Gloria Barron Prize For Young Heroes Marks 15 Years Of Inspiring Today's Youth To Make A Difference

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes announces its 2015 winners as it marks fifteen years of recognizing outstanding youth. The Barron Prize celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds all across North America. 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 impact on people, their communities, and the environment. The top fifteen winners each receive $5,000 to support their service work or higher education.

Since its inception, the Barron Prize has awarded more than half a million dollars to hundreds of young leaders and has won the support of the National Geographic Education Foundation, Girl Scouts of the USA, and National Youth Leadership Council, among other organizations.

"It's been very rewarding to see the continued growth and range of activism among our youth over the past 15 years," says T.A. Barron. "Nothing is more inspiring than stories about heroic people who have truly made a difference to the world. We are looking to share positive examples of heroism with as many young people as possible and encourage them to do the same."

The 2015 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes winners are:

• Mary-Pat Hector, age 17, of Georgia, who created Think Twice, a national billboard campaign featuring graphic ads that encourage teens to think twice before picking up a gun.

• Grace O'Brien, age 18, of California, who founded Ears for Years and has traveled to countries such as Haiti, Sri Lanka, and Honduras to fit over 350 children with solar-powered hearing aids.

• Harper and Maggie Cunningham, ages 11 and 9, of Texas, who founded Books and a Blanket and have gifted a mini-library of fifteen books along with a blanket to over 1,200 children from low-income families.

• Josh Kauderer, age 17, of New Jersey, who founded Elephant Highway to raise awareness of the plight of African elephants killed for their tusks. He has raised $15,000 for elephant conservation groups by selling custom-designed t-shirts and African-made crafts.

• Pearce Quesenberry, age 18, of Delaware, who created the Pearce Q. Foundation following her treatment for a brain tumor at age 10 and has raised nearly $200,000 to support more than 140 families whose children are battling cancer.

• Sonali Ranaweera, age 14, of California, who created Recycling4Smiles and has raised over $40,000 to fund 44 cleft lip surgeries by redeeming more than a half-million recyclable cans and bottles.

• Meagan Bethel, age 18, of Arizona, who works passionately to protect endangered species and has conducted extensive research to help the ocelot, an endangered species new to her home state.

• James Hemphill, age 18, of Virginia, who co-founded Project Green Teens, a group of nearly 70 teens working to restore the Chesapeake Bay. In the past year, the group has removed nearly 5,000 pounds of debris from waterways and marshes.

• Deepika Kurup, age 17, of New Hampshire, who has invented a low cost, solar-powered water purification device that destroys bacteria within fifteen minutes and can easily be used in developing countries.

• Ryan Moralevitz, age 8, of Florida, who is passionate about protecting our oceans and has raised $3,500 for The Ocean Conservancy by making and selling sea-themed magnets, ornaments, and key chains.

• Emma and Julia Mogus, ages 16 and 17, of Ontario, who created Books with No Bounds and have shipped 90,000 new and gently-used books to First Nations children in Northern Canada as well as to orphanages and schools in Africa, India, and Pakistan.

• Robbie Palmisano, age 17, of Maryland, who created All Kids Should Play, a non-profit that has collected, recycled, and redistributed nearly 15,000 pieces of sports equipment to groups serving low-income children in the Baltimore Metropolitan area.

• Lynnea Shuck, age 18, of California, who created the Junior Refuge Ranger program at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge and is working to expand her program to all 560 National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S.

• Molly Paul, age 17, of North Carolina, who founded Raleigh Aquatic Turtle Adoption to re-home unwanted pet turtles and has raised over $15,000 through the sale of her handmade turtle soap to support native turtles and conservation education.

• Evan Barnard, age 17, of Georgia, who creates Braille nature trails to improve access to the outdoors for adults and children who are visually impaired. He also trains youth as volunteer Braille trail guides through his Trails for All program.

The Barron Prize welcomes applications from young people, ages 8-18, residing in the U.S. and Canada. The online application opens Jan. 4, 2016 and are due by April 15. For more information, please visit www.barronprize.org.  

SOURCE Barron Prize