Will Richerson has been presented with both The President’s Volunteer Service Award and a Certificate of Excellence by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. These two outstanding awards are for students who portray exceptional initiative in service to their communities.  Only 10% of all students are considered for these honors.  He was regarded as “a positive force” by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.

Will, joined by a couple of his friends, started a reading charity called “Let’s Read, Alabama,” making books more available to that 20% of “functionally illiterate” individuals.

Will’s volunteer service project directly solved a troublesome issue in his community. He said, “Close to 20% of people are functionally illiterate.” During the research phase of this endeavor, he saw book-exchange containers that people could buy, but they were expensive. Will realized that people who could afford this product had extra money, as this is not a necessity item. People who didn’t have extra money to buy books surely would not have the money to order an expensive book-exchange container or even live in a neighborhood that already has one.

Will said, “We wanted to provide this to lower income neighborhoods.” The book-exchange containers that Will and his team built are set up near public places where large groups of people go, such as Lowe Mill, Dublin Park, and a few other neighborhoods. “We only have about 15 set up right now, but we’re working on getting more.”

Will also participates in Venture Scouts and helps with the Charity St. Patrick’s Day Dog Walk every year.

Despite receiving various community service awards, Will stays modest and humble. Grade-wise, he describes himself as a “moderately good student.” To Will, grades aren’t everything because he knows that colleges and universities look at more than just a student’s academic achievement. Community involvement and teamwork are major keys to success in college and later on in life.

Will’s favorite thing in life, second to volunteering, is snowboarding. He loves to vacation with his family in Colorado when he’s on break from school. In school, he loves English, Multimedia Publications, and writing stories for Patriot Pages. In his spare time, Will nurtures his budding interest in art. He likes photography and drawing and plans to major in film at college.