Deidre Miller with youth motivational speaker, Jeff Yalden.

Deidre Miller, who’s a bright, easy-going, quiet, 12 year-old girl who lives in Waldorf, Maryland, has created her foundation to help her friends and peers in Charles County, Maryland. 

Deidre Miller founded the SIBI (Strong, Intelligent, Beautiful, and Independent) Foundation, which helps to encourage any student first through twelfth grade to stay focused and remain on the A or B Honor Roll. 

She believes the foundation should recognize students who are capable of being an honor roll student, also for others who feel ashamed of being on the honor roll for fear of peer pressure of being called “Geeky”, while others who are excelling in their studies but are not receiving the recognition that they so well deserved. 

SIBI Foundation offers monetary awards to any student who are on the “A or B” Honor Roll each semester/quarterly. 

On Saturday, June 14, the Strong, Intelligent, Beautiful, and Independent Foundation, Inc.  (SIBI) held its First Annual Monetary Award Ceremony for students in grades first through twelfth at Middleton Hall in Waldorf, Maryland.  During the ceremony over 250 students of the 300 students enrolled in the program were recognized for their academic achievements and received over $11,700 in the form of checks and college funding accounts.

The SIBI Foundation was created solely for the purpose of challenging students to strive in their academics and motivate today’s youth to stay in school as the nation continues to struggle with a widening graduation gap. 

Recognizing the growing problem in the peers around her, Deidre sought to rejuvenate the spirit of the student and their family as it relates to the lifelong benefits of education by creating a Monetary Awards Program which would incent students who maintained an A or B Honor Roll.

As the young founder nervously standing in front of her peers told the students “Congratulations and to keep up the good work.  She also expressed gratitude to the parents and thanked them for their support in helping to keep the students focused.

The Mistress of Ceremony, Sharon Lewis of Metropolitan Bride, LLC, applauded the young founder for her hard work and generous heart toward creating this Foundation and praised the award recipients.

“When I was nine-years-old, my mind was far from thinking about a foundation,” said Sharon.  “At that age, I was more focused on playing with an Easy-Bake Oven.”

To keep the young audience entertained, SIBI invited Jeff Yalden, a world-renowned youth motivational speaker, to talk to the students about the importance of "being responsible" and "taking time to think."  Jeff shared stories from his life, including what it is like to be a father of two teenage girls; his personal challenges, such as learning strength from his wife who survived thyroid cancer; and what it was like to grow up in a home with an alcoholic father who kicked him out the night of his high school graduation.  He also urged students to be responsible for the way they represent themselves.

SIBI Foundation goals are to double or triple enrollment into the program for year 2009.  We are seeking donations and sponsorships so that the foundation will provide a tutoring center for the students.  Monetary donations are most needed; Ms. Miller has funded this project from her very own education account.   

The foundation intends to provide this program to the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia with the next three years. 

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About SIBI Foundation

The Strong, Intelligent, Beautiful and Independent “S.I.B.I” Foundation was created to challenge all youth in America to excel and stay in school. The concept was created by a nine-year-old girl, Deidre Miller, from Waldorf, Maryland. S.I.B.I. Foundation is designed to motivate school age children from the 1st through the 12th grade. The concept of “SIBI” is to challenge all youth to strive to obtain and achieve the A or B Honor Roll, and to then further their education by going to college. The main goal is to keep our youth goal-oriented and focused on college, and to be successful through life…always be “SIBI”, and you cannot go wrong. 

For more information, visit www.sibifoundation.org.

About Sharon Lewis, Metropolitan Bride, LLC, and Washington Weddings Magazine

Sharon Lewis is the chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Metropolitan Bride, LLC.  Metropolitan Bride has developed an innovative two-fold approach to address the needs of the wedding marketplace by serving as an advertising agency providing public relations resources for local wedding professionals as well as the ultimate planning resource for engaged couples.  The company publishes the only locally owned wedding and lifestyle magazine in the Greater Washington area, “Washington Weddings,” with an interactive internet component. 

For more information, visit www.washingtonweddings.net.

About Jeff Yalden

Jeff Yalden, a 36-year-old former Marine, has traveled all over the world speaking in all 50 states to youth representing over 48 different countries. He is the most requested youth speaker in the world today for his style and ability to reach into the hearts of teens worldwide while providing answers to the most commonly asked questions teens face today.  

For more information on Jeff Yalden, visit www.JeffYalden.com.

(Article and photo courtesy of the SIBI Foundation)