These are some examples of recent winners:
(Note: For information on other winners, please visit our individual show archives.)
Aired the week of 5/14/08 #0820
Margaret Jankowski, The Sewing Machine Project: Margaret has had a lifelong passion for sewing. Using her experience with this craft, she founded the nonprofit Sewing Machine Project to collect and donate sewing machines to folks impacted by the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Margaret has focused her efforts on the New Orleans area, and has personally made several trips from her home in Wisconsin to deliver nearly 500 machines she'd collected. And the machines have a ripple effect--they are donated to families, schools and community centers, and for vocational training and classes, thus impacting thousands of people through their use.
Website: thesewingmachineproject.org
email: margaret@thesewingmachineproject.org
Address: P.O. Box 6245, Monona, WI 53716
Phone: 608-225-2315
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Aired the week of 5/7/08 #0819
Lark Brandt & The Pie Mamas, Pies For Peace: Lark and six other Oregon women were deeply distressed by US invasion of Iraq. These women decided to use what they know--their baking skills and the "power of pie"--to take action. Each week they gather to bake 20-30 pies from scratch, using local ingredients. These "Pie Mamas" then sell them, donating the proceeds to benefit those impacted by war and natural disaster. Since beginning in 2003, they have raised over $11,000.
Email: mark_lark@hotmail.com
Phone: 503-640-6815
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Aired the week of 4/30/08 #0818
Diane Taylor, Pass It Along: Diane started this New Jersey based nonprofit in 2001 to engage the energetic and willing youth in her community in the spirit of service, by providing volunteer opportunities for them. She has networked with organizations focused on issues related to hunger, homelessness, environmental preservation, animal care, elder care, foster children, and more. Nearly 1,200 projects have been served by volunteers of all ages and from all walks of life--over 21,000 of them--who have completed over 64,000 volunteer hours of service.
Website: www.passitalong.org
email: diane@passitalong.org
Address: 60 Blue Heron Rd., Ste. 100 Sparta NJ 07871
Phone: 973-726-9777
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Aired the week of 4/23/08 #0817
Dr. Hildegard Messenbaugh, Third Way Center: Psychiatrist Dr. Messenbaugh founded the Third Way Center in 1970 as an overnight shelter for runaway youth. As a young girl, Dr. Messenbaugh experienced poverty and the atrocities of an Austrian concentration camp, and always empathized with the troubled lives of abandoned, abused and emotionally disturbed adolescents. She has continued to be committed to the concept that there is always hope and has made it her life’s work to treat the so-called "untreatable" teens at Third Way. Since starting, they've reached thousands of Colorado's homeless, mentally ill, abused and most at-risk youth, 70% of which have successfully rejoined the community.
Website: www.thirdwaycenter.org
Email: info@thirdwaycenter.org
Address: P.O. Box 61385, Denver, CO 80206
Phone: 303-780-9191
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Aired the week of 4/16/08 #0816
Jock Brandis, Full Belly Project: Over 500 million people around the world rely on peanuts for subsistence. And peanuts are important: they grow in poor conditions, add nitrogen to soil, and are highly nutritious. But, they are difficult to shell. Jock, a former volunteer of Canada's version of the Peace Corp and current film industry lighting director, used his creative ingenuity to invent a "universal nut sheller" machine that processes 40 times faster than hand-shelling. His "open source" non-patented machine is easily replicated, and one unit can serve a community of thousands. Over 1,000 units have been distributed so far, reaching tens of thousands of people around the world.
Website: www.fullbellyproject.org
Email: info@fullbellyproject.org
Address: P.O. Box 7874 Wilmington, NC 28406
Phone: 910-452-0975
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Aired the week of 4/9/08 #0815
Deborah Hamilton, The Caring Closet: Homeless advocate and mentor Deborah launched this South Chicago nonprofit in 1999 to help meet the needs of the homeless and others who are transitioning to housing, and the poor who have been impacted by fire, floods, and other events. Caring Closet collects donated appliances and furniture, along with other household items, and provides them free-of-charge to those in need. Since beginning, they have helped over 35,000 in the Chicago area.
Website: www.caringcloset.org
Email: info@caringcloset.org
Address: 1745 E. 71st, Chicago, IL 60649
Phone: 773-947-9043
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Aired the week of 4/2/08 #0814
Kelly Ohlson, Larimer County & Fort Collins Open Space Tax Initiatives: Kelly is a long-time environmental citizen activist in Fort Collins and Larimer County, CO. For over 25 years, he has tirelessly advocated for the preservation of open space. He spearheaded the city's first successful ballot initiatives to establish a quarter-penny sales tax increase, which funds the purchase of open space. Additional ballot initiatives he championed established a county sales tax and extensions of the city and county taxes into the future. So far, over $150 million has been raised preserving over 72,000 acres. Through 2030, another $350 million will be raised to preserve tens of thousands of additional acres.
Email: orangwoman@hotmail.com
Phone: 970-493-7225
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Aired the week of 3/26/08 #0813
Tom Carew, Frontier Housing: Tom founded this nonprofit affordable housing organization in Morehead, KY. They offer home building, mortgage lending, and homebuyer education to economically-challenged individuals and families in the area, and help people become homeowners of a quality home with fair financing. They have provided housing solutions to over 1,000 families while adding $64 million to local tax rolls, in turn supporting schools and communities.
Website: www.frontierhousing.org
Email: tom@frontierhousing.org
Address: 5445 Flemingsburg Rd., Morehead, KY 40351
Phone: 606-784-6362
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etown thanks InTheSpotlight.com for its generous donation of our e-chievement award frames. www.inthespotlight.com
