Bridget Ayers — Quiet Confidence and Lots of Compassion

Welcome to Salem Patch Whiz Kids, a place where we will honor the great work of Salem's youth. This week, we're pleased to feature a motivated girl with lots of compassion, Bridget Ayers.

Whiz Kid: Bridget

Age: 12

Grade:

In addition to school, Bridget spends her time participating in Girl Scouts, theater and her church’s youth group. She plays clarinet, piano and softball and enjoys listening to the Beatles. Her mom, Kim, said she is an “utter…fanatic" of the Fab Four's music.

Bridget is also working with a local woman, Keri Cahill, in h. Kim said her daughter was moved by Cahill's story, did her own research about a Siberian orphanage and has been saving her money to help Cahill in her efforts to adopt. Kim said her daughter has also been "self-teaching herself the Russian language, so she can communicate with the orphans via mail."

Cahill has invited Bridget and her mom to accompany her to Siberia in the summer, and Bridget has been working hard to raise money to go on the trip.

Although she is only 12 years old, Bridget is already an inspiration to others, including Cahill, as well as her mother.

"She inspires me by her selfless actions," Cahill wrote. "The first time I met Bridget, she handed me a piggy bank with $87 dollars in it she had saved to go towards my adoption of a Russian orphan, and she didnt even know me."

"Bridget marches to her own drum, and is not influenced by what others think," Kim added. "Her compassion for those less fortunate is a constant and strong vibe inside of her...I wish I had her quiet confidence — not worrying about what others think so much.  She truly marches to her own drum.  If she feels it is right, and good, she acts on it.  She stresses about why more people don't help others, wonders how they can just sit back and do nothing when they see others in need."