AGAWAM — “All I can say is, wow! We’re very proud of you. You truly make us proud. Keep up the good work,” said Shelley Borgatti-Reed, School Committee vice chair, after hearing a presentation by Agawam Junior High School (AJHS) eighth grader Maddie Balzano, the 2022 Project 351 ambassador for Agawam, at a meeting earlier this month.

Balzano, 14, has been engaging with other eighth graders from around the state who, like her, wants to make positive changes to the world. Project 351 is a statewide youth community service nonprofit organization started in 2011. It provides eighth grade “ambassadors” from the state’s 351 cities and towns with an opportunity to lead service projects in their communities to benefit different causes throughout their service year.

Project 351’s core values are kindness, compassion, humility and gratitude. Student ambassadors are known for their open minds and hearts, respect for others, enthusiasm, and a passion to make a difference.

During his introduction of Balzano, AJHS Principal Norm Robbins said she has a long history of making positive changes in Agawam.

“Since second grade, she has participated in several activities, such as the ‘Be Kind’ movement, where students made signs that were placed throughout the community.”

As a middle schooler at Doering School, Robbins said Balzano joined the Kindness Club and was a morning greeter. In addition, she made masks for health workers during the pandemic and hats for newborn children at Baystate Children’s Hospital.

“In short, Maddie takes on any challenge that will make our community an even better place to belong to,” said Robbins.

During her brief presentation at the March 8 meeting, Balzano gave an overview of three service projects she will lead this year.

The first, a spring service project, is a clothing drive for Cradles to Crayons. The organization provides children living in homeless or low-income situations with essential items they need at home, at school, and at play. Balzano will collect new or like-new clothing at AJHS during April for children from birth to age 12.

“I will then work with the ambassador from Westfield to sort items and bring them to our region’s collection point,” added Balzano. She will also collect books that her family will deliver to the Giving Factory (part of Cradles to Crayons) later this spring.

Her second project will be a 9/11 tribute service benefiting the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund. A fall service project known as the “Race to End Hunger” — a can drive to benefit local food pantries — will be her last project before Balzano turns in her navy-blue Project 351 T-shirt for an orange alumni shirt.

Leading up to the service projects, Balzano explained that Project 351 ambassadors have participated in its Service Leadership Academy.

“This teaches us skills to use in our service projects and allows us to meet other service heroes and learn from their experiences,” she said.

At the academy, ambassadors took part in an anti-bullying and anti-discrimination program run by the Boston Celtics, called the Playbook Initiative.

“I’m very excited to say I was also one of 30 ambassadors chosen for a clinic at the Celtics Training Center for an extension to that training,” Balzano told the committee.

At the end of her presentation, Balzano took questions from committee members. Wendy Rua, who called the presentation “wonderful,” asked about some of the service heroes she met at the academy.

Balzano replied that she started off by meeting Gladys Vega, who she called “an international service hero.” At the age of 9, Vega moved with her family from Puerto Rico to the Boston suburb of Chelsea, where she witnessed the challenges facing Latino residents in the U.S.

The most recent service hero Balzano met was Matthew Slater, captain of the New England Patriots: “We learned about his experiences and how he connected his faith to his service.”

Responding to a question from Rua about how she shares information from her ambassador meetings, Balzano explained that ambassadors talk about what they learned with their friends, who pass it on to their friends and family.

“We call it STW — ‘Spread the Word.’ We do it through social media and word of mouth. Without even realizing it, we’ve incorporated it into our everyday lives,” said Balzano. She added that it becomes “a spiral effect” because much of the information she learns at the academy also gets to many other people via STW.

Kerri O’Connor told Balzano that she’s “making a huge difference” through her community service projects. “You’re getting so many skills and life skills. That will look good on your resume,” said O’Connor. She wanted to know if Balzano has support from her friends for fundraisers or other events.

Balzano answered by saying that when the spring service project goes into action there will be a team-building effort. She said she’s been focusing on her best friends, her family friends, and others who she can trust to help her.

She’s already asked multiple people who are on board — including two of her very best friends; “they’re so excited to help out.”

Mayor William Sapelli, who chairs the School Committee, praised Balzano for her presentation.

“You’re very well-poised and well-spoken. You’re also very enthusiastic —and that will go a long way. You’re a very positive individual. We need more of that,” he told Balzano.

Project 351 usually launches in Boston during the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Students perform numerous community service projects to honor the late civil rights leader’s legacy. The pandemic caused the January in-person launch and in-service days to be canceled for both 2021 and 2022.