Barron Prize Announces 2003 National Winners

NYLC congratulates the winners of The 2003 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, an annual award honoring outstanding young leaders who make a significant, positive difference to people and the planet. Each year, The Barron Prize selects 10 winners nationwide, five who have helped their communities and fellow human beings and five who have protected the health and sustainability of the environment.

The winners were announced on September 8 in Boulder, Colo. Each winner will receive a $2,000 prize to be applied to higher education or to a service project.

The 2003 winners …

• Anderson (16, Massachusetts) created Teens for Technology, a teen-run organization that donated fully-equipped computer labs to 25 schools across Jamaica.
• Stefanie (18, Texas) created the first successful paper recycling program in her small town, and donated nearly $10,000 from the sale of the recycled paper to her local library and animal shelter.
• Reonda (17, North Carolina) led her Girl Scout troop and community in building the Girl Scout Gold House, the first North Carolina Habitat for Humanity house built entirely by women.
• Anthony (14, Wisconsin) created Heavenly Hats, which provided more than 10,000 new hats to people who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy and other medical treatments.
• Shifra (16, New York) spent several hours a week for six years mending clothes for clients at a soup kitchen. She also started a coed sewing club at her school, which creates pillows and donates them to New York City shelters.
• Amir (8, Minnesota) led an air quality campaign resulting in a Minnesota state law reducing children's exposure to diesel emissions from school buses.
• Kristen (17, Ohio) organized numerous Plant a Row for the Hungry projects. The projects' 200 participants learned to garden, and donated 1,300 pounds of produce to area food banks.
• Whitney (18, New York) organized the Stream Team in her seaside community. Over two years, she led more than 50 student volunteers in cleaning up local freshwater streams.
• Matthew (14, Connecticut) led a community-wide effort to raise $350,000 to construct a wheelchair-accessible playground in his hometown.
• Tanielle (17, Alaska) served as chairperson for Alaska Youth for Environmental Action and is leading the effort to establish recycling programs in all Alaska high schools.