Park Forest Youth Mentor Receives Cook County Heroine Award

PARK FOREST, IL — A south suburban youth mentor was honored last week with the 2022 Unsung Heroine Award from the Cook County Board of Commissioners, officials announced.

Lamekia Davis is a mentor at Lincoln's Challenge, a youth program in Riverside which aims to teach and assist local children with school and extracurricular activities. According to Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, Davis heads the Park Forest Youth Commission of Lincoln's Challenge.

"Whether it’s providing free mentoring to young people or using money from her own pocket to buy Christmas presents for those in need, Lamekia has devoted her life to giving back to others," said Miller in a press release. "I know Lamekia does not give to others for recognition, but everyone should know what a special woman she is."

In addition to her work at as a youth mentor, Davis also operates a free, 24-hour help line for local teenagers and children who need someone to talk to outside of the center. Davis is also a Be The Match volunteer where she helps young cancer patients through the process of finding a matching stem cell donor in the Chicago area.

When accepting the award, which is given annually to one woman from each district, Davis said she hopes the recognition will go to show younger people the amount of resources available to them.

"Nothing is more important to me than supporting young people in our community, and I hope this recognition can help show some of the many ways we can provide mentorship and assistance to those in need," Davis said.

The award is named after Peggy Montes, who worked on the Cook County Commission on Women's Issues for decades. Officials said the award is given to one woman from all 17 Cook County districts and one woman to represent all the districts combined.