All the vings

Braes Heights teen Lindsay Frankfort (pictured, bottom left) made a guest appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday as an ambassador of the V!NG Project after nominating her cleaning lady Maria Rivera (bottom right, pictured with her son Fernando) to win $1,000. In addition, Kelly Clarkson (pictured, upper left) gifted the Rivera family with $5,000. Liz Lefkofsky, founder of V!NG (upper right) was also featured.

Lindsay Frankfort, a junior at St. John’s School, was scrolling through social media this summer when she came across an ad for a nonprofit called V!NG that encouraged teens to nominate someone deserving of $1,000. She submitted a video nominating Maria Rivera, who has been cleaning the Frankfort family home for almost a decade. “She makes such an impact on our family that I wanted to make a big impact on hers,” said Lindsay. A week later, Lindsay found out her entry was picked for a $1,000 gift and a spotlight interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show. V!NG aims to empower teens; the name comes from the last syllables in words like giving, loving, receiving and believing. During the episode, Clarkson surprised the guests and added in another $5,000 for the Rivera family. Since then, Lindsay has been appointed a New Teen Ambassador for the V!NG Project. Pictured are Lindsay (bottom left); Maria and her son Fernando Rivera (bottom right), Clarkson (upper left) and Liz Lefkofsky, founder of V!NG (upper right). See “Our Own VING Teen: GiVING Back" by Michelle Groogan for more details plus a link to watch the segment.

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