Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes Recognizes Outstanding Efforts to Make the World a Better Place

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, an award that celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds all across North America, announces its 2017 winners. Established in 2001 by author T.A. Barron, the Barron Prize annually honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment. Up to 20 top winners each receive $5,000 to support their service work or higher education.

"These amazing young people see a need and use heroic qualities like compassion, perseverance and courage to find a solution," says Barron. "Their message is clear:  Find your passion and take action. Start small but dream big and you can truly make a difference -- no matter how old you are."

This year's winning projects address a wide range of today's important issues, including pollution, protecting wildlife, literacy, STEM, the homeless, cancer research and more.  The 2017 Barron Prize winners are:

Abbie Weeks, age 18, of Colorado, who created Ecological Action, a non-profit that provides solar energy to underprivileged communities, including a school for AIDS orphans in Uganda and a military veteran's home on a Native American Reservation.

Alex Weber and Jack Johnston, age 17, of California, who founded The Plastic Pick-Up, a non-profit committed to keeping plastics pollution – especially golf balls – out of the ocean. They have removed 21,000 golf balls from the seafloor below Pebble Beach Golf Course.

Alexa Grabelle, age 15, of New Jersey, who created Bags of Books, which has distributed more than 120,000 gently-used and new children's books to students in underprivileged communities through free "pop-up stores."

Ana Humphrey, age 16, of Virginia, who created Watershed Warriors, a non-profit that has paired high school students with nearly 300 low-income and minority fifth-graders to teach environmental awareness through hands-on STEM activities.

Aryaman Khandelwal, age 17, of Pennsylvania, who founded Get2Greater, which uses local health workers, electronic tablets, and an app he created to provide people in developing countries with better access to medical care.

Elizabeth Klosky, age 18, of New York, who founded NY is a Great Place to Bee! to educate the public about bees and their plight, pass bee-supportive legislation, and help ensure healthy bee populations.

Ella Morrison, age 11, of Massachusetts, who created Ella's Lemonade Shop as a six-year-old and since then, has raised $50,000 to support pediatric cancer research in honor of two of her close friends who succumbed to cancer.

Jahkil Jackson, age 9, of Illinois, who founded Project I Am to help the homeless in Chicago. In just one year, he has compiled and distributed more than 3,000 Blessings Bags filled with toiletry items, a towel, socks, and light snacks.

Joris Hutchison, age 10, of Washington, who works to save cheetahs from the very real threat of extinction. He volunteers each summer at a cheetah sanctuary in Namibia, Africa, and has raised more than $14,000 to purchase GPS collars that track and protect the animals.

Josh Kaplan, age 18, of Arizona, who founded GOALS (Giving Opportunities to All who Love Soccer), a non-profit unified soccer program that pairs intellectually disabled kids with neurotypical peer buddies. His program has impacted over 400 children.

Joshua Williams, age 16, of Florida, who founded Joshua's Heart Foundation, a non-profit that has distributed more than 1.5 million pounds of food to over 350,000 individuals in South Florida, Jamaica, Africa, India, and the Philippines. 

Nitish Sood, age 17, of Georgia, who co-founded Working Together for Change (WTFC), a non-profit that has mobilized more than 600 volunteers to help 3,000 homeless people through free medical fairs, supplies distribution, and job training.

Ray Wipfli, age 14, of California, who founded Ray United FC (RUFC), a non-profit that has raised more than $130,000 to fund soccer training and health education camps in Uganda, reaching over 3,000 youth.

Riley Callen, age 14, of Vermont, who founded Be Brave For Life and in two years, has raised more than $265,000 for benign brain tumor research. Over the past six years, Riley has had multiple surgeries to remove two benign brainstem-based tumors. 

Rupert and Franny Yakelashek, ages 13, and 10, of British Columbia, who have worked for three years to convince 23 Canadian municipalities to make Environmental Rights Declarations, formally recognizing citizens' rights to clean air, healthy food, and safe drinking water.

Sharleen Loh, age 17, of California, who founded STEMup4Youth and has provided interactive STEM activities to more than 5,000 economically disadvantaged children at 40 locations across Southern California.

Sophie Bernstein, age 17, of Missouri, who founded Grow Healthy and has created 22 vegetable gardens at low-income child care centers across St. Louis. She has also harvested and donated 17,000 pounds of produce to local food banks.

Stella Bowles, age 13, of Nova Scotia, who is spearheading the clean-up of the LaHave River, which contains alarmingly-high levels of fecal contamination. Because of her work, the Canadian government has allocated nearly $16 million to address the problem.

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes welcomes applications from young people residing in the U.S. and Canada.  The annual application deadline is April 15^th.  For more information,
please visit  www.barronprize.org.

SOURCE Barron Prize for Young Heroes

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