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2007 National Winners

Congratulations to these Kohl's Kids Who Care® 2007 National Winners! Each of these remarkable National Winners were honered with the following:

A $5,000 scholarship toward his/her post-secondary education.
A Kohl's Kids Who Care® plaque.
Featured in a Kohl's back-to-school ad announcing and congratulating the Kohl's Kids Who Care® winners.
Featured on an in-store poster from August 15 - September 30, 2007.

In addition, Kohl's will donate $1,000 to a non-profit on behalf of each National Winner.

Review our national press announcement about these Kohl's Kids Who Care® National Winners

National scholarship recipients are:

OLDER WINNERS (AGE 13-18)

Victoria Kucera, 16, Eagan, Minn.
Inspired by both her father's and grandmother’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Victoria participated in “The Ride Across Minnesota,” a 300-mile bike ride to benefit MS. Since age 10, Victoria decided she needed to do something to help. Every year, 75 percent of the funds raised support research, sponsor educational programs and support groups and provide mobility aids for patients. Riding tandem with her father, Victoria and her team have raised more than $29,000 for the MS Society $8,000 of that raised solely through her own efforts. Invited to give the starting line speech in 2006, Victoria faced nearly 1,000 cyclists thanking them for their dedication and encouraging them to continue the fight to cure MS.

Folake Dosu, 17, Bellwood, Ill.
Seeing the need to brighten homeless children’s lives, Folake founded The Birthday Party Project. Through her program, children from local homeless shelters enjoy a birthday celebration with friends. Each month, Folake throws a party after shopping for gifts, organizing transportation and chaperones, ordering pizza, providing a cake and making goodie bags for each child invited. Folake solicited donations from area organizations for all party needs, but spent her own money to provide goodie bags for the kids. After the unexpected deaths of her father and cousin, Folake felt the need to bring joy and happiness to other children in her community.

Matthew Cortland, 18, Marlton, N.J.
Matthew was greatly affected by his first Walk for Autism Research and learning that 1.5 million Americans cope with autism daily. Together with his best friend, Matthew founded Students Together for Autism Research (S.T.A.R.) to increase student and community autism awareness. With more than 100 members, Cherokee High School S.T.A.R. has initiated a weekly “S.T.A.R. Soccer” program that works with autistic children ages 3-8, and has raised nearly $20,000 in three years. Additionally, Matthew contacted Autism Speaks and mapped out a plan to establish S.T.A.R. as Autism Speaks’ official high school student club. As a result, S.T.A.R. has expanded, creating additional chapters in other New Jersey school districts and in other states. Matthew has also received the 2005 National Alliance for Autism Research National Young Leadership Award, Goodwill’s 2006 Joanne Bowman Community Service Award and the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Pamela Coats, 18, Albemarle, N.C.
Recognizing a deficit in her community, Pamela founded The Talent Company, a performance company run entirely by and for local youth. Drawing from her imagination and artistic talent, Pamela created a place for aspiring actors, directors, set designers and business managers to develop their talents. Through this resource, Pamela and the youth in the community are able to perform for more than 300 patrons per show while funding The Talent Company solely from ticket sales.

Lauren Magrane, 18, Douglasville, Ga.
Lauren has been actively involved in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) for the past four years. In that time, she has served as Chapter VP, State Liaison, VP for Programs and State First VP of the Chapel Hill Chapter. Lauren conducted numerous family-focused community service projects in her community. Through these projects she has educated more than 1,600 teens about drug prevention, developed local anti-violence programs and encouraged others to take part in March of Dimes and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital activities.

Taylor Graham, 9, Florence, Ore.
Feeling the need to do more than donate a few canned goods and perishables to the local food pantry, Taylor raised money for the Florence Food Share by collecting and reselling used books. In just two years, Taylor collected and sold more than 20,000 books raising more than $19,000 for the Food Share. Taylor’s efforts purchased 23,000 pounds of food the largest single donation in the food pantry’s history. In addition to his book sales, Taylor created the Shopping Cart Derby hoping to get the community more involved. Contestants sponsored shopping carts for up to $150 and raced through a local grocery store to find food items from the Food Share shopping list. Taylor matched the racers’ donations which raised more money and provided more food to the cause he’s so dedicated to.

Tanner Tattini, 10, Normal, Ill.
To raise money for the Bloomington Make-A-Wish chapter, Tanner successfully published a children’s book, “Wishes from A to Z.” Tanner called countless local schools asking art classes to participate in an illustration contest for his book. The best illustrations were included in the book and the winners were treated to a special party. Through corporate sponsorships and donations from local businesses, Tanner raised enough money to cover publication costs. To generate book sales, he held multiple book signings at the local libraries and granted interviews to his local TV and radio stations as well as the local newspapers. The 10-year-old’s book helped the Bloomington Make-A-Wish chapter meet their $5,000 annual fundraising goal. Tanner’s determination to sell his books for $20 each, raised $3,000 and helped grant the wish of a child with a life-threatening illness.

Harlie Baer, 10, San Antonio, Texas
When diagnosed with high-risk leukemia, Harlie was given a 20 percent chance of survival. She knew fundraising is essential for the research and treatment needed to help other kids with leukemia and looked for a way to help fundraising groups. To show what kids with leukemia and lymphoma really go through, she was photographed and filmed while receiving a number of treatments. The footage and photos are used in presentations to promote cancer research by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Harlie also speaks at various events asking businesses to become sponsors and encouraging others to form walking teams. The money she raises helps support education programs for families, assists families financially and helps fund new research done by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Nicholas Giordano, 11, Oakland, N.J.
After being asked to perform a solo recital at his church, Nicholas decided he wanted the ticket sales to benefit needy children. His classical guitar performance raised more than $6,000 for Tomorrows Children’s Fund music therapy program. The program, operated out of the Hackensack University Medical Center, supports children with cancer and serious blood disorders. Nicholas’ 500 hours of practice, countless hours of event organization and flawless performance helped purchase drums, guitars, amplifiers, microphones and the like for the music therapy program. Nicholas’ musical talent and passion positively influenced the children. Many began playing instruments as a fun way to express themselves and deal with their pain.

Alyssa Goya, 12, Phoenix, Ariz.
As founder of the Mountain Trail Make-A-Wish Club, Alyssa is currently serving her second year as the youngest board member for Kids for Wish Kids. Alyssa is dedicated to recruiting volunteers and raising money for the local Make-A-Wish Foundation. Through event planning, organizing raffles, collecting sponsorships door-to-door, selling awareness bracelets and leading a team during the Walk of Wishes, Alyssa has raised more than $20,000 in four years to help grant kids with life-threatening illnesses their ultimate wish.