning about its history. “It was fun to see how people in the olden days used to go to school,” Amelia said. “I liked learning that they voted on how long the school year is. One year it was three months of school in the fall and three months in the spring.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Upstanding Citizens | Selections from the 2025 Good Citizen Challenge Hall of Fame”
This article appears in Kids VT, Back to School 2025.
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