YAC President RJ Russell recognized for appointment to West Point
Posted on May 11, 2018
RJ Russell has been involved in philanthropy since before he even knew what the word meant. Tagging along with his mom, Tara, to Youth Advisory Council (YAC) meetings at only five years old, he was destined to become the part of the next generation of philanthropy.
RJ went on to become involved in YAC as a teenager, taking on the role as president. In his high school career RJ also held the titles of President for the Class of 2018 and National Honors Society. Through YAC he was given an opportunity to be involved in youth development and giving, while strengthening community foundation leadership and grant making capacity.
He volunteered countless hours -whether it was shaving his head to support the St. Baldrick’s Foundation every March, personally raising over $10,000 for St. Baldrick’s to support research for childhood cancers, spending Saturday mornings working at the Mid-City Nutrition Soup Kitchen as a 4th generation volunteer, or raising 4-H hogs to be given to the soup kitchen. 
So were not surprised to hear that he would be was recognized before the May 9th Marysville Board of Education meeting for his outstanding academic and leadership achievements and appointment to the United States Military Academy-West Point! RJ will be graduating in June from Marysville High School 1st in his class with a GPA of 4.627 before reporting to the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY on July 2. He plans to study life sciences and finance, attend medical school directly after his 4 years at West Point, and then will serve his country working in Army medical stations.
Learn more about RJ and his accomplishments in this The Keel article.
The Community Foundation is proud of RJ’s leadership, accomplishments, and deeply rooted sense of giving back to his community. After he serves his country and receives the education that he is reaching for, we hope he returns to his roots here and continues his legacy of making a difference in St. Clair County and beyond!
