St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Announce Kids are Heroes Winners

TAMPA, Fla., June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Tampa Bay Storm recognized more than 100 children during the 17^th annual Kids are Heroes at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Kids are Heroes is a St. Joseph's Children's Hospital program that honors children ages 5-18 for doing the right thing. Parents, teachers, guidance counselors and neighbors nominate children for doing heroic deeds that range from saving someone's life to raising money for pediatric cancer awareness to caring for an injured animal.

Former Tampa Bay Lightning Team Captain Dave Andreychuk and Lightning mascot ThunderBug helped current and past pediatric patients select the top winners in each age category.

St. Joseph's Children's Hospital treated all of the Kids are Heroes nominees to a celebration at the Tampa Bay Times Forum where they received certificates, medals of honor, superhero capes, food vouchers and tickets to see the War on I4, the biggest rivalry game in sunshine state arena football in which the Tampa Bay Storm take on the Orlando Predators.

During halftime, the announcer called out the names and heroic deeds of the eleven overall winners.  Each "Super Hero" ran onto the field through a path made up of Tampa Bay Storm cheerleaders wearing the official Kids are Heroes capes and accepted a special trophy.

Since 1996, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital has recognized more than 1,600 children who have performed heroic deeds or displayed acts of selflessness and good citizenship.

"It is with great pride that our hospital, designed exclusively for children's needs, recognizes the contributions young people make that benefit the world in which they live," said Kimberly Guy, President of St. Joseph's Children's Hospital.

You can view photos from the Kids are Heroes event and learn more about St. Joseph's Children's Hospital at www.Facebook.com/StJosephsChildrens .

Winners in the 5 – 8 Year Old Category
Max Clark, Lithia, FL

• This hero learned to make origami birds in class, so when doctors diagnosed his teacher with breast cancer he made 1,000 paper birds and sold them for a dollar a piece. The money went to his teacher and her family. He hopes to continue the practice to help other teachers with medical hardships.

Cassidy Forte, St. Petersburg, FL

• This hero has a big heart toward the less fortunate and a spirit to serve others. She wakes up at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings to feed the homeless. She's been a member of the outreach ministry team at her church since the age of three and often helps the ushers clean the sanctuary.

Chloe Shinneman, Plant City, FL

• This hero created the Daisy Project after watching her friend battle pediatric cancer. She put up several boxes for toy donations throughout her hometown and delivered the toys to children in the hospital. The concept behind her project is the "He loves me, he loves me not" game, which is played by pulling petals off a daisy. She wants children to know they are loved even when all of their hair, or petals, fall out.

Winners in the 9-12 Year Old Category
Jake Dela Cruz, Lithia, FL

• This hero runs his own mobile DJ service and donates his time and skills to raise money for cancer patients. Last year he raised $155,000 for the FishHawk Relay for Life team and he hopes to do the same this year. Jake says he does the charity in honor of his grandmother.

Micayla Fontenoy, Ruskin, FL

• While her mother was going through a difficult pregnancy, this hero stepped in to care for her younger siblings. She helped with homeschool lessons, took care of chores, supported her mother physically and emotionally and still found the time to volunteer at church, send cards to our troops, make Christmas presents and collect more than 250 toys and teddy bears to pediatric patients at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital.

Luke Williams, St. Petersburg, FL

• This hero saved his father's life when he busted down the front door of their home after seeing his father inside suffering from a seizure. He called 9-11 and calmly explained the situation and stayed on the phone until help arrived.

 Northside Christian 5th Grade Hunger Heroes, St. Petersburg, FL

• This fifth grade class partnered with Feeding Children Everywhere to host a food-packing event, raising more than $3,000 and packing more than 10,000 meals.

Winners in the 13 – 18 Year Old Category
Chance Fridriksson of Pinellas Park, FL

• This hero saved the lives of two little girls who were hit by a car while crossing the street.  He took a photo of the license plate, applied a tourniquet on one and performed CPR on the other until paramedics arrived. He continues to visit the girls and enrolled in a patient care technician program with the hopes of becoming an emergency medicine physician.

Simone Girard, Seffner, FL

• This hero runs track, is the president of her class, captain of the cheerleading squad and president of a sorority for African-American females. She maintains a high GPA and handles all household chores while her mother is treated in the hospital for sickle cell anemia. She also traveled to the Dominican Republic for a week-long service project and has completed 85 volunteer hours helping low-income families. Plus, she was selected as the sole representative for Hillsborough County to compete at the state level for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

Alec Leslie, Gibsonton, FL

• This hero noticed a van that crashed in the brush off Interstate 75 and kept the driver alert until paramedics arrived. The driver suffered serious injuries, but believes things would have been much worse if Alec didn't discover him when he did. The driver often tears up when he thinks of Alec's heroic act. Alec is involved in ROTC and hopes one day to become an Eagle Scout.

William Watson, Spring Hill, FL

• This hero is a member of the Pasco County Police Explorers and when he arrived on the scene of a car accident, he rendered first aid, kept witnesses at the scene until authorities arrived and helped direct traffic.

About St. Joseph's Children's Hospital
As Tampa's first dedicated children's hospital, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is designed to meet the unique needs of children and their families by providing high-tech pediatric health care in a family-centered, child-friendly environment. Part of the BayCare Health System, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is the third largest children's hospital in Florida, providing more acute medical and surgical pediatric care than all other hospitals in Hillsborough County.

About BayCare Health System
BayCare Health System is a leading community-based health system in the Tampa Bay area. Composed of a network of 11 not-for-profit hospitals, outpatient facilities and services such as imaging, lab, behavioral health and home health care, BayCare provides expert medical care throughout a patient's lifetime. With more than 200 access points conveniently located throughout Tampa Bay, BayCare connects patients to a complete range of preventive, diagnostic and treatment services for any health care need. For more information, visit BayCare on the Web at www.BayCare.org.

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SOURCE St. Joseph's Children's Hospital