CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. β At just 13 years old, Mia Benavidez has already made a lasting impact on her community through three years of dedicated volunteer work at the Colonial Heights Food Pantry.
The eighth-grader at Saint Joseph's Catholic School in Petersburg recently received the 2025 Humanitarian Award from the Southern Virginia Regional Chamber of Commerce, recognizing her commitment to helping others.
Benavidez's journey into community service began when she was in sixth grade. She noticed a line of cars waiting for food and asked her father why they were there. Within days, she was volunteering at the food pantry and hasn't stopped since.
"People, they need help, so I like to help people and I think it's a better experience for me to have, so I can experience at such a young age, cause not many like young people do it, so I'm glad I'm able to do it," Benavidez said.
Rose Keller from the Colonial Heights Food Pantry praised the young volunteer's dedication and reliability.
"She may be a little girl, but she takes on big roles," Keller said. "She's reliable, motivated, you know, I can put her at one spot and tell her what to do and she gets it done. And I don't have to worry about it."
The teenager's volunteer work extends beyond the food pantry. She recently began helping feed the homeless in Colonial Heights.
At school, Benavidez excels academically, with math being her favorite subject.
"I like solving, like challenging problems and I like doing harder stuff. So I like to challenge myself sometimes and I think that's a subject I most enjoy," she said.
Sarah Owens from Saint Joseph's Catholic School described Benavidez as having "a very old soul."
"She is wise beyond her years and she is just that sort of student that when she first walked in the doors, you knew she was special. You knew that her heart was in a really mature and good place," Owens said.
Benavidez plans to become a physical therapist after college. She spends considerable time helping her special needs younger brother, who receives physical therapy.
"My brother does physical therapy, so I want to help kids like him or I could possibly help him when I am older, so I want to do that," she said.
Family and faith play central roles in her life. She attends Mass on Wednesdays at her Catholic school.
"I love going to Mass on Wednesdays because, that's where I can show my faith as well and then I just like to go to Mass because I can see Jesus," she said.
As she prepares for high school, Benavidez is considering applying to the Appomattox Regional Governor's School or a specialty school in Chesterfield County that focuses on health sciences.
Owens noted the genuine nature of Benavidez's charitable work.
"Her actions are genuine and you just feel that just radiating off her," Owens said. "You can tell that it's really very impactful for her. And that she wants to be doing it because she understands the need, but that it's also fulfilling something inside of her too, in a really positive way."
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