Lucy Westlake, the remarkable Naperville teenager who earlier this year become the youngest American woman to summit Mt. Everest, has received yet another accolade, the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, a program of the nonprofit organization Young Heroes Project.
Westlake’s award was in recognition of her work promoting water security.
Westlake has raised more than $30,000 to bring safe water technology to the developing world by hosting used shoe drives, selling LucyClimbs merchandise, and climbing the world’s highest mountains.
She began her water work at age 13 after a decade of corresponding with her Ugandan pen pal named Faith. Westlake had learned of Faith’s daily two-mile walk to fetch contaminated water and had vowed to help. In 7th grade, she discovered WaterStep, a nonprofit located near her hometown that installs sustainable chlorinators around the world. Within months, Westlake and her family were in Uganda, finally meeting Faith and installing a chlorinator in her village.
Her time in Uganda served as a call to action. She realized she could use her passion for climbing to raise awareness of the world’s water crisis – and could rally her peers to raise funds for the cause. Through WaterStep, she organized a used shoe drive at her school to provide affordable footwear for people in developing countries and funds for WaterStep. The drive’s huge success inspired her to expand it to other schools. She established a Teen Board of students from ten area high schools that now organizes shoe drives every March on World Water Day. The group has raised $25,000 so far. Early in 2022, Westlake returned to Uganda to visit Faith and to help install more chlorinator systems.
“I want to inspire a generation of young people to use their gifts and passions to make the world a better place,” she says. “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?”
In May, Westlake “stood on top of the world at 5:40am (Nepal time)” as the youngest American woman to summit Mr. Everest.
She had already set records in climbing, having reached the highest point in all 50 states, a quest she started at the age of 7. She has also summited Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Elbrus (Europe), Mt. Denali (North America), and Mt. Aconcagua (South America) – also known as the “Mountain of Death.” And now Everest (Asia).
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, a program of the nonprofit organization Young Heroes Project, celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds all across North America. Each year, the Barron Prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment.
