Natalie Flaherty, a 12‑year‑old from Fairmont, Minnesota, received the $10,000 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes for her anti‑hate bracelet campaign that has already distributed over 100,000 bracelets across the United States.
The initiative, called "I Stand with Anne," began in 2021 after Flaherty read about Anne Frank, and she first handed out bracelets on Halloween 2022, each bearing the words "I Stand With Anne, Put a Stop to Hate."
"I wanted to spread kindness instead of trick‑or‑treating," Flaherty’s mother Becky Flohrs told the local Sentinel, describing how the campaign grew from a single Halloween night to a nationwide movement.
The Anne Frank Center USA and the U.S. Holocaust Museum have joined forces with Flaherty to distribute the bracelets internationally, solidifying the campaign’s reach beyond American borders.
Flaherty plans to reinvest the prize money into producing additional bracelets, expanding her Kindness Club, and advancing policy work on hate education in schools across the country.
A nine‑year‑old student in New York who received a bracelet said it reminded her to stand against bullying, illustrating the campaign’s impact on young people in everyday life.