Check out all of our past BR!CK Award winners for more inspiring stories...

2006

Rachael Lambin, 16, NV, Helping Obese People through Education (HOPE) : Rachael began tackling obesity when she lost 70 lbs to be healthier and created HOPE to help other kids with obesity. HOPE sets up exercise sessions, meetings with nutritionists and healthy cooking classes that have helped over 2,000 kids.

Jordan Schwartz, 12, GA, The Children’s Bilingual Theater: Jordan noticed that kids learning Spanish at school didn't have a place to practice it. She started a group that puts on plays that encourage others to learn different languages for schools and communities .

Ashley Gunn, 18, MS, Students Aiding Indigent Families (SAIF): Ashley started an organization that buys foreclosed houses, repairs and remodels them, and works with urban families to purchase the homes below market value. Then, she works with these families to figure out a mortgage financing plan that works for them. SAIF has over 200 student volunteers.

Jena Sims, 17, GA, Prince and Princess of Hope Pageant: After both of Jena's grandfathers passed away from cancer, she decided to help others battling this disease. Enlisted help from other pageant participants to hold annual pageants for kids fighting cancer and other terminal illnesses. Every contestant receives an award.

Robert Bergquist, 14, MA, Cell Phones for Soldiers: Started non profit organization that collects used cell phones and recycles them for money. This money is used to purchase pre-paid calling cards for soldiers in Iraq so they can keep their loved ones in touch. Over 4,000 cell phone drop off sites all over the US.

Michael Page, 18, NJ, Talking Pages, Inc.: Aunt developed macular degeneration and could no longer read. Michael formed an online system that lends audio books to the visually impaired. Has a current catalogue of over 1,000 books.

Francesca Tenconi, 21, NC, Children’s Skin Disease Foundation (CSDF): At 11, developed a skin condition that destroyed 85% of her skin and almost took her life. Decided to start a support group for kids who are suffering from skin conditions. Established Camp Wonder where children with serious skin diseases can just have fun.

Ben Falik, 24, MI, Summer in the City: Ben noticed how dilapidated Detroit's inner city was. His mission is to revitalize the city. Ben founded a non profit that gives youth the opportunity to help rebuild their city. Over 750 volunteers have helped Ben rebuild Detroit.

Ravneet Kaur, 22, NY, The South Asian Community Health Project (SACH): Ravneet's aunt died of cervical cancer 33 days after she was diagnosed. This isnpired Ravneet to set up a mobile clinic for people of all backgrounds providing free education, heart disease and cancer screenings and on-site physician care. Has diagnosed 515 people before it was too late.

2005

Katherine Chon, 24, DC, Polaris Project: Partnered with a friend to combat human trafficking by organizing the first Congressional Briefing on Sex Trafficking in the US, creating a sex trafficking curriculum, and training over 80 community leaders.

Lindsay Hyde, 22, MA, Strong Women, Strong Girls: Overcame an eating disorder; started a group focused on helping young girls with their self-esteem. Created curriculum to train college women to mentor elementary school girls.

Richard Ludlow, 19, CT, Students for Organ Donation: After witnessing his aunt waiting for a kidney for 8 years, he decided to start a national student-run not-for-profit to promote organ donation awareness and registration.

Anders Jones, 17, MA, Teens for Technology: Started not-for-profit to put computer labs in Jamaican schools. TFT has already put labs in 100 schools in its first year of operation…and there are only 752 schools in all of Jamaica.

Jenessa Largent, 13, MN, Harms Way 4 Kids: Uncle was deployed to Iraq in 2003; started program to make a bracelet for every family member and troop who is deployed around the world so they will always be reminded that Americans support them.

Welland Burnside, 16, SC, Suitcases for Kids: While volunteering at foster care agency, noticed kids kept belongings in garbage bags. With a grant from Do Something, he started a not-for-profit with sister to give suitcases to foster kids. 9 years later, program is in 50 states and 78 countries.

Daniel Kent, 16, IN, Senior Connects: Saw that most seniors were isolated from family and were lonely. Started not-for-profit to teach computer literacy to seniors. In 2004, provided computer access to 61 independent/assisted living facilities serving 10,076 residents.

Waco Phipps, 17, NE, Farm Safety Awareness: Had serious farm accident that nearly cost him his life; created FSA to help prevent the 32,800 annual youth injuries on farms. Had Governor sign proclamation declaring a Rural Health and Safety Week.

Geneva Johnson, 16, NY, Bring It On!: Her Bronx community is a hotspot for drugs and crime; started not-for-profit to galvanize local youth and provide alternatives to illegal activities. Gets hundreds of kids to put energy into community service projects.

2004

Brittany Clifford, 14, Phoenix, AZ: Started Fuzzy Feet, an organization that has delivered 6,000 new slippers to children in hospitals and homeless shelters so far.

Brandon Fletcher, 18, Kearney, NE: Diagnosed with learning disabilities; founded Youth Encouraging Support (YES) for kids with mental health challenges to support each other and to educate others in order to help eliminate the stereotypes and stigma associated with mental illness.

Sol Kelley-Jones, 17, Madison, WI: Founded Proud Theater to educate teens about how homophobic words and actions hurt other youth and to educate adults about the struggles faced by LGBT youth today.

Joshua Muller, 18, Anderson, IN: Brother, who was an organ donor, died in a car accident; was inspired to start Donate Organs Adolescents and Grownups (DOAG) to educate the community about the importance of organ donation.

Chase Olivieri, 15, Condado, PR: Created Kids Helping Kids, which recycles books by using them to create libraries for schools on his island andd throughout the Caribbean that cannot afford to acquire new books.

Jessica Rimington, 17, Cotuit, MA: Created Cape & Islands Youth Council on Sustainability, whose mission is to understand sustainability, identify environmental issues of importance to the Cape, come up with practical solutions, educate others, and take action.

2000

Tonya Allen, 27, Director of the Warren/Conner Development Coalition, Detroit, MI: Tonya helped provide more than $60,000 in grants to neighborhood organizations, organized 34 area churches to increase childhood immunization rates to 89%, and mobilized parents at five local schools to secure $3 million in school repairs in her Eastside Detroit neighborhood.

Christopher Barbic, 29, Founder, Director and Teacher at Youth Engaged in Service (YES) College Preparatory School, Houston, TX: Through a highly personalized curriculum, extended school hours, student commitment contracts and community service projects, Chris is helping more than 400 at-risk, inner-city students lead the state in academic performance by achieving a 99% passing rate on state standardized tests.

Heather Barr, 29, Staff Attorney at the Urban Justice Center, New York City: A formerly homeless teen, Heather wrote a definitive report on the incarceration of people with mental illness, filed a successful lawsuit to compel New York City to provide discharge planning for 30,000 inmates with mental illness each year, and co-founded the Nathaniel Project, the nation’s first alternative to incarceration program for felony offenders with serious mental illness.

Kelly Hill, 29, Founder and Executive Director of Sisters Offering Support, Honolulu, HI: Kelly helps women and teens to escape commercial sexual exploitation through a crisis hotline, peer counseling and life skills education. Kelly’s legislative initiatives resulted in two bills being passed into state law that provide support and options for victims of the sex industry.

Jarvis Johnson, 28, Executive Director of Phoenix Outreach Youth Center, Houston, TX: After the sudden death of its founder, Jarvis assumed leadership of Phoenix Center where he works without pay to provide 60 low income students with mentoring, tutoring, and computer training. His efforts have resulted in 73% percent of his students reaching the honor roll for the first time.

Amy Lemley, 29, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The First Place Fund for Youth, Oakland, CA: Amy’s organization ensures long-term self-sufficiency for former foster youth by providing peer-based housing loans, educational counseling and life-skills training. Within one year, 95% of youth participants were employed and 77% completed their GED or received a high school diploma.

Alex Poeter, 28, Founder and Executive Director of Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Chicago, IL: An East German immigrant who was raised under an oppressive dictatorship, Alex leads a grassroots organization that mobilized local residents to close down 27 drug houses, secure $40 million in local school improvements, and improve the local economy through $65 million in Community Reinvestment Act funds.

Andrew Ramirez Robertson, 28, Deputy Director of Border Water Works in McAllen, TX and Albuquerque, NM: Andrew empowered more than 3,000 low-income residents of border communities called Colonias to create their own sewage and drainage systems through self-help construction projects. Through legislative advocacy, he helped make $18 million available for community-led environmental projects and expanded access to water, sewer and electricity services for border residents.

Angelica Salas, 28, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Los Angeles, CA: A Mexican immigrant who came to the United States at age four with her teenage aunt and uncle to reunite with her parents, Angelica leads a multi-ethnic coalition that advocates for the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees in Los Angeles, helping increase naturalization rates by 400%.

1999

Lucas Benitez, 23, Co-Director of The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Immokalee, FL: By educating and organizing fellow migrant workers, Lucas helped secure the first wage increase for tomato pickers in 20 years, exposed and stopped two slavery rings and launched a labor action rights program that collected nearly $100,000 in back wages.

Oona Chatterjee, 27, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Make the Road by Walking, Brooklyn, NY: Emphasizing education and collective action, Oona has helped her community secure expanded welfare and legal services, create a food pantry capable of feeding 500 people, and mobilized community residents behind youth empowerment and a cleaner environment.

Marqueece Harris-Dawson, 29, Director of South Central Youth Empowerment Thru Action, Los Angeles, CA: Marqueece is empowering students from south central’s eight high schools to identify community problems and take action. Through his program, students photographed and exposed poor conditions at local schools and mobilized more than 6,000 peers to secure $153 million in funding to rebuild school infrastructure, fix lockers, and improve student bathrooms.

Terrol Johnson, 28, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Tohono O’Odham Community Action, Sells, AZ: Through the creation of a basketweaver’s marketing cooperative, a youth-elder program, a family garden initiative and a charter high school, Terrol is working to promote sustainable community development, cultural revitalization and educational success for the Tohono O’Odham Nation in Southern Arizona.

Valdimir Joseph, 26, Founder and Executive Director of Inner Strength, Atlanta, GA: Left homeless at age 13, Valdimir put himself through college and started Inner Strength to tutor, mentor and provide hiking and camping experiences for “at-risk” young men in inner-city Atlanta. Valdimir has helped improve school attendance, increase graduation rates and reduce youth-related crime.

Brad Lander, 29, Executive Director of the Fifth Avenue Committee, Brooklyn, NY: Brad organized and empowered families in his south Brooklyn neighborhood to secure more than 200 units for affordable housing, start an environmentally-friendly Laundromat and a temp staffing agency to expand economic opportunity while promoting diversity, equality and social change.

William Morales, 28, Director of the Egleston Square Youth Center, Roxbury, MA: A former gang member whose brother was killed by police, William launched youth & police in partnership to improve relations between local youth and police officers. His efforts led to safer neighborhoods and expanded opportunities for young people – including participants who have become police officers themselves.

Rebecca Onie, 21, Founder and Director of Project Health, Cambridge, MA: Rebecca has implemented 15 local initiatives to ensure that every child in her community grows up healthy. She created a family help desk at Boston City Hospital to connect more than 600 families each year to local health services, child care and job training.

Vincent Pan, 26, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Heads Up, Washington, D.C.: Vincent trained and mobilized a diverse group of parents and college students to provide more than 40,000 hours of after-school tutoring, mentoring and summer learning activities for over 400 low-income children and families in Washington, D.C.

Daniel Ross, 26, Executive Director, Nuestras Raices, Holyoke, MA: Through an urban agriculture initiative, including community gardens, a farmers’ market and a new inner-city agricultural center, Daniel is ensuring sustainable development, community revitalization, and strong and healthy Latino families in his low-income community.

1998

Danielle Despathy, 28, Director and Co-Founder of Creative Clay, St. Petersburg, FL: Creative Clay is a nonprofit cultural arts center that empowers children and adults with disabilities and special needs with the means to express themselves through art and to sell their work in the community. Since the center’s inception three years ago, over 10,000 people have benefited from creative Clay’s programs: over 350 students have exhibited their artwork and over 150 original works of art have been sold.

John Farnam, 28, Director of the Northern Colorado AIDS Project (NCAP), Fort Collins, Colorado: NCAP is a nonprofit agency that provides health, education, and support services to individuals living with HIV and AIDS in an eight-county region in Northern Colorado. NCAP expands members’ opportunities, promotes their fundamental rights, and educates and increases awareness of HIV and AIDS in the surrounding rural community. Through collaboration with local pharmacies, NCAP has leveraged free medication for all the HIV positive persons in its program, increased local free HIV testing by 40%, and launched a Pastoral Care department available to all local HIV positive individuals and family members.

Wai Kiu Lee, 27, Executive Director of Oakland Asian Students Educational Services (OASES), Oakland, CA: OASES is an after-school educational program that provides mentoring, arts & crafts, computer classes and college preparation courses for children in Oakland’s Chinatown community. Under Wai Kiu’s leadership, OASES has transformed from a college-based student service club into a full-service community center that currently attracts over 400 college students and committed citizens who mentor hundreds of students.

Mark Levine, 29, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Credit where Credit is Due, Washington Heights, NY: Credit where Credit is Due is a nonprofit organization that promotes economic empowerment for low income families in upper Manhattan. Mark created the neighborhood’s first ever community owned federal credit union. He worked with federal regulators for over 14 months to complete the complex process of supporting the credit union and earn the trust of local residents. The credit union now has over 1,300 members, most of whom have never had a formal savings account.

Dennis Lluy, 25, Director of Koo’s Art Center, Santa Ana, CA: Koo’s Art Center provides opportunities for young people to perform music, literature and poetry in a drug-free and alcohol-free environment. Dennis has organized more than 500 benefits that have supported social and environmental causes. Since the inception of Koo’s, crime in Dennis’ neighborhood has dropped more than 80%, and vandalism has dropped by nearly 100%.

Matthew McDermott, 27, Policy Specialist for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), Chicago, IL: CCH works to expand affordable housing, protect human rights, and increase the political power of homeless people. Matt’s efforts lead to the preservation of 1,000 units, the creation of 380 single room housing units with social services on site, and the adoption of a policy for a 20% affordable housing set aside in all city housing expenditures.

Kikanza Ramsey, 29, Lead Organizer and Co-Founder of the Bus Riders Union, Los Angeles, CA: The Bus Riders Union has negotiated lower bus fares, the purchase of new clean-fuel buses to reduce overcrowding, and a dramatic expansion of bus routes for 350,000 daily bus riders from low-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Milagros Silva, 27, Lead Organizer of the ACORN/WEP Workers Organizing Committee, New York City: ACORN/WEP is a citywide campaign to secure workplace rights, health and safety protections, access to child care, transportation and training for over 40,000 participants in New York City’s Work Experience Program. Milagros has collected authorization cards from over 22,000 WEP workers, and in October of 1997, 17,000 WEP workers voted in favor of representation by ACORN/WWOC. Through WWOC, Milagros has played an important role in advocating for basic protective gear for workers, creating a grievance procedure for WEP workers, obtaining child care payments for over 100 women, gaining access to computer training for over 200 workers, and developing training programs for ACORN members assigned to WEP in office buildings.

Akilah Watkins, 21, Co-Founder and Director of the I AM Corporation, Roosevelt, New York: The I AM Corporation teaches and promotes life skills, entrepreneurship and community service to low-income youth in Roosevelt, New York. The I AM Corporation’s Youth Facility hosts a number of youth entrepreneurial ventures including a landscaping business, a summer camp that serves over 150 children, and a workforce preparation program.

Steve Williams, 28, Director of People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER), San Francisco, CA: POWER is a nonprofit organization in San Francisco committed to protecting the rights of workfare workers and helping families on welfare attain secure jobs and self-sufficiency. Steve helped 30 welfare recipients gain seats on the 180-member Mayer’s Welfare Reform Task Force and won representation for six POWER members on the 18-member Labor-Management Workfare Committee.

1997

Joseph Barisonzi, 27, executive coordinator of the Lyndale Neighborhood Association, which creates a network of services that encourage the investment of financial and social capital into the community.

Aqeela Sherrills, 27, executive director of the Amer-I-Can Foundation, which leads life-skills and self-esteem workshops for young people and aims to end gang violence in Los Angeles.

Maria Costa, 28, teacher, founder, and director of Mason CASES, a before-school, after-school, and summer program for students at Samuel W. Mason Elementary in Roxbury, MA.

Alise Salinas, 28, director of housing and public policy for the Esperanza Community Housing Corporation in South Central, Los Angeles, which develops housing for low-income communities.

K.S. Park, 26, general counsel for Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates in Los Angeles, which provides legal services, educational workshops, and advocacy for low-wage workers in Koreatown.

David Levin, 27, co-founder, teacher, and director of Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), an extended-day public school serving children in the Bronx, NY.

Lorig Charkoudian, 24, founder and director of the Community Mediation Program in Baltimore, MD, which trains volunteer mediators to resolve conflicts.

Rachel Timoner, 26, community campaign director of the San Francisco’s Women’s Building and cofounder of Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC), an organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth.

Aaron Lieberman, 25, cofounder and executive director of Jumpstart, which trains college students to work with preschoolers who are struggling in early childhood programs in Boston, MA.

Guy Torres, 29, founder and executive director of East Los Angeles Youth Leadership Council (ELAYLC), which helps young people lead more positive lives through leadership and civic responsibilities, workshops, and projects.

1996

Melissa Bradley, 28, founder & director of The Entrepreneurial Development Institute (TEDI) in Washington, D.C., a non-profit that helps disadvantaged youth develop small business.

Charles Lamont Carson, 25, co-founder and director the Tacoma Center YMCA Late Nite Program in Tacoma, WA, a program that provides tutoring, employment training, support, and recreation for young people.

Karen Childress, 29, co-founder and director of Rural Resources in Greeneville, NT, an organization that supports sustainable agriculture on family farms in Appalachia.

Tara Church, 18, co-founder and youth director of Tree Musketeers in El Segundo, CA, a non-profit that works to preserve an protect the environment and educates people to do the same.

Sean Closkey, 29, executive director of the St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society in Camden, NJ, an organization that develops and renovates houses for low-income residents.

Trinh Duong, 22, organizer and fund-raiser for Chinese Staff and Workers Association in New York City, an association that supports the rights of Chinese immigrant workers.

Henry Fernandez, 28, director of Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership (LEAP) in New Haven, CT, a non-profit that fosters educational, leadership, and social development for students from elementary school through college.

Priya Haji, co-founder and executive director of Free at Last in East Palo Alto, CA, a substance-abuse prevention and treatment center.

Van Jones, 27, founder and director of Bay Area Police Watch in San Francisco, an organization that assists survivors of police misconduct and brutality.

Sarah Kass, 29, co-founder and principal of City on a Hill Charter School, an independent public high school in Boston.

(NOTE: Ages are represented as those at time of award)