The compassionate work of a Belmont freshman is receiving national recognition.
Two years ago, Kelsey Kinsel of Las Vegas founded Salvation City, a suicide prevention organization that provides resources to teens battling depression.
This month she is one of five finalists selected by Glamour magazine for its 2011 Woman of the Year Readers’ Choice Award. Voting ends Sept. 23 and the winner will be announced at the end of the month. Read articles on Kinsel in The Tennessean and on MTV.com.
The two women with the most votes will go to New York City for Glamour’s Women of the Year red carpet event, where Kinsel said she hopes to touch toes with political celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama.
“It is not a monetary prize but it is a huge opportunity to spread the word about Salvation City and network with real influential women,” she said.
The award would be the pinnacle of her work that began when two friends committed suicide.
“I decided to do something to let people know if they were in the same situation they there are places that they can turn to help them,” Kinsel said. She since has been assembling an article compilation CD, creating posters and selling $3 wristbands to raise money to distribute suicide prevention resources to schools. Fox 5 KVVU in Las Vegas also have Salvation City a $1,000 grant.