Barron Prize Announces 2004 National Winners

NYLC congratulates the winners of The 2004 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 15 in Boulder, Colo. Each winner will receive a $2,000 prize to be applied to higher education or to a service project.

The 2004 winners …

• Emily Hallet (18, Washington) designed a renewable energy system to replace the gasoline-powered one at an Alaskan global-warming research station.
• Ellie Wen (17, California) founded www.RepeatAfterUs.com, a web site that provides copyright-free literature and accompanying audio clips to people learning English as a second language.
• Renee Hagerty (12, Ohio) launched a battery recycling initiative that yielded 3,000 pounds of batteries and now serves as the model for a county-wide program.
• Kevin Kalra (18, Texas) created the Sustainable Development Committee at his high school and resurfaced the school roof with an energy-saving reflective material.
• Micaela Connery (17, Connecticut) founded Unified Theater, a nonprofit group that provides students-with-disabilities a chance to participate in theater.
• Gina Gallant (17, British Columbia) invented a new, highly effective road-paving material made largely from recycled plastic bottles.
• Matthew Rich (16, North Carolina) created the Woodland and Wildlife Restoration Committee, a nonprofit group that planted more than 1,000 trees to address the problem of deforestation.
• Laurel Barchas (17, California) founded the Truckee Youth Music Program, a nonprofit organization providing free musical instruments and after-school music lessons to low-income elementary school children.
• Anna Rose (13, Colorado) founded Sight Angels, a nonprofit organization that provided more than 5,000 pairs of free eyeglasses throughout the Denver area.
• Shawn Henry (18, New York) created Garden Angels, a nonprofit group that transformed a trash-filled lot into a park and community garden.

The Barron Prize was founded in 2001 by author T.A. Barron and named for his mother, Gloria Barron.