Anaya Bond ’27, a Rhodes College environmental sciences major from Jackson, TN, has been honored as one of the 2025 recipients of the SPARK Awards. These awards celebrate individuals, nonprofits, corporations, and schools across 13 different categories who are igniting change and making a positive impact in the Greater Memphis community.
The 12th Annual SPARK Awards, a collaboration between television station WKNO/PBS and cityCURRENT, premiered on Dec. 15 on WKNO. Bond was recognized as the collegiate individual winner for her volunteer work with the Mid-South chapter of the American Red Cross, where she has contributed to disaster response efforts and preparedness programs.
At Rhodes, Bond also is pursuing a minor is Africana studies and is a participant in the Bonner Scholarship program, which connects students’ academic studies, personal beliefs, leadership skills, and philosophy of service with real-life situations and organizations in Memphis.
Bond began volunteering at American Red Cross as a result of being a Bonner Scholar and said, “It’s humbled me. It’s made me get out of my comfort zone and really connect with people I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to before.”
She also has assisted with the organization’s annual Red Boa Bash to raise funds for victims of house fires and with blood drives to benefit individuals with sickle cell disease.
“I’m just getting started with a research project with a professor at Rhodes, who knows people who are also part of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Tennessee,” said Bond. “I’m hoping to somehow do a collaboration between the Red Cross and the Sickle Cell Foundation. This is just a start of something really amazing that I hope I can continue even after I graduate.”