On March 17th, in a ceremony in Brookdale Community College, seniors from schools all around New Jersey were awarded the prestigious Caring Award, sponsored by The Monmouth County Guidance Director Association. Marlboro High School’s own Emily Braisted was among the few selected to be the recipient of this award, for her dedication and her passion for her non-profit club, the Ashley Lauren Foundation.

After struggling through a battle with cancer, Emily soon came to learn about a Colts Neck based foundation, entitled the Ashley Lauren Foundation. This foundation raises money for families whose lives have been affected by cancer. Emily herself had then decided to found her own chapter of the Ashley Lauren foundation club in MHS, where she has been running it for over 3 years. Through fundraisers, such as car washes, bake sales, Sadie Hawkins dances, the Ashley Lauren foundation has been able to raise over $12,000, all of which has been directly transferred to aide families whose lives have been afflicted by cancer. Moreover, Emily and members of her club have interacted with children and families alike who are struggling through cancer in events, and galas.

Emily would like to thank Mr. Zdziarski, her guidance counselor, for nominating her for the Caring Award, and Mr. Sampson, for coming to the event. Braisted states that “this award has definitely been an amazing token of recognition for all of my hard work throughout high school”.

Overall, the Ashley Lauren foundation is a club that has been positively affecting the lives of families afflicted by cancer and has spread awareness of the reality of childhood cancer. Congratulations to Emily Braisted for her well-deserved award.

Below is a video of Braisted herself describing her hard work that led to her winning the Caring Award.