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Trevis Belle, another Kittitian youth prepares for a once in a lifetime opportunity will be honored by Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II, by receiving the Queen’s Young Leader Award at the Buckingham Palace on Thursday 23rd June.

The Queen’s Young Leader Award recognizes and celebrates exceptional people aged 18-29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives. Winners of this prestigious Award will receive a unique package of training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential programme in the UK during which they will collect their Award from Her Majesty.

19 year old Trevis, is a proud son of the McKnight soil, as he started his own non-profit organization, ‘Making A Difference Everywhere’ MADE St. Kitts’ which focuses on raising awareness about the importance of volunteerism amongst youth through training, mentoring and development programs.   The organization was founded in January 2014 and to this date has expanded to three other Caribbean islands namely: Trinidad, St. Lucia and Grenada.

Trevis said, “To be selected as a Queens Young Leader is not only an accomplishment for me, but one for my organization, my country and my community of McKnight, as it is mostly associated with negativity. Receiving this award can play a major part in breaking the negative stereotypes that are matched with my community.”

Before receiving their Queen’s Young Leaders Award, the winners will visit 10 Downing Street, UK Twitter Headquarters and BBC World Service to name a few. They will also meet the Commonwealth Secretary General, take part in workshops at the University of Cambridge, have meetings with UK business leaders, and visit projects that are changing the lives of vulnerable people in the UK.

The excitement is definitely at an all time high for Trevis where he said, “I honestly cannot wait to meet the other 59 Queen’s Young Leaders to find out more about their projects, find out why they started them and hopefully build a network that enables us all to continue spreading peace & building a better world. I am also nervous but excited for the award ceremony as I will be in the presence of Her Majesty and receiving an award from her!”

He further stated, “It is my love for volunteering that got me where I am today! I strong advocate for young people to get involved in giving back to their community as you may never know where it will take you! MADE St. Kitts is currently accepting members so if persons are interested they can visithttp://www.madestkitts.org.”

Trevis is the 2nd person from the Federation to receive this prestigious award, Javon Liburd was the first.

This year’s award winners are working to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of issues including but not limited to youth work, education, youth unemployment, climate change, gender equality, volunteerism, mental health and improving the lives of people with disabilities.

Trevis closed by saying. “As a recipient of this prestigious award from Saint Kitts and Nevis, it really proves that amazing things can come from small places. I am encouraging the young people of this twin island federation to continue aiming for your dreams and keep working hard and smart, to further the development of our beautiful country.”