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Miami Palmetto High School senior Lauren Robbins volunteers at Friendship Circle.
“Friendship Circle was a big part of my life since seventh grade and that was the big continuity of my community service throughout the years,” she says. “I do the Friends at Home program, where I visit at the house. It’s typically every other week.”
She’s worked with the same child over the years, with a break because of COVID. The visits resumed in August.
“We do puzzles, and he likes to pack, so we pack suitcases with him,” she says. “We take walks. We would play videos together. We would color. We played golf in his backyard.”
She likes working with kids, so this summer she was a camp counselor at Cedar Lakes Camp in Pennsylvania, the camp she attended as a child.
“I was the spin bikes instructor because I earned a spin certification during quarantine,” she says.
This was her first year as a counselor because the camp was closed last year.
At Palmetto, Robbins is a Recruitment Chair for the Student Senate.
“I give tours to prospective students, plan and host Panther for a Day, and help with any other things for the school,” she says.
She’s also in the National Honor Society, the National Dance Honor Society, the Jewish Student Union, and Key Club.
This year Robbins is a Palmetto Varsity Cheerleader.
Outside of school, she’s president of BAFTY at Temple Beth Am. She’s been on BAFTY since freshman year and held various board positions. One of the programs BAFTY sponsors is the Jog for Jenny 5 K, which raises money for Camp Jenny, a camp program for underprivileged children in the Atlanta area. BAFTY also conducts Jewish programing and organizing field trips throughout the year.
She’s a member of the Social Justice Teen Fellowship at Beth Am.
“The advisor has brought in people to teach us about environmental rights, voting rights, LGBTQ, climate justice, economic justice and voting,” she says.
Robbins has volunteered as a Madracha (teacher’s aide) at Beth Am’s Hebrew School.
“I was with the Kindergartners,” she says. “I would read whatever story that coordinated with the holidays. I’d take them to music and helped them with arts and crafts and whatever they would need me to do.”
For three years she was on the Palmetto Dance team, Variations, and a competitive dancer at the True Movement dance studio.
“Dance is a really important part of my life and I have been doing it since I was two,” she says.
Her career path includes intellectual properties law.
“I’ve always been interested in fashion,” she says. “And I’ve also been primed to do law. “IP brings together fashion and law. It helps protect the brand.”
At the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, she combined her fashion sense with her love of community service and created Laurs Design, a company to raise money for different organizations.
“I wanted to give back in a way,” she says. “I had already enjoyed making these crafts and I wanted to help other people, rather than just my own benefit.”
She’s designed earrings, bracelets, sweatshirts and sneakers. Robbins donates 20 percent of the proceeds to a variety of organizations.
She has donated money to Color of Change and Susan G. Komen, the foundation that raises money for breast cancer research.
She started designing jewelry, shoes and clothes in middle school. Robbins displays her wares on Instagram at @LaursDesigns.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
