Do Something Award Winners

Pat Pedraja, 13, Palm Harbor, FL

At the age of 10, Pat developed leukemia. After seeing patients die with no matching donor, Pat learned there was a critical shortage of ethnic minorities on the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. Pat and his mom got into an RV and drove cross country, to 32 cities, to get minorities to join the registry. By selling sponsorship on his bald head, he raised over $140,000 and added 8,000 donors to the NMDP Registry.

Dallas Jessup, 16, Vancouver, WA

Don't mess with Dallas. She is a Tae Kwon Do black belt and an instructor in Filipino Street Fighting. After reading about a string of assaults in her area, she decided to use her skills to help teens defend themselves against attack. She created the free Just Yell Fire video and has distributed over 750,000 copies worldwide. She designed a train-the-trainer program, which provides intensive instruction to certify coaches and teachers in teaching defense techniques to teens.

Zander Srodes, 18, Palm Island, Florida

Growing up by the beach, Zander watched the endangered turtles start families each year, but the number of turtles was dwindling. Zander created an eco-literacy project called Turtle Talks to educate youth on the plight of endangered sea turtles and make them a priority for the young generation. Over 100,000 copies of his illustrated activity books have been distributed to schools in coastal cities worldwide and are available free online in 4 languages. It’s even actively used by conservationists and marine biologists.

Daniel Zoughbie, 23, Pacifica, CA

Daniel transformed his grief over a death in the family into a passion to do something. His grandmother died from diabetes in an area of the Middle East where medical care was scarce. Inspired by her life of service, he began the Global Micro-Clinic Project, establishing 50 community based "micro-clinics". After raising over $700,000, GMCP is expanding its operations to even more countries in the region.

Caitlin Cohen, 22, Westminster Station, VT

As a medical volunteer in the slums of Mali, Caitlin saw too many preventable deaths. She took action by co-founding the Mali Health Organizing Project. Her approach is revolutionary: MHOP helps the residents work with the Malian government to ensure the availability of quality healthcare. The result is a community of active citizens and a government that delivers on its promises. MHOP has reached 60,000 people with programs for health outreach, microfinance, literacy and peer education.

Kathryn Cunningham, 22, Chadds Ford, PA

Imagine having to perform a difficult emergency medical procedure by candle light. This was Kathryn’s reality while volunteering at a Gambian hospital. After witnessing a senseless death because an incubator lacked continuous electricity, she decided to act. Kathryn founded Power Up Gambia with the mission of providing sustainable solar energy to hospitals and clinics in Gambia and educating US youth about renewable energy, African culture and the importance of giving back. This summer, Power Up Gambia installed 72 life-saving solar panels in Gambia.

Kjerstin Erickson, 25, San Francisco, CA

While working in a refugee camp in Botswana, Kjerstin was disturbed to see how refugees and victims of war were treated. She saw things differently - she believed that refugees can be important agents of change that can break the cycle of war and poverty in Africa. Kjerstin created FORGE to empower Africans in exile to rebuild their native communities. They started over 60 community development projects that serve more than 60,000 refugees in five countries.

Adam Sterling, 25, Los Angeles, CA

Adam comes from a family of Holocaust survivors, so the horrors of Darfur hit close to home. He founded an organization that encourages companies and governments to limit investment in Sudan. Adam’s goal is to encourage political change with this economic pressure. Because of the task force’s efforts, ten major companies have pulled out of Sudan or significantly changed their involvement there. He also drafted and lobbied for the "Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act," which the President signed in 2007. Adam is the subject of the documentary “Darfur Now.”

Do Something Award Finalists

Avery Hairston, 16, New York, NY

Avery didn’t just watch An Inconvenient Truth, he decided to live it. He started RelightNY to educate and inspire people to live environmentally-friendly lives. By donating energy saving CFL bulbs to tenants in low-income housing units, he hopes to motivate people to change, not just their light bulbs, but their lifestyles. RelightNY has distributed nearly 22,000 light bulbs to 2,540 New Yorkers, reducing electricity bills by $100,000 and reducing carbon emissions by 1.5 million pounds.

Jackie Singer, 18, Las Vegas, NV

Jackie has a twin sister Mollie was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes at age 4, and at 5 endured the pain of open-heart surgery. Her sister's struggles inspired them to create the "Diabetic Angels." The program educates people to improve the lives of those living with this devastating disease, provides mentoring for the newly diagnosed and their families, and advances Diabetes awareness. Jackie and her sister have met with the President, testified before congress, lobbied Capital Hill and have raised over $500,000 for research.

Jeremy Dias, 24, Ottawa, Canada

After being a victim of discrimination in his own school, Jeremy sought justice in the courts. He used the settlement money to create a youth-driven charity to combat discrimination and promote diversity in Canadian schools. His organization works with school boards to implement new guidelines for staff diversity training, library books and policy revisions. The Youth Diversity Initiative helps more than 20,000 youths in over 300 schools a year.

Eric Ding, 24, Shippensburg, PA

As a teenager, Eric overcame a personal battle with a baseball-sized tumor. He not only survived, but dedicated his life to the study of preventive medicine and public health. Frustrated by the slow pace of cancer research, he founded the "The O Campaign," with over 3 million online members, to spur innovation and develop new avenues in cancer prevention. Eric is now a respected scientist with 25 published papers.

Ana Dodson, 16, Evergreen, CO

While visiting a small orphanage near her birthplace in Peru, Ana was struck by the orphans’ lack of basic resources. Being adopted herself, Ana felt determined to make a difference. She founded Peruvian Hearts in 2003 to enhance the lives of children in Peru through nutrition, education and healthcare. She has spoken in front of the UN about her cause and helped hundreds of children by delivering badly needed supplies to her village, including solar-powered water heaters.

Evan Thomas, 24, Mill Valley, CA

As a founding volunteer with Engineers Without Borders-USA, Evan leads the design and implementation of water and energy projects in Rwanda. Recently, Evan helped found the Manna Energy Foundation to expand on this experience, working to deliver clean water and bio-gas to 236,000 Rwandan children. This is the first organization to ever try to claim carbon credits for the treatment of drinking water.

Tiffany A. Tucker, 25, Brooklyn, NY

Growing up in New York City, Tiffany saw how some urban schools struggled to allow students to reach their potential. Believing that education is the pathway out of poverty, she created Redemption, Inc. to promote self-esteem and leadership in urban teenagers. The program has provided life skill workshops, goal coaching and college counseling to over 3,000 youths. 85% of the participants in the College 2 College Mentorship program successfully graduated from high school and enrolled in higher education.

Savannah Walters, 15, Odessa, FL

At only 8 years old, Savannah was passionate about the environment. When she learned Americans waste millions of gallons of gas every day by driving on under-inflated tires, she knew she had to act. Her organization distributes free tire gauges to increase fuel efficiency and save the average driver hundreds of dollars a year. She also helps people across the country host their own events to promote gas conservation. Savannah is now working with college campuses to install free air stations.

Rajiv Kumar, 24, Providence, RI

America has an obesity problem. Individuals and the entire medical system are being affected. Shape Up RI has been recognized by a Yale obesity specialist as "the best community-based wellness program in America” and its also the most inexpensive 14 week program in the nation. Through a web-based grassroots program, Shape Up helps Rhode Islanders of all ages and fitness levels work together towards a healthy lifestyle. Shape Up RI currently has 15,000 participants.

Antonio Roman-Alcala, 25, San Francisco, CA

Organic, healthy eating and growing is a class issue. While wealthy families in San Francisco shop in specialty markets and dine at restaurants featuring locally grown foods, kids from poor neighborhoods don’t even know these options exist, let alone ever taste them. Antonio started the Alemany Farm to empower residents of the Alemany Housing Community and greater San Francisco to grow their own food and develop self-sufficiency. Through his program, farmers provide young people with career training in sustainable landscaping, organic food production and retail marketing. The program also recruited city educators to host workshops about the environment, water conservation, permaculture, composting, and the adverse effects of federal farm bills. They grew 2,500 pounds of organic produce in 2007.

Think you have what it takes to win a Do Something Award? Read more about the Do Something Awards and check out the 2009 Application Guidelines