Children serve community.

Salisbury, North Carolina, schoolchildren have a tradition of practicing compassion and neighborliness, and outstanding students are recognized during an annual Service Above Self Youth Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the Rowan County Rotary Club and United Way. On November 29, Taylor Merritt, a seven-year-old second-grader at Morgan Elementary School, received special recognition.

All through first grade Taylor devoted a tremendous amount of time and attention to her friend, Taylor Kirk, who has spina bifida. Taylor Merritt carried her friend's book bag, helped her with her walker, and played with her at recess alongside the gravel playground, which her friend could not negotiate.

"Most students are occupied with just getting their materials together or being the first out the door," Kim Sheeks, the girls' reading teacher, told the Salisbury Post. "However, Taylor Merritt didn't seem to mind how long it took to get out the door, as long as she had taken care of the needs of her friend."

Young Miss Merritt was not the only student honored that evening. According to the Salisbury Post, Joey Church of North Rowan Middle School and Erin Carrion of Salisbury High also won first-place awards in the category for individuals.

Joey mowed the lawn of an elderly woman in his neighborhood last spring and summer without payment. He received permission from his parents to use his family's lawn mower, and paid for the gas with his allowance.

Erin volunteered for a total of 210 hours, working with children at The Arc/Rowan Summer Day Care Program, which serves youth with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. She also volunteered to take a group of adults with developmental disabilities to Blowing Rock, a quaint village nestled within the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, for four days.