Photo Gallery Annika Keesecker, center, joins her family and friendsregularly to perform traditional German dancing and music for charitable events. Stafford faculty members say this young volunteer sets a great example for others at her school.

When Annika Keesecker volunteers, she volunteers herself and anyone else she can bring along.

On any FISD campus, teachers quickly identify the students who everyone counts on to show up, work hard and support any project – Annika is one of those students at Stafford Middle School.

And, when you get Annika on board a project, you also get her family and all her friends, according to Principal Robin Scott and Assistant Principal Charese Duffey.

Annika comes from a family who believes in using its talents to the fullest.  They all perform traditional German dances and music for various activities, offering their talents to raise funds to help charitable organizations or teach others about their family heritage. They were a big hit at the FISD Frisco Nation multi-cultural night.

Annika has taken that lesson of giving back and applied it to all sorts of causes.  When Scott asked her to list her activities and projects during the last few years, she managed to fill two pages.

A few years ago, she and friend Alyssa Kramer made $168 dollars for a Pennies for Patients Drive through a lemonade and taco stand.  During the 2010-2011 holiday season, the two young ladies also made hot chocolate cone kits (filling a cone with marshmallows, chocolate powder, and candy bits) to distribute at an adoption center.  Annika is heavily involved in a number of school-sponsored projects and is also active in her church group.  Her teachers appreciate that she keeps up with her school work, in addition to her busy volunteer schedule, says Duffey.

One of the Keesecker family’s favorite projects is working for Hope House, which Annika describes as “a home for abused ladies and children.” Annika, with the support of her family and friends, has helped raise more than $1,000 for Hope House.  She also routinely raises funds for the SPCA and animal shelters.

Stafford teachers say one of Annika’s gifts is her ability to encourage others to join her projects.  Last February, she invited 300 people to go to the airport and thank soldiers for their service when they returned home from overseas. A year later, she has continued supporting the troops by writing letters to soldiers serving abroad – many of whom have written her back.  Those soldiers may not realize the scope of the new army they joined when they entered Annika’s circle of friends.