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2011 Regional Winners

ALABAMA

  1. Brewer, Mary Meg
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Oneonta**
  4. Activity: Mary Meg volunteered her time and financial support to help create a friendly and comforting environment in the children's witness room at a local juvenile services court building for children testifying in child abuse cases.

ARKANSAS

  1. Hannink, Jordan
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Greenbrier**
  4. Activity: Jordan founded the Red Heel Coalition at her school to promote gender equality through community service and has raised awareness for early breast and ovarian cancer screenings and fundraised for children during the holiday season.
  1. Ready, Jaimus
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Prairie Grove**
  4. Activity: Jaimus has assembled and sent more than 350 care packages filled with candy, clothing and homemade cards from local school children to soldiers in Afghanistan.

ARIZONA

  1. Hitchcock, Holly
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Tucson**
  4. Activity: Holly serves as the Chair Youth Ambassador of the National Tourettes Syndrome Association, and has presented and lobbied to more than 10,000 people to help pass four bills guaranteeing the rights of those with disabilities.
  1. Nakamura, Kayla
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Tucson**
  4. Activity: Kayla collected more than 55,000 greeting cards with personalized thank you messages to be distributed to deployed military personnel.
  1. Young, Michael
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Scottsdale**
  4. Activity: Michael founded an annual charity golf tournament called "The Swing Fore Kids Golf Classic" that has raised approximately $300,000 for Phoenix Children's Hospital's Animal Assisted Therapy Program.
  1. Ziga, Shelby
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Anthem**
  4. Activity: Shelby has been volunteering at Luv Shack Ranch horse rescue for three years, caring for horses, training other volunteers and assisting kids during summer camp programs.

CALIFORNIA

  1. Bellew, Jackson
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Merced**
  4. Activity: Jackson started Jack's Snack Packs and has sent 1,700 packs of goodies from granola bars and gum to candy and socks to deployed servicemen and women to give them a taste of home.
  1. Buxton, William
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Santa Monica**
  4. Activity: William started William's Wheels and has collected more than 6,000 items including toys, school supplies and clothing to distribute to various people and groups in need.
  1. Colvin, Blakely
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Solvang**
  4. Activity: Blakely founded the nonprofit organization "Cupcakes for Cancer" and has raised more than $75,000 baking and selling cupcakes for pediatric cancer research and to help grant wishes to children through the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
  1. Coyne, Michael
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Rancho Cordova**
  4. Activity: Michael founded "Strikeouts for Autism," which teams up with young baseball pitchers across Northern California to obtain sponsor pledges for every strikeout pitched throughout the season; all proceeds support research towards finding a cure for Autism.
  1. Daniels, Ethan
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: San Jose**
  4. Activity: Ethan founded the "Sharing My Birthday" project, asking for donations instead of birthday presents and raising more than $57,000 since 2007 to provide 850 orphans in seven Iraqi villages with food, clothing, heaters and blankets.
  1. De Cicco, Dylan
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Sunnyvale**
  4. Activity: Dylan volunteers as a peer mentor at the Simoneon Pediatric Development Center, helping children with autism develop social and physical skills.
  1. Dilbeck, Samantha
  2. Age: 13*
  3. City: Salinas**
  4. Activity: Samantha founded an organization that has delivered more than 1,000 tote bags filled with clothing, a blanket, nightlight and stuffed animal to kids who have been taken into protective custody in Monterey County.
  1. Dusa, Rachele
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: San Diego**
  4. Activity: Rachele collected, sorted and personally distributed school supplies to more than 1,200 elementary school children in the Philippines.
  1. Elist, Jordan
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Beverly Hills**
  4. Activity: Jordan organized Save a Bottle, Save a Life Corp. that works to save the environment through recycling, while at the same time helping to feed the homeless in Los Angeles.
  1. Flachman, Emily
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: San Luis Obispo**
  4. Activity: Emily founded the nonprofit organization Kids 4 Kures, which has raised more than $5,000 by creating and selling greeting cards to raise money to support local cancer charities and families battling cancer.
  1. Gamino, Taylor
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Salida**
  4. Activity: Born with Hypo-plastic right heart syndrome, Taylor has endured four open heart surgeries and a stroke, yet has dedicated thousands of hours volunteering at a free, medically supervised summer camp for the underserved pediatric cardiology population founded in his honor by his family.
  1. Hufford, Kayla
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Newport Beach**
  4. Activity: Kayla has raised five guide dogs which have been placed with blind people or are being utilized as breeders for future guide dogs.
  1. Hurt, Madison
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Glendora**
  4. Activity: Madison started Madison's Christmas Wish List and has collected approximately 1,000 items for people in need over the holiday season.
  1. Lewandowski, Madison
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Santa Barbara**
  4. Activity: Madison founded an annual city-wide rummage sale called "Kidz for a Cure" and raised $12,000 for pediatric cancer research at the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara.
  1. Machado, Joseph
  2. Age: 14*
  3. City: Upland**
  4. Activity: Joseph rode his bike 3,000 miles across the country and raised more than $50,000 for disabled children while encouraging kids to serve their community and demonstrating that they are never too young to make a difference.
  1. Macmillan, Max
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: San Diego**
  4. Activity: Max founded the Varsity Strings music service organization and has volunteered more than 850 hours to performances and fundraising efforts to benefit Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, an organization dedicated to curing children's birth defects.
  1. McReynolds, Sean
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Buena Park**
  4. Activity: Sean, with the help of his community, collected and sent 41 boxes of personal items, food and down time material, hosted writing campaigns which sent 431 cards, letters and drawings made by local school children and collected items that filled 48 Christmas stockings for soldiers stationed overseas.
  1. Mettler, Megan
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Santa Ana**
  4. Activity: Megan created Kids READ! and has collected and distributed more than 10,000 books for children in schools, literacy programs, shelters and a children's hospital.
  1. Neander, Kai
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: McKinleyville**
  4. Activity: Kai has been instrumental in the growth of the Sequoia Park Zoo Roots & Shoots youth volunteer program and is an active member of the Jane Goodall's R&S California & National Youth Leadership Council to promote youth leadership and volunteerism.
  1. O'Brien, Paddy
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Mill Valley**
  4. Activity: A bone cancer survivor, Paddy created a fundraising team that raised more than $30,000 in six weeks for the University of California – San Francisco Children's Hospital.
  1. Olivo, Karin
  2. Age: 15*
  3. City: Rancho Palos Verdes**
  4. Activity: Karin started Operation DREAM and has donated more than 27,000 pounds of food for the underprivileged in Haiti and the Dominican Republic by personally speaking at local schools and churches to raise awareness and donations.
  1. Ortiz, Luis
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Placentia**
  4. Activity: Luis creates bank kits shaped as houses out of wood that children purchase, build and decorate and then use to save money to donate to Habitat for Humanity.
  1. Pirolo, Jennie
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Crestline**
  4. Activity: Jennie has collected more than 2,500 stuffed animal bears through her organization, Jennie's Bears, which provides the bears for organizations to be distributed to children in crisis and need in ambulances, hospitals, shelters and crisis centers.
  1. Santos, Mikaela
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Cottonwood**
  4. Activity: Mikaela founded the Coats for Kids program and has collected, cleaned and distributed approximately 100 coats to children and families in need.
  1. Sapong, Nathan
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Menifee**
  4. Activity: Nathan mobilized his entire school district and local libraries to donate more than ten tons of used books and collected donations to ship them to deprived school children in Ghana.
  1. Soto-Pomeroy, Francisco Japen
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Glen Ellen**
  4. Activity: Francisco Japen has devoted hundreds of hours volunteering with two area fire stations, providing assistance in a number of situations including cutting up downed trees, responding to medical emergencies and participating in flood relief efforts.
  1. Traynor, Sean
  2. Age: 15*
  3. City: Emerald Hills**
  4. Activity: Sean manages 15 young staff writers as editor-in-chief for Amazing Kids! Magazine, working one-on-one with kids to write and improve articles for an audience of more than 800,000 readers.

COLORADO

  1. Kisembo, Jesca
  2. Age: 9*
  3. City: Steamboat**
  4. Activity: Jesca helped organize, facilitate and raise more than $135,000 for the building of a new school in her native Uganda.
  1. Nelson, Rebecca
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Colorado Springs**
  4. Activity: Rebecca researched, wrote, directed and produced a public service announcement for television and an accompanying poster campaign, promoting awareness of abusive relationships for young adults.
  1. Sandoval, Jenna
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Brighton**
  4. Activity: Jenna spent countless hours organizing and raising funds to bring Every 15 Minutes, a program that takes a community through a simulated drinking and driving car accident, to her school.
  1. Verdun, Chloe
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Centennial**
  4. Activity: As an advocate for diabetes, which Chloe was diagnosed with at age five, she organized a team, Chloe's Corazones, to walk and help raise more than $300 for The Walk to Cure Diabetes and also participated in a commercial for the event to raise money and awareness.

CONNECTICUT

  1. Centorino, Alison
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Cheshire**
  4. Activity: With the help of her family, Alison started CUREchief Foundation Inc. which has donated more than 250,000 soft head covering scarves to comfort people with cancer.
  1. Gorey, Catherine
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Darien**
  4. Activity: Catherine conducted a service project to help needy families get access to free fresh produce and diapers, collecting more than 1,000 diapers and hundreds of wipes, and harvesting food for the local food pantry.
  1. Leckey, Brett
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Madison**
  4. Activity: Brett has spoken to hundreds of adults and children and inspired them to donate approximately $1,700 to purchase LifeStraws to bring clean water to people in need.
  1. Tedla, Monica
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Newtown**
  4. Activity: Monica is a co-founder of VRT Studios, a full service photography studio that donates all earned profits to the ICAN Foundation, which provides higher education scholarships to underprivileged students in rural India.

DELAWARE

  1. Jones, Ryan
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Bear**
  4. Activity: Ryan volunteers hundreds of hours each year for Special Olympics Delaware, serving as an ambassador for the organization's Project Unify, working one-on-one with athletes, staffing events and serving as the organization's official mascot.

FLORIDA

  1. Bornstein, Morgan
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Apopka**
  4. Activity: Morgan has organized and facilitated fundraisers for the Children's Miracle Network for the last six years and has helped raise $15,000 for the organization.
  1. Bosgraaf, Hannah
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Altamonte Springs**
  4. Activity: After visiting an orphanage in Ukraine on a mission trip, Hannah recognized the need for a program to support older kids who age out of the system and raised $10,000 towards starting a transitional home in Ukraine to serve this population.
  1. Castro, Osjah
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Jacksonville**
  4. Activity: Osjah has dedicated approximately 1,000 hours of community service through various projects including holding a school supply drive for an underprivileged community school, hosting a "welcome back" breakfast for the teachers and organizing a coat and socks drive for the children at the school.
  1. Cohen, Olivia
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Hollywood**
  4. Activity: Olivia founded a non-profit organization called Giving & Living that has organized several fundraisers and events to raise nearly $8,000 for Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.
  1. Davis, Taylor
  2. Age: 13*
  3. City: Miami**
  4. Activity: Taylor founded the nonprofit organization The Traveling Canvas and has helped raise more than $80,000 in art supplies to save art education in public schools and bring art to homeless children.
  1. Jones, Myrrhanda
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Gainesville**
  4. Activity: Myrrhanda started Hugs for Hurts and through the organization, has distributed approximately 1,000 stuffed animal monkeys to children in various hospitals.
  1. Landa, Neil
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Miramar Beach**
  4. Activity: Neil obtained, refurbished and donated $60,000 worth of used medical equipment to help those in his community as well as medical missions in Haiti, Peru, Ecuador and Belize.
  1. McCall, Janice
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Bay Pines**
  4. Activity: Janice is an ambassador for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and travels across the country to advocate for those with the disease and share her personal story about living with HIV.
  1. Nielsen, Tia
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Marco Island**
  4. Activity: Tia has supported local underprivileged families by fundraising and collecting donations at local grocery stores to deliver toys, clothing, school supplies, personal hygiene items and 107 wrapped gifts over the holiday season for the families.
  1. Weaver, Cailey
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: St. Pete Beach**
  4. Activity: Cailey has devoted hundreds of hours volunteering each week at local nursing homes baking, visiting and playing games with residents and providing pet therapy with her dog.
  1. Welborn, Matthew
  2. Age: 15*
  3. City: Rockledge**
  4. Activity: Matthew worked with community leaders to procure an unused building and all necessary resources to create a full functioning library in a low-resource community.

GEORGIA

  1. Bacigalupo, Jamie
  2. Age: 7*
  3. City: Evans**
  4. Activity: Jamie created Angels4Epilepsy to organize and distribute care packages to help comfort children with epilepsy, like herself, during hospitalization.
  1. Bankston, Elijah
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Albany**
  4. Activity: Elijah is involved in several community and youth outreach programs including the local Boys and Girls Club where he inspires children to remain in school, make wise choices and strive for their best.
  1. Hermes, McClain
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Dacula**
  4. Activity: McClain organized the Shoes for the Soul program where she has collected more than 1,500 pairs of shoes for the Atlanta Mission.
  1. LeBaron, Taylor
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Ball Ground**
  4. Activity: After struggling with and overcoming his own weight issues, Taylor encourages other kids to stay fit by maintaining a fitness website and traveling as a motivational speaker.
  1. Lopez, Alexander
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Lawrenceville**
  4. Activity: Alexander has volunteered for the past four years with multicultural adult students to teach English and help them adapt to American culture.
  1. Palmer, Grace
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Savannah**
  4. Activity: Grace raised more than $40,000 for cancer research by sailing in the Leukemia Cup Regatta, taught 40 students in a healthy cooking class and donated the proceeds to an orphanage, and baked, decorated and delivered 48 specialty cakes to local charities.
  1. Penrod, Kory
  2. Age: 9*
  3. City: Kennesaw**
  4. Activity: Kory was instrumental in creating a scholarship program that funds foster children participating in a soccer program and also helps provide the children with clothing and school supplies.
  1. Wright, Brooklyn
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Powder Springs**
  4. Activity: Brooklyn created the Interactive Litter Prevention Program to teach kids how to protect the environment through self-organized events, the program website, a personal blog and a book she wrote.

IDAHO

  1. Kladar, Sarah
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Hayden**
  4. Activity: Sarah founded the charity "Kids Helping Kids Fix Broken Hearts" and sold 5,000 dishtowels to raise $50,000 to benefit financially burdened families of children who need to travel to receive heart surgery.

ILLINOIS

  1. Antonson, Tommy
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Geneva**
  4. Activity: Tommy has raised more than $1,700 by selling lollipops for Project Mobility, an organization that makes custom bikes for people with disabilities.
  1. Boddupalli, Mihir
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Lisle**
  4. Activity: Mihir organized Be The Match Registry Drives to raise money and awareness of the need for individuals to join the bone marrow registry to help patients in need of life-saving bone marrow transplants.
  1. Daugherty, Megan
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Collinsville**
  4. Activity: An avid animal rights activist, Megan volunteers with Partners for Pets Non-Profit No-Kill Animal Rescue and has helped plan and facilitate fundraising events that have raised more than $11,000 for the organization.
  1. Hagerty, Hadley
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Bloomington**
  4. Activity: Hadley founded "Hadley's Helping Hands," and spent five hours a week making and selling hand made bracelets with proceeds benefitting Easter Seals of McLean County.
  1. Harrell, Darryl
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Flossmoor**
  4. Activity: Through his charity, WhyNotPartyWithAPurpose?!, Darryl raises money and supplies for local nonprofits that focus on homelessness and poverty including raising $6,000 for a teen robotics program, organizing volunteers to chop and deliver wood in a farming community and organizing teens to assemble "hope for Haiti" boxes.
  1. Johnston, Sujit
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Rolling Meadows**
  4. Activity: Sujit volunteers with Chess Without Borders as a coach, assistant tournament director, documentarian and fundraiser and has assisted the organization in raising more than $35,000 for charities.
  1. Kuper, Jared
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Northbrook**
  4. Activity: Jared was the 2010 local Youth Ambassador for the American Diabetes Association and has raised more than $38,000 and awareness by being an advocate for others fighting the disease and taking an active role in events such as Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes and School Walk for Diabetes.
  1. McGlynn, Mary
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Belleville**
  4. Activity: Mary co-founded the nonprofit "NETwork Against Malaria" and has inspired 6,000 student volunteers to help raise $55,000 to buy malaria bed nets for Ugandan students.
  1. Meadows, Kasey
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Plainfield**
  4. Activity: Kasey volunteers at a therapeutic riding facility assisting disabled children develop into confident, happy and healthy children by teaching horseback riding lessons that work on developing muscles and skills.
  1. Miller, Kate
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Tinley Park**
  4. Activity: Kate donates her time and money to help animals in need at a local animal shelter by cleaning cages, making and distributing flyers for donations and donating her own money.
  1. Moeller, Samantha
  2. Age: 9*
  3. City: Braidwood**
  4. Activity: Samantha spent a summer vacation volunteering at Kindness Ranch in Wyoming which takes in various animals who had previously been used at research study facilities and also made a donation of almost $600 to the Ranch that she collected through various fundraising methods.
  1. Sabin, Aubrie
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Rockford**
  4. Activity: Aubrie founded "Uniforms for Youth" and collected more than 1,760 gently used uniforms for homeless children in local public schools.
  1. Tasiopoulos, Lauren
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Green Oaks**
  4. Activity: Lauren created the "I Want To Be A Lifesaver" foundation and has raised more than $60,000 for pancreatic cancer research after losing a family member to the disease.

INDIANA

  1. Barnett, Jacob
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Westfield**
  4. Activity: Jacob founded Youth Sports for Autism to inspire more than 200 children with autism, like himself, to participate in a team activity and opened a recreation center for kids with autism where he tutors children in math and English and helps run family nights, game nights and open gym.
  1. Broyles, Luke
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Westfield**
  4. Activity: Luke wrote, produced, filmed and edited a 40 minute documentary film to raise awareness and demonstrate that his friend, who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cortical visual impairment, is a kid like everyone else and should not be treated differently.
  1. Hirjak, Rebecca
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Lowell**
  4. Activity: Rebecca has raised approximately $40,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation through her team, Rebecca's Rescuers, by organizing fundraisers including more than 140 walkers in the Walk to Cure Diabetes in Merrillville, Indiana.
  1. Mast, Alan
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Kokomo**
  4. Activity: Alan started The Cattle Project and has provided approximately 8,000 meals to a local outreach program by raising and butchering cattle to feed the hungry.
  1. Niemiec, Liz
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Michigan City**
  4. Activity: Liz founded the Little Wish Foundation, an organization that has raised $28,000 and granted the wishes of 15 children with cancer.
  1. Umphries, Sara
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: West Terre Haute**
  4. Activity: In response to her mother's breast cancer diagnosis, Sara started a project called "Blankets for Life" and raised $4,000 making and selling blankets to support cancer research.

IOWA

  1. Gorrepati, Pavane
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Davenport**
  4. Activity: Pavane founded Warning about Warming to provide information to youth around the country about environmental issues through presentations, recycling drives and fundraising.
  1. Wiersma, Levi
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Inwood**
  4. Activity: Levi handwrote letters to help raise more than $35,000 to build a homeless shelter and provide food relief to more than 34,000 Haitian villagers in need.

KANSAS

  1. Gregory, Jonathan
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Lenexa**
  4. Activity: Jonathan has helped approximately 1,000 people through organizing day camps, workshops and after school enrichment programs to teach robotics, computer programming, geology, geocaching and leadership skills.
  1. Sementelli, Liberty
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Andover**
  4. Activity: Liberty raised $1,500 to purchase a chocolate bean grinder for an entrepreneurial women's group in Guatemala living in poverty.

KENTUCKY

  1. Auermann, Carolyne
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Louisville**
  4. Activity: Carolyne founded Freedom through Faith, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness of American girls forced into human trafficking.
  1. Evans, Sarah
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Simpsonville**
  4. Activity: Continuing the efforts started by her sister before losing her fight to cancer, Sarah led the effort to collect, wrap and deliver more than 1,200 toys over the past four Christmases to children fighting childhood cancer.

LOUISIANA

  1. Guilbeau, Lilly
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Lake Charles**
  4. Activity: Lilly volunteered with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, becoming a spokesperson for the organization, serving on the planning committee for a fundraising event, participating in a public service announcement, speaking to community groups and designing her own t-shirt to raise more than $3,000 for the cause.
  1. Vampran, Trevor
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Prairieville**
  4. Activity: After battling cancer and recovering from a bone marrow transplant, Trevor has raised more than $100,000 for various cancer charities by fundraising and participating in events including four 5k races and also works with newly diagnosed children to help them adjust to life with cancer.

MAINE

  1. Buell, Emily
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Poland**
  4. Activity: Emily is the founder of College Bound Canines, a nonprofit organization that trains service dogs for college bound high school students with physical disabilities.

MARYLAND

  1. Antonini, Christina
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Edgewater**
  4. Activity: Christina managed a team to fundraise, design and build a boutique that functions as a retail store and job skills training center for women at a long-term residential treatment facility.
  1. Lowry, Casey
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Pasadena**
  4. Activity: Casey has volunteered more than 200 hours of service with the Kami's Jammies program to provide new sleepwear and themed pajama parties to pediatric patients in local hospitals.
  1. Painter, Kayleen
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Cumberland**
  4. Activity: Kayleen has contributed more than 3,000 volunteer hours to the "Circle of Friends" program which interacts with students in special education classes on a daily basis. She has also raised more than $1,000 to enable the class to attend field trips, plays and musicals.
  1. Sevison, Kayden
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Westminster**
  4. Activity: Kayden founded Kids for Fallen Heroes, Inc. which, last year, placed more than 2,000 wreathes on the graves of fallen soldiers during the holiday season.

MASSACHUSETTS

  1. Dietz, Daniel
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Northampton**
  4. Activity: For the last six years, Daniel has performed yo-yo tricks at different venues to raise more than $30,000 for the Smile Train, an organization that trains doctors to perform cleft lip and palate surgeries.
  1. Gladstone, Sarah
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Chestnut Hill**
  4. Activity: Sarah has raised more than $5,000 for underprivileged women in Africa and Asia suffering from Obstetric Fistula, a disorder caused by childbirth, by selling handmade bracelets.
  1. Greenberg, Erica
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Sharon**
  4. Activity: Erica created a photography club at her high school where the students create and sell greeting cards and give the proceeds to Hope In Bloom, a charity that plants free gardens at the homes of men and women undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

MICHIGAN

  1. Aguilera, Gabriel
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Holland**
  4. Activity: Gabriel has dedicated more than 120 community service hours as a student-leader in the Hispanic Youth Leadership Program of Latin Americans United for Progress, a youth group dedicated to empowering high school Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth to complete their high school education, explore professional careers and participate in community service.
  1. Brodie, Olivya
  2. Age: 9*
  3. City: Monroe**
  4. Activity: Olivya created Nickels for Tickles, an organization that promotes reading and education for children and she wrote a published book called Beauty Became Queen which she donates all proceeds to the purchase of eye glasses for underprivileged children.
  1. Fisher, Morgan
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Troy**
  4. Activity: Morgan started and runs Bands that JAM for Africa, a concert event that raises money to provide food, water and education to children in Africa which has raised $35,000.
  1. Hein, Kirstyn
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Pinckney**
  4. Activity: Kirstyn organized her community to donate funds, time and talent to complete a "home-makeover" of a local teen shelter to improve the living conditions for the teens at the facility.
  1. Krenzke, Taylor
  2. Age: 7*
  3. City: Midland**
  4. Activity: Taylor started Homes of Grace for Haiti and raised more than $11,000 to build homes for Haitian families by selling suckers, sharing a video about the project with church members to raise money, playing the piano at a local business for donations and hosting a bake sale.
  1. Meintsma, Shelby Lynn
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Coopersville**
  4. Activity: After a family member was diagnosed with Evans Syndrome, a disease that requires several blood transfusions, Shelby saw the need for donating blood and organized five blood drives along with a community health fair, a bone marrow registry, Gift of Life registry, blanket drives and coat drives.
  1. Torres, Yamirka
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Detroit**
  4. Activity: Yamirka created Hands Reaching Out, an organization that ran a dental hygiene demonstration and distributed approximately 400 dental kits to residents in a Cuban village.
  1. Walls, Breana
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Troy**
  4. Activity: Breana has dedicated more than 120 hours of service teaching two weekly classes for children who are struggling in math to help them succeed.

MINNESOTA

  1. Hill, Brandon
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Eden Prairie**
  4. Activity: Brandon co-founded The Brotherhood, a group that has grown to more than 135 members and whose mission is to close the achievement gap between Caucasian and minority students and promote a spirit of scholastic and extracurricular achievement.
  1. Mercado, Matthew
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Elko**
  4. Activity: Matthew touched the lives of more than 1,500 children and soliders by donating his time as a foster brother, collecting more than 500 toys to give to military children and sending care packages to deployed soldiers.
  1. Minor, Briauanna
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Minneapolis**
  4. Activity: Briauanna is a founder of the Griot Leadership Project, focused on bridging the divide of academic achievement amongst students of color. She has helped fill and distribute more than 400 backpacks of school supplies, collected and distributed more than 250 books and has led workshops attended by more than 400 children.
  1. Rosario, Tatiana
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: St. Paul**
  4. Activity: Tatiana has volunteered countless hours with the PeaceJam Foundation, an organization that provides youth with opportunities to engage in civic dialogue and action. She has served more than 1,000 people through establishing sustainable community partnerships and service projects, raising more than $35,000 for the organization.
  1. Weller, Heather
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: New York Mills**
  4. Activity: Heather has collected approximately 2,000 thank you messages for veterans, active duty soldiers and their families to recognize their service and sacrifice and she also volunteers with the Soldiers and Their Families organization.

MISSOURI

  1. Pearl, Matthew
  2. Age: 14*
  3. City: Eureka**
  4. Activity: Diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, Matthew created a kickball fundraising effort for Fanconi Anemia Research Fund called KICK FA, and has helped raise more than $100,000 for the organization.
  1. Peters, Lindsey
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: O'Fallon**
  4. Activity: Lindsey began her own nonprofit called Sharing Smiles and collected more than 450 hats and socks, 150 bears and more than 650 toys to donate to St. Louis Children's Hospital.
  1. Verbick, Chloe
  2. Age: 9*
  3. City: St. Joseph**
  4. Activity: Chloe contributed more than 125 volunteer hours to the Pony Express National Museum, assisting with large tour groups, serving as a day camp assistant and helping plan multiple events.

MONTANA

  1. Ostermiller, Mikara
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Billings**
  4. Activity: Mikara has volunteered numerous hours with the Eagle Mount organization to help children with disabilities by assisting in life skills training classes.

NEBRASKA

  1. Kelly, Golden
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Omaha**
  4. Activity: Golden is co-captain of her American Cancer Society Relay for Life team, and has sold her old toys and clothes as well as flip-flops and t-shirt ribbon ties to singlehandedly raise more than $7,000 for the nonprofit.
  1. Reynolds, Emily
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Omaha**
  4. Activity: Emily is an active member of the National Organization for Youth Safety and works with members of Congress to discuss programs and laws that will help prevent distracted teen driving.

NEVADA

  1. Foremaster, Angela
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: North Las Vegas**
  4. Activity: Angela raises awareness and promotes foster care in Nevada by making appearances and speaking about the platform, working closely with legislation that would help foster children and organizing a holiday stocking drive for foster children.
  1. Wilder, Lexie
  2. Age: 7*
  3. City: Las Vegas**
  4. Activity: Lexie started and is a student leader for the Little Gestures service club at her elementary school where once a month, approximately 50 students meet to help complete various service activities.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

  1. Kirker, Madison
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Laconia**
  4. Activity: Madison has raised approximately $2,000 to help the elderly pay for medication by running an online bake sale and selling holiday gift cards.
  1. Miller, Zachary
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Atkinson**
  4. Activity: Zachary has donated approximately 150 hours of community service as the Junior Youth Ambassador for the American Diabetes Association Eastern New England Division and Junior Walk Ambassador of the ADA Youth Boston Walk Committee to help raise awareness for diabetes.
  1. Renke, Maxwell
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Londonderry**
  4. Activity: After being diagnosed with Celiac disease, Maxwell started the I Can't Eat That club for kids on food restricted diets which has an informational website and has assisted children on food restricted diets in many ways including helping his school district to become the first in New Hampshire to offer a Gluten-Free hot lunch program.

NEW JERSEY

  1. Foss, Maggie
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Turnersville**
  4. Activity: Maggie volunteers at a local animal adoption center and organized an animal product drive that collected 400 items for the shelter.
  1. Lupi, Abigail
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Stockholm**
  4. Activity: Abigail founded CareGirlz, a group of young girls who volunteer their time by entertaining at nursing homes and children's hospitals. Abigail has performed in more than 20 shows and raised more than $3,000 to support the organization.
  1. Mukherjee, Priya
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Iselin**
  4. Activity: Priya co-founded the nonprofit organization Dance for Life USA to generate cancer awareness and has raised $3,000 for cancer research.
  1. Nugent, Ian
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Neptune**
  4. Activity: After losing a childhood friend to cancer, Ian founded the nonprofit organization Kidz Can and has raised more than $50,000 for cancer related charity organizations.
  1. Sansone, Victoria
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Glen Gardner**
  4. Activity: Victoria serves as project chair for the Building Wishes One Brick at a Time project, overseeing the ordering, selling and installation of engraved bricks for a permanent sidewalk to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation, ultimately helping to raise $25,000 for the organization.
  1. Swaminarayan, Harsh
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Jersey City**
  4. Activity: Harsh served as Lieutenant Governor in Key Club International and spent hundreds of hours leading more than 600 students in community service and fundraising projects.
  1. Taylor, Adele
  2. Age: 15*
  3. City: Williamstown**
  4. Activity: Adele founded a nonprofit organization called Adele's Literacy Library that has successfully donated more than 2000 brand new books and bookmarks to charitable organizations, schools and libraries.

NEW YORK

  1. Bouler, Olivia
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Islip**
  4. Activity: As an aspiring ornithologist and artist concerned about the affect on wildlife following the Gulf oil spill, Olivia created beautiful drawings of birds as gifts for those who donated to the Audubon Society, helping to raise nearly $200,000 to protect area wildlife.
  1. Debellis, Samantha
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Mahopac**
  4. Activity: Samantha has donated more than 40 outfits that she designed for her school's annual fashion show to a local women's shelter in addition to organizing a bake sale to raise funds to buy much needed shelter supplies.
  1. Innamorato, Alyssa
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Syosset**
  4. Activity: Alyssa founded an annual fundraiser that has raised nearly $25,000 for Sunrise Day Camp, a camp dedicated to children with cancer and their siblings.
  1. Nablo, Mariah
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Williamsville**
  4. Activity: Through her project, Mariah Saves Gorillas, Mariah volunteers her time and energy by delivering presentations about the effects of e-waste, and has recycled more than 1,500 cell phones to promote environmental awareness in her community and help save the critically endangered gorillas in the Congo.
  1. Pearsall, Connor
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Fairport**
  4. Activity: Every Saturday for the past seven years Connor has volunteered with a Little League baseball team for disabled children, and has served as the lead student volunteer recruiter responsible for organizing more than 25 volunteers each season.
  1. Shannon, Zoe
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Saratoga Springs**
  4. Activity: Zoe has spent the past six years volunteering with the Gliding Stars program to help people with disabilities of all ages and abilities learn to ice skate.
  1. Stanley, Eliza
  2. Age: 9*
  3. City: Armonk**
  4. Activity: Eliza makes weekly visits to the King Street Nursing Home, providing entertainment and spreading cheer to residents through gift giving, performing, puppy therapy and game playing.

NORTH CAROLINA

  1. Bright, Dejarius
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Charlotte**
  4. Activity: Dejarius co-teaches a weekly class for high school students that utilizes dance, music, education and books to keep teens off the streets by teaching them how to succeed.
  1. Campbell, Maylyn
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Thomasville**
  4. Activity: Maylyn started Daisies for Dreams, a nonprofit organization that has sold more than 80 paintings made by Maylyn with proceeds going to Make-A-Wish and The Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
  1. Fajgenbaum, Kristen
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Raleigh**
  4. Activity: Kristen founded a community service organization called Teens 2 Teens, and has collected more than 20,000 clothing items and shoes to be distributed to teenagers in need in the Appalachian Mountains.
  1. Morris, Grace
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Chapel Hill**
  4. Activity: After her grandfather was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, Grace raised more than $9,000 through participating in competitive sport activities to raise awareness for the disease.
  1. Stewart, Hunter
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Mooresville**
  4. Activity: Hunter founded the Racing 2 Cure organization which has raised more than $20,000 by calling on auto racers to raise funds for cancer research and families dealing with costs for cancer treatment.
  1. Whitmeyer, Allison
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Charlotte**
  4. Activity: Allison has raised more than $77,000 through her organization, Playing For Others, a leadership-training nonprofit organization for teens that uses their passion for the arts to benefit other local nonprofits directly impacting children with disabilities.

OHIO

  1. Blaze, Hannah
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Independence**
  4. Activity: Hannah partnered with local government to fund a new animal shelter and improve the existing shelter for stray animals in her community and also assisted in the adoption of more than 75 animals.
  1. Gilliam, Kayla
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Grove City**
  4. Activity: Kayla raised more than $12,000 in donations for Fisher House to help provide free or low cost lodging to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers.
  1. Hofeldt, Clara
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Dayton**
  4. Activity: Clara organizes an annual fundraising concert called Giving Strings which has raised more than $15,000 for various children's charities since 2007.
  1. Holmes, Drulane
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Wooster**
  4. Activity: Drulane has donated approximately 1,000 vegetables to local food pantries and soup kitchens from a garden she planted and upkeeps herself.
  1. Kuivila, Ellie
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Chagrin Falls**
  4. Activity: Ellie, a competitive figure skater, started Skaters for Haiti to raise awareness of the plight of Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, and through her organization, collected more than 1,000 items that she personally delivered to the disaster stricken area.
  1. Novak, Nicholas
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Westlake**
  4. Activity: Nicholas raised more than $6,000 for his charitable association that purchases bicycles and ships them to American soldiers stationed on large bases in Iraq for transportation and recreation purposes.
  1. Pairan, Mack
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Loveland**
  4. Activity: Mack has collected and donated approximately 6,500 toiletry and personal care items to a local pantry that serves those in need.
  1. Paterson, Moriah
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: McArthur**
  4. Activity: Moriah started Project Backpack Vinton County to fight hunger by filling the backpacks of underprivileged local school children with food items during the school week to provide food over the weekend.
  1. Ray, Kameron
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Cincinnati**
  4. Activity: Kameron serves as an officer with the NAACP Youth Council where he encourages voter registration and challenges the correction of social injustices and is also active in community service through The United Way Youth Engaged in Service program.
  1. Schiessler, Justin
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Springfield**
  4. Activity: Justin dedicated approximately 80 hours of service to organize and operate Mickey the Lion's Corn Maze for local families to benefit the ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) Association of Central and Southern Ohio.
  1. Young, Sarah
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Leesburg**
  4. Activity: Sarah raised nearly $32,000 to save the local 4H program by motivating the community to bid on her livestock at a county fair and donating the proceeds, along with other fundraising proceeds, to the organization.

OKLAHOMA

  1. LaMunyon, Amanda
  2. Age: 15*
  3. City: Enid**
  4. Activity: Amanda launched a website (www.AmandaLaMunyon.com) to sell prints of her artwork, and has helped raise more than a million dollars for children's health and awareness of Autism.

OREGON

  1. Roberts, Isabella
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Eugene**
  4. Activity: Isabella volunteers with the Children's Miracle Network by speaking at events, fundraising, taking part in interviews and also participated in a commercial on behalf of a CMN radioathon event that raised more than $60,000 in two days.
  1. VanDevelder, Gabrielle
  2. Age: 13*
  3. City: Corvallis**
  4. Activity: In an effort to eliminate homelessness in her local community, Gabrielle has raised awareness and donations by fundraising, public speaking and playing a prominent role in raising $1,060,000 to build a residential facility for chronically homeless men and women.

PENNSYLVANIA

  1. Bobenko, Mia
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Orefield**
  4. Activity: Mia volunteers at The Gress Mountain Ranch, feeding, watering and maintaining the grounds for 39 animals.
  1. Brown, Jordan
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Lebanon**
  4. Activity: Jordan has raised more than $30,000 for a WWII statue being built in Normandy, France by creating and selling olive green wristbands inscribed with the words "Hang Tough".
  1. Carey, Matthew
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Mount Bethel**
  4. Activity: After finishing treatments for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Matthew became a national spokesperson for childhood cancer through the Angel 34 "Kids Helping Kids" initiative, traveling across the country to gain awareness and funds for the cause.
  1. Danko, Jacob
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Hatboro**
  4. Activity: Jacob worked to raise awareness for wildlife and habitat conservation, raised more than $5,500 for Wildlife Warriors Worldwide and was chosen to be one of the first junior ambassadors for the organization.
  1. England, Katherine
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Newtown Square**
  4. Activity: Katherine has collected and donated more than 1,000 bags of care items worth $24,000 to young girls involved in domestic abuse situations or placed in the foster care system.
  1. Forsha, Kelly
  2. Age: 13*
  3. City: Leola**
  4. Activity: Kelly organized Digging Wells For Hope, Inc., a group of middle school kids that sell pencils for $1.00 each to raise money to build wells for clean water in Haiti and has raised $50,000 to date.
  1. Gupta, Neha
  2. Age: 14*
  3. City: Yardley**
  4. Activity: Neha founded the nonprofit organization Empower Orphans to help orphaned and underprivileged children in the U.S. and India, and has opened three libraries with 10,000 books, a computer lab, a science lab and a sewing center for girls.
  1. Hoffman, Brett
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Yardley**
  4. Activity: Brett established the Hearts for Jayla Foundation benefitting Wills Eye Hospital and raises funds for the nonprofit by designing, making and selling jewelry.
  1. Murray, Jaclyn
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: West Chester**
  4. Activity: Jaclyn created and sold custom flip-flops to raise more than $5,000 for the nonprofit organization "Cuddle My Kids," which provides support to the kids of cancer patients.
  1. Pierce, Calista
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Guys Mills**
  4. Activity: Calista has raised more than $16,000 for the Special Olympics and Make-A-Wish Foundation by making and selling crafts and holding bake sale and raffle events.
  1. Stern, Scott
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Pittsburgh**
  4. Activity: Scott volunteered nearly every day during his summer vacations for several years in the courthouse's children's waiting room, serving as an entertaining distraction for often frightened kids whose parents were involved in legal disputes.

RHODE ISLAND

  1. Bertsch, Vanessa
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Westerly**
  4. Activity: Vanessa collects and recycles used cooking oil, converts it into clean-burning alternative fuel, and donates the fuel to heat the homes of local families in need. So far she has donated 4,100 gallons of fuel to help heat more than 40 homes.
  1. Powers, Alexander
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: North Scituate**
  4. Activity: Alexander has volunteered more than 300 hours with the Pre Adaptive Coaches program for New England Disabled Sports, which provides year-round adaptive sport instruction to adults and children with physical and cognitive disabilities.

TENNESSEE

  1. Baker, Madison
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Rockwood**
  4. Activity: Madison raised more than $2,000 through yard sales and various fundraising methods to start a pet food pantry in her local community.
  1. Gautam, Kripali
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Murfreesboro**
  4. Activity: Kripali has raised approximately $43,000 for Room to Read, a program that helps build schools and libraries and provides scholarships to underprivileged children in Nepal.

TEXAS

  1. Boudria, Jessica
  2. Age: 15*
  3. City: Grand Prairie**
  4. Activity: Jessica founded Teddy Bears for Troopers and has dedicated more than 10,000 hours collecting items, mainly teddy bears, for the troopers to give to children who are in crisis situations such as car accidents or witnessing the arrest of a family member.
  1. Churchman, Justin
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: El Paso**
  4. Activity: Justin has raised more than $48,000 and recruited more than 75 volunteers to build houses for the homeless in Juarez, Mexico.
  1. Cummings, Shirdelle
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Hutto**
  4. Activity: Shirdelle organized a book drive that collected more than 10,000 books for the Dell Children's Hospital library.
  1. deMasi, Alex
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Humble**
  4. Activity: Alex was instrumental in the placement of 28,000 wreaths at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Cemetery in Houston, Texas to honor fallen soldiers during the holiday season of 2010.
  1. Feliciano, Tomas
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Cypress**
  4. Activity: Tomas has dedicated approximately 700 community service hours on seven mission trips where he has helped build houses and volunteered in free clinics.
  1. Halverson, Cathryn
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Dallas**
  4. Activity: Cathryn founded Catie Cares and, through the organization, has donated more than 530 new books and stuffed animals to hospitalized and outpatient children to offer security and comfort.
  1. Li, Eric
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Manvel**
  4. Activity: Through his organization, We Care Act, Eric has organized teams in four countries involving more than 20,000 people in various activities and raised more than $36,000 and collected 5,500 items to help global disaster victims.
  1. Lites, Emily
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Roanoke**
  4. Activity: Emily started Emily's Smile Boxes, Inc. and has distributed more than 2,400 boxes full of toys, crayons and coloring books to spread smiles to children in the hospital and their visiting siblings.
  1. Lloyd, Taylor
  2. Age: 9*
  3. City: Waco**
  4. Activity: Taylor started a local knitting initiative to provide hats to Waco's homeless population. She taught more than 75 people how to knit and donated more than 700 hats and gloves.
  1. Lourcey, William
  2. Age: 8*
  3. City: Fort Worth**
  4. Activity: William organized the group FROGs or Friends Reaching Our Goals with the mission of raising awareness, money and cans for a local food bank and did so by spearheading yard sales, organizing an event where kids stuffed backpacks with food for the hungry and creating a sports fundraising program called Hits & Kicks Against Hunger.
  1. Nakamoto, David Austin
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: El Paso**
  4. Activity: David played an integral part in producing two children's operas for and with underprivileged citizens in El Paso and also helped raise money for the Valerie Talamates Foundation, an organization that gives scholarships to theatre students.
  1. Nguyen, Allison
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Houston**
  4. Activity: Allison cofounds, organizes and funds Iced Capades Cakery, an organization that has made approximately 7,500 cupcakes to bring birthday parties to kids living in homeless shelters.
  1. Patterson, Morgan
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Kerrville**
  4. Activity: Since age four, Morgan has been making and selling homemade crafts around the holidays and has raised more than $10,000 to buy supplies for The Salvation Army.
  1. Prager, Leah
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Dallas**
  4. Activity: Leah plans, organizes and oversees a backyard carnival at her home each year and has donated more than $85,000 in proceeds to the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Dallas Food Bank.
  1. Ramirez, Tony
  2. Age: 13*
  3. City: San Antonio**
  4. Activity: Tony founded the group "Kids Can SA" and collected, cleaned and priced items using cans of food instead of cash for a one-day sale that collected 2,600 pounds of food.
  1. Whatley, Haley
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: North Richland Hills**
  4. Activity: Haley coordinates a local stuffed animal drive and has collected and donated more than 20,000 stuffed animals for patients at a local medical center.

UTAH

  1. Olsen, Calan
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Ephraim**
  4. Activity: Calan spearheaded the construction of an interactive 11-building agricultural science exhibit for the Sanpete County Fair to teach visitors how food gets from the farm to the table.
  1. Smart, Tia
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Salt Lake City**
  4. Activity: At the age of eight, Tia started the Kid Power Turkey Drive, which has raised more than $16,000 to purchase more than 2,200 turkeys for families in need.

VIRGINIA

  1. Duncan, Winston
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: Alexandria**
  4. Activity: Winston founded the nonprofit Wheels to Africa and has recruited more than 1,000 volunteers to collect and send more than 3,500 bikes to African countries.
  1. Harris, Rachel
  2. Age: 7*
  3. City: South Riding**
  4. Activity: Rachel founded the nonprofit "Let's Help Kids" that raised $5,600 to provide birthday presents to children in transitional housing programs, sent at risk children to summer camp and provided miscellaneous items to families in need.
  1. Krishnan, Priya
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: McLean**
  4. Activity: Priya co-founded the nonprofit Save a Child Now, which has raised $35,000 to provide clothing, medical care and education to orphaned children in India as well as greater access to technology for families of autistic children in need.
  1. Mcadams, Cassidy
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Bumpass**
  4. Activity: Cassidy has raised more than $36,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Guardian Angel Service Dog Organization by writing, recording and selling a song.
  1. Rigal, Emily-Anne
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Williamsburg**
  4. Activity: Emily-Anne founded WeStopHate, a nonprofit program created to raise self-esteem in teens through online videos and social media. Her videos have received more than 300,000 views from teens around the world.
  1. Terrillion, Mark
  2. Age: 9*
  3. City: Springfield**
  4. Activity: Mark started an effort called "LemonAid for the Gulf" that raised more than $18,000 to help the wildlife of the Gulf Coast following the 2010 oil spill.

WASHINGTON

  1. Thomas, Sandeep
  2. Age: 18*
  3. City: Redmond**
  4. Activity: With a goal of raising $30,000 to feed 100 children for a year, Sandeep is spearheading World Vision's 30 Hour Famine fundraiser and through speaking engagements, volunteerism and digital outreach is motivating hundreds of people to fight hunger.
  1. Walker Burr, Rena Mateja
  2. Age: 7*
  3. City: Seattle**
  4. Activity: At the age of five, Rena Mateja began collecting coins to help homeless children and has donated a total of more than $56,500 to help keep kids in safe and stable homes.

WEST VIRGINIA

  1. Rice, Eden
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Wellsburg**
  4. Activity: Eden collected and filled more than 60 pieces of luggage with essential items such as toothbrushes, toiletries, blankets and books for the "Carry On Campaign" program that supports victimized children in West Virginia's foster care system.

WISCONSIN

  1. Burke, Maureen
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: New Berlin**
  4. Activity: Maureen has volunteered with the TOPSoccer program for eight years at more than 120 events that teach soccer skills and a love for the game to kids with special needs.
  1. Geinopolos, Elani
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: New Berlin**
  4. Activity: Elani was instrumental in helping to pass Wisconsin's first anti-bullying law and was recognized by the Wisconsin Legislature for speaking out and sharing her story of being emotionally and physically bullied with various audiences.
  1. Medick, Peyton
  2. Age: 12*
  3. City: Weston**
  4. Activity: Peyton began the program "Peyton's Promise" which collected more than 35 tons of food and $3,500 for local food pantries.
  1. Pinnow, Evilyn
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Fort Atkinson**
  4. Activity: Evilyn started a club for area kids to pack shoeboxes with toys and necessities for children in need around the world through Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child program, resulting in the distribution of nearly 1,000 gift-filled shoeboxes.
  1. Schara, Jordyn
  2. Age: 16*
  3. City: North Freedom**
  4. Activity: Jordyn started a drug collection program that has prevented more than 150,000 pounds of pharmaceuticals from contaminating Wisconsin ground water.
  1. Smith, Hannah
  2. Age: 11*
  3. City: Waukesha**
  4. Activity: Born with a cancerous tumor, Hannah has endured countless medical tests throughout her life. After receiving a gift to console her after a procedure, Hannah was so touched she raised more than $3,000 in toys and new clothing to donate to Children's Hospital to help comfort other children.
  1. Vatland, Ryla
  2. Age: 10*
  3. City: Westby**
  4. Activity: Ryla, with the help of her family, made three miles of community recreation trails accessible to others by clearing brush and removing tree branches and rocks.
  1. Wozniak, Courtney
  2. Age: 17*
  3. City: Marshfield**
  4. Activity: Courtney co-founded the Marshfield Area Youth Actors organization which performed five plays and musicals to raise nearly $20,000 for the Children's Miracle Network.

*Winners' ages as of end of nomination period (March 15, 2011).
**City the winner resides in.