Helping Students Discover the Power of Good Citizenship
Melaleuca helped bring Idaho’s first National Civics Bee to life so students could learn that citizenship begins with noticing a need, caring enough to act and believing they can make a difference.
Before she became Idaho’s first National Civics Bee champion, Lainey Moore was simply a middle school student who noticed something that did not seem right.
Older students at her school had access to programs that helped support their mental health. But younger students did not.
Lainey could have kept that thought to herself. She could have assumed someone else would fix it someday.
Instead, she asked a question: Why aren’t we helping them earlier?
That question became an essay. That essay became a solution. And that solution helped Lainey, an eighth grader at William Thomas Middle School in American Falls, earn the statewide title in the National Civics Bee.
Her story is exactly why Melaleuca and the Melaleuca Foundation helped bring the competition to Idaho this year.
Because good citizenship does not begin in Washington, D.C. It begins when a young person looks around, sees someone who needs help and decides to do something about it.
Teaching Students That Their Ideas Matter
The National Civics Bee is a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation program that gives sixth, seventh and eighth grade students a chance to study civics, identify needs in their communities and propose solutions.
For the Melaleuca Foundation, that purpose fits naturally with its Improving Education focus and its commitment to helping young people reach their potential.
Education is not only about learning facts. It is about helping students develop the confidence, character and judgment they need to build strong families, strong communities and a strong country.
Civic education does that in a powerful way.
It teaches students about freedom, responsibility and service. It helps them understand that citizenship is not passive. It asks them to think carefully and look for ways to strengthen the places they call home.
That kind of learning can change a student’s view of the world. And it can change a student’s view of themselves.
A Call Melaleuca Was Glad to Answer
The effort to bring the National Civics Bee to Idaho began when Suzanne P. Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, reached out to Melaleuca founder Frank VanderSloot for help securing an Idaho partner.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation was working to expand the competition to all 50 states in time for America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Idaho was one of only two states that had not yet confirmed participation.
Frank immediately agreed to help.
For Frank, the request aligned with principles he has long believed in: freedom, responsibility, service and the importance of helping the next generation understand what makes America worth preserving.
“The National Civics Bee helps young people understand why America works and why it’s worth defending,” Frank said. “At a time when so many voices are tearing down this country, our kids need to know the truth about what makes America strong, good, and free.”
Melaleuca helped bring the competition to Idaho, helped promote it statewide and hosted the Idaho finals at Melaleuca Global Headquarters on May 29.
Recognized by Idaho’s Top Education Leader
Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield praised the effort in an Idaho Education News op-ed, thanking Melaleuca for helping make the National Civics Bee possible for Idaho students.
She wrote that prioritizing civics helps ensure the next generation has the knowledge and confidence to participate, lead and build a bright future for Idaho and the nation.
That is the kind of future Melaleuca wants to help build.
Not by telling young people what to think, but by helping them learn how to think, how to listen and how to serve.
A Natural Extension of Honoring America
Melaleuca has long honored America’s founding principles through the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration, an Independence Day tribute to liberty and to the men and women who have defended it.
The National Civics Bee carries that same spirit into the classroom.
The Melaleuca Freedom Celebration helps families remember what previous generations sacrificed to preserve freedom. The National Civics Bee helps young people understand what they can do to carry those principles forward.
One honors the legacy.
The other helps prepare the next generation to protect it.
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, both are reminders that freedom must be understood, valued and passed on.
Students Saw Needs Close to Home
One of the most inspiring parts of Idaho’s first National Civics Bee was seeing what students cared about.
Some students looked inward, writing about the challenges young people face at school, including mental health, bullying, kindness, screen time and the need for stronger support.
Others looked outward, focusing on needs they saw in their communities: homelessness, affordable housing, public safety, volunteer service and safe transportation.
Still others thought about what makes a community feel healthy and connected, from reading literacy and rural grocery access to community centers, litter cleanup and farmland preservation.
The topics were different, but the heart behind them was similar. These students wanted life to be better for someone else. And that is where meaningful service often begins.
A Hopeful Glimpse of America’s Future
Lainey will now represent Idaho at the National Civics Bee Championship in Washington, D.C. and Melaleuca will be cheering for her!
For her, the opportunity is about more than winning.
“It feels good,” she said. “I am happy that I’m able to represent Idaho and just be able to do this for my state.”
Long before Lainey became Idaho’s first National Civics Bee champion, she had already demonstrated what good citizenship looks like.
She noticed a problem. And instead of waiting for someone else to solve it, she stepped forward with an idea.
That simple pattern can strengthen a classroom. It can strengthen a family. It can strengthen a community. And, repeated often enough by enough people, it can strengthen a nation.
This is why it mattered so much to Melaleuca and the Melaleuca Foundation.
Because when young people learn that their ideas matter and feel like their communities need them, they begin to see the role they can play in America’s future.
And our future becomes brighter.
