Goodwill Industries will honor Jackson Academy seniors Morgan Cheatham, Crystal Gao, and Shelby Grant on August 21 at the Country Club of Jackson as Goodwill Salute Outstanding Youth Volunteers for 2025. Each year, Goodwill recognizes young leaders who positively impact their schools and communities through compassion, leadership, and service.
A noteworthy aspect of their service is that it genuinely comes from the heart. Jackson Academy does not mandate service hours for graduation, fostering the belief that volunteering and acts of service should stem from genuine care for others, rather than from a requirement or the desire for recognition. Feedback from university leaders indicates that JA students’ willingness to serve voluntarily—without a school-imposed mandate—makes them highly attractive candidates in the recruitment process.
Morgan Cheatham is a hospital volunteer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, program director for Education Matters Tutoring, founder/president of the Junior Philanthropist Foundation, and a volunteer and a member of the President’s Leadership Circle Member at the Mississippi Children’s Museum. She serves as an engagement executive for the national nonprofit Nightingale Advocacy, vice president of JA’s Beacon Wellness Club, and an office volunteer for the local nonprofit Mississippi First. Morgan served as a youth volunteer lead for the American Red Cross. She is an arts volunteer for the national nonprofit Cancer Kids First and the vice president of Cancer Kids First Mississippi.
Crystal Gao is a certified weekly volunteer at the memory care unit at St. Catherine’s Village, a Canopy Student Ambassador, a certified volunteer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and marketing director of Education Matters Tutoring. She founded Beacon Mental Wellness at JA and serves as president. She serves as vice president of Junior Philanthropist Foundation Chapter at JA. She has been part of the Service Club Student Panel and is a member of the Biology Service Club and the Book Service Club.
Shelby Grant founded a tutoring non-profit called Education Matters Tutoring, has served as president of Nightingale Advocacy Non-Profit in Gluckstadt, has chaired the Biology Service Club, and serves as president of the Spanish Club. He is a University of Mississippi Medical Center Certified Adult ER Unpaid Volunteer and was named to the Gluckstadt Mayor’s Youth Council and the Mississippi Children’s Museum President’s Leadership Circle.
For tickets or more information about the August 21, 2025 Goodwill Salute, call 601.953.2569.
To see the student’s Goodwill profiles, visit facebook.com/GoodwillMS/.
