Reading a newspaper, visiting a state park, designing an “I Voted” sticker, learning or teaching someone a new game — these were some of the 25 activities in the 2026 Good Citizen Challenge, the civics project for kids in grades K-8 organized by Seven Days and Kids VT with support from the Vermont Community Foundation and the Canaday Family Charitable Trust.
We received entries from young people across the state who completed a record number of activities. To reward them for their work, we raffled off a $50 gift card from Phoenix Books in a live weekly drawing on “Channel 3 This Morning.” At the end of the summer, we chose one lucky grand-prize winner, who received a free trip to Washington, D.C., donated by Milne Travel. We’ve collected some of the highlights here.
By the Numbers
1,850
activities completed — a new record!
190
participants
57
towns represented
172
books read for Activity No. 2, “Read a Book”
54
participants did Activity No. 12, “Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make Do or Do Without.” Said Vivi Milles, 8, of Richmond: “I used a pillowcase to make a Fourth of July costume.” Ellis Smith said, “I recycled an old pair of blue jeans and made myself a sun hat.”
41
participants completed Activity No. 20, “Talk to a Journalist.”
36
participants did Activity No. 9, “Get Prepared,” which helped kids be ready in an emergency. Said Hanaleia Hartz: “Our fire extinguisher was on top of the fridge where I can’t reach, so we moved it.”
1
college intern tried “vibe coding” a website element for the Challenge. Olivia Fleming of Middlebury College built a Challenge leaderboard where participants could track their progress. Olivia told claude.ai what she wanted the leaderboard to do, and Claude built it for her.
Grand-Prize Winner
Congratulations to Distinguished Citizen Colt Mobbs! He’ll be headed to D.C. with his family in February.
Distinguished Citizens
These participants completed all 25 activities and will be honored at a day at the Statehouse in March, during the next legislative session:
- Ben Rowan, 11, Shelburne
- Blaise Tinker, 12, Winooski
- Charlotte Adair, 12, Moretown
- Chris Dupont, 10, Milton
- Colt Mobbs, 6, Winooski
- Ellie Otto, 8, Cabot
- Ellis Smith, 8, Marshfield
- Elsie Marsala, 6, Essex
- Emma Shenk, 11, Milton
- Evelyn Claire Kimball, 10, Milton
- Frances Doyle, 9, Montpelier
- Hanaleia Hartz, 9, Burlington
- Jacquelyn Bicknell, 11, Essex
- Myles Smith, 6, Marshfield
- Ollie Grant, 8, Burlington
- Oliver Sawyer, 9,
North Ferrisburgh - Oliver Shenk, 9, Milton
- Penelope Otto, 5, Cabot
- Russell Locke, 8, Johnson
- Samuel Sanborn, 10, Richmond
- Sarah Smith, 9, Groton
- Selah Shore, 9, Stowe
- Theo Moore, 8, Burlington
- Zachary Sanborn, 12, Richmond
Essay Question
This year we invited kids to write a short essay describing their Challenge experiences. Here are a few excerpts from those essays:
My favorite activity to complete this summer was Activity No. 24, “Take a Break From Screens,” because we got to go camping and spend time outdoors. I was riding my bike all around, helping my Dad stack firewood for campfires at night, and enjoying being out in nature with my brothers.
— Blaise Tinker
The ditches in my town are very dirty; not in the mud type of way. There is trash everywhere. I felt so proud to clean up some trash to help clean up our town. There are so many ways to be a Good Citizen that I bet many people don’t even notice how helpful they are. I think the Good Citizen Challenge encourages kids like myself to help our community even if there is no prize.
— Charlotte Adair
I’m going to be a good citizen when I grow up.
— Chris Dupont
What I think makes a good citizen is work, dedication and someone who never gives up even when it gets hard. For example, during the Montpelier flood three years ago many good citizens helped clean up and support each other. There was also a fire at the RK Miles store in Montpelier. Residents reached out, offered help and housing. These were scary things, but people were able to stop and check in with each other. All these people were good citizens taking care of their community.
— Frances Doyle
Being a good citizen doesn’t just mean not doing things that are against the law but actually doing good things for the people and place that we live in.
— Oliver Sawyer
My favorite activity was “Meet the Local Fauna.” I entered information about my experience observing tree swallows, but I also got to see a black bear with three cubs in my backyard and many birds up close when I visited VINS.
— Ellie Otto
To raise money for Neighbors in Action, my sister and I picked flowers from our garden and made pretty bouquets. We raised $220 in total! This money will be used to help feed people in the community. Our title for this project was Flowers 4 Food. We posted on Front Porch Forum to let people know that they could come to town to support us. Everyone was very nice and thanked us for our effort. I am proud of myself and my sister!
— Penelope Otto
One of the hardest things I did was take a screen break for three days because I couldn’t watch the World Cup. I did listen to it, and that helped.
— Ollie Grant
It was interesting to visit the Town Clerk’s office — I got to watch my older sister vote, and we never would have guessed what the oldest building in Shelburne is! I’ve learned lots of things about Vermont I didn’t know before.
— Ben Rowan
Winners of the “I Voted” Sticker Contest
Activity No. 22 involved designing an “I Voted” sticker to be distributed at the polls. We received 92 entries and narrowed it down to 12 finalists. A panel of judges from the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office and Seven Days chose the winner and runners-up: Theo Moore, Michael Shapiro and Penelope Deforge. Their designs appear above in that order. Coincidentally, they are all from Burlington. The Secretary of State’s Office made sure their stickers were available at the polls on Election Day, November 3.
This article appears in Kids VT Winter • 2026.
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