12-year-old Minnesota girl inspired by Anne Frank wins $10,000 after giving out 100,000 ‘I Stand With Anne, Put a Stop to Hate’ bracelets

A 12-year-old girl from Minnesota Natalie Flaherty distributed more than 100,000 anti-hate bracelets won this year’s Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes winners. Natalie Flaherty won the $10,000 award for her global initiative, ‘I Stand with Anne’, which aims to transform Holocaust remembrance into daily action. The bracelets she made read, “I Stand With Anne, Put a Stop to Hate.” Fairmont girl Flaherty was inspired after reading Anne Frank's story three years back and her hope to end hatred started from there. And this led to the beginning of "I Stand with Anne, Put a Stop To Hate" campaign. Through it, she distributed more than 100,000 bracelets in more than 50 countries across the globe. "I'm very proud of myself," said Flaherty. "It makes me feel so accomplished and people are actually seeing my message."

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How did the campaign begin?

Natalie Flaherty was a fifth-grade student when she started the campaign. She was deeply moved by Anne Frank's life when she read about the young diarist and also watched a documentary about the Holocaust. She even dressed up like Anne Frank for the Halloween in 2023. Deeply engrossed in Frank's life, she also did an extensive research about her and learned that it was hate that killed her. On the occasion of Halloween, she dressed up as Anne as Frank and had a purpose beyond trick-or-treating and wanted to spread kindness. "I was hesitant. I wanted to make sure she fully understood everything about Anne Frank and what happened. But this year she said, 'I'm ready, Mom. I really want to do it. Instead of trick-or-treating, I want to do something for other people,'" Natalie’s mother, Becky Flohrs, told the Sentinel in 2023.


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What started as a one-night idea on Woodland Avenue in Fairmont soon became a nationwide movement. The "I Stand with Anne, Put a Stop to Hate" bracelets reached all 50 US states and were distributed for free at the Anne Frank Center USA, the Holocaust Museum and select businesses in the Fairmont area. Shirts are available at annefrank.com.

Flaherty and her mother told KEYC the money will go toward more bracelets, replenishing the college fund she drew on to pay for the campaign, and causes she supports, including the Anne Frank Center and the Fairmont Opera House.

From a simple application to $10,000 prize

Natalie Flaherty had entered the program Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes last year after another organization she had previously worked with recommended it. After learning more about the program, she decided to apply again this year. “When we researched the program, it made a lot of sense that she would apply for it,” Flohrs said. Flaherty wrote essays about her work, what she had learned, the impact of her efforts and what she hoped to do in the future as part of her application. She also submitted three letters of recommendation. “I was happy when I completed it,” Flaherty recalled.

Natalie Flaherty was eventually contacted by the organization and learned that she had won the prize among about 2,000 applicants. She was recognized for distributing more than 100,000 “I Stand with Anne, Put a Stop to Hate” bracelets around the world. “Me and my mom were crying when we found out because it was just so exciting,” Flaherty said. Flaherty received her plaque, certificate, prize money of $10,000 and a copy of T.A. Barron's The Hero's Trail on Thursday, Sept. 17.

"I feel very accomplished and very grateful for everyone who has helped me along with this mission," Flaherty said. She plans to invest, set her bracelet distribution back in motion, save for post-secondary school and make donations. In further endeavors, Flaherty plans to continue working with educators and politicians on educational reform addressing hate and how to challenge it. With the Kindness Club, she plans to distribute bracelets on Halloween once more with the "Wicked" theme.