These are some examples of recent winners:
(Note: For information on other winners, please visit our individual show archives.)
Aired the week of 7/1/09 #0927
Richie Moretti, The Turtle Hospital: Richie retired to the Florida Keys from a successful auto business in the 1980's. He bought a motel complex which he initially ran for tourists. He learned of the plight of endangered sea turtles which were becoming ill or injured through increasing human encroachment. He donated the motel complex and a 100,000 gallon salt water pool that came with it, and funded its transformation into the nonprofit Turtle Hospital. Since beginning, they have treated and released over 1,000 turtles. They also perform research, educate the public and school kids, and work toward environmental legislation to makes beaches and water safe and clean for sea turtles.
Website: www.theturtlehospital.org
Email: turtlehosp@aol.com
Address: 2396 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 33050
Phone: 305-743-2552
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Aired the week of 6/24/09 #0926
Anne Frahn, Teachers for a Better Belize: Anne and her sister Kathie Dolan began this grassroots, all-volunteer nonprofit to improve schools and education in the remote Toledo District of Belize. They’ve partnered with educators from North America and Belize to equip teachers in Belize with training, supplies, and facilities they need to help their students achieve educational success. Since 1997, over 750 teachers have been trained positively impacting the lives of over 7,000 students who are demonstrating academic improvement and are staying in school in greater numbers. They have also donated over $200,000 in books and supplies, and set up libraries in over 50 schools, and their program is being replicated in other districts.
Website: www.tfabb.org
Email: annefrahn@gmail.com
Address: c/o Kathie Dolan, 13606 Peacock Farms Rd., St. Louis, MO 63131-1232
Phone: 650-462-9406 (Anne)
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Aired the week of 6/17/09 #0925
Susan Rodgerson, Artists for Humanity: Susan is a professional oil painter. In 1991, twenty years into her career, she was inspired to bring her vast experience to inner city at-risk kids in Boston. Through this nonprofit, artist-mentors provide underserved youths paid, hands-on internships to learn the techniques and tools of professional artists and the business world. They've reached over 5,000 youth since their start. These mentored artists create projects which are purchased by area corporations and the public. This in turn supports the program. In addition, they built as their headquarters, Boston's first ever LEEDS Platinum Certified building.
Website: www.afhboston.com
Email: srodgerson@afhboston.com
Address: 100 W. 2nd St. Boston, MA 02127
Phone: 617-268-7620
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Aired the week of 6/10/09 #0924
Stacie Gilmore, Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK): Stacie co-founded ELK in 1996 when she saw a growing need to introduce and educate Colorado's urban youth about science, math, leadership and careers. They reach out to students who have been traditionally overlooked and under-encouraged, including youth of color and females. Since 1996, they’ve reached over 30,000 at-risk youth through their programs, improving graduation rates and securing over $70,000 in scholarships.
Website: www.elkkids.org
Email: Stacie@elkkids.org
Address: 14460 E. 50th Ave., Denver, CO 80239
Phone: 303-371-8658
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Aired the week of 6/3/09 #0923
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 Chicagoland 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 5/27/09 #0922
Carrie Little, Mother Earth Farm: Carrie is an organic farmer. She co-founded the nonprofit Mother Earth Farm in 2000 to supply healthy organic produce and a stable source of food to the Emergency Food Network (EFN). EFN is the sole nonprofit food distribution center in Pierce County. Located in the fertile Puyallup area of Washington State, this 8-acre organic farm produces about 125,000 pounds of produce each growing season. The farm relies on the year-round help about 1,400 volunteers each year, including women from a correctional facility, civic groups and schools. Since beginning, they have produced over 650,000 pounds of produce, feeding a half million hungry people.
Website: www.efoodnet.org
Email: motherearthfarm@gmail.com
Address: Emergency Food Network, 3318 92nd Street, Lakewood, WA 98499-9328
Phone: 253-691-4921 or 253-584-1040 at EFN
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Aired the week of 5/20/09 #0921
Sandy McCoy-Cleveland, Community Care Network of Nichols, NY: Sandy and co-founder Shirley Tiffany launched this all-volunteer, neighbor-helping-neighbor social program to assist homebound and chronically ill people with unmet needs who are living at home, to try to keep them in their homes and away from institutionalized care. Trained volunteers provide transportation to medical appointments, home repairs, phone checks, friendly visits and much more, in this small, rural and tight-knit community of 2,500. Their program is so successful, that other communities are replicating it. Sandy and Shirley have developed a resource guide for anyone, anywhere, to use to launch a similar neighborhood care network.
Email: smccoy@stny.rr.com>
Phone: 607-731-3100
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Aired the week of 5/13/09 #0920
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 5/6/09 #0919
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 well over $11,000.
Email: mark_lark@hotmail.com
Phone: 503-640-6815
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Aired the week of 4/29/09 #0918
Connie Harvey, Wilderness Workshop: Connie, along with Dottie Fox and Joy Caudill, co-founded the nonprofit Wilderness Workshop in 1967. These concerned and dedicated women came up with a successful grassroots plan to identify and lobby for wilderness land designation, to protect pristine areas near their home community of Aspen. Their efforts helped secure more than a half million acres of wilderness in Colorado. In addition, their model of activism is now used the world over in similar pursuits. And, their organization continues to monitor these wilderness areas and engage officials in managing these precious lands.
Website: www.wildernessworkshop.org
Email: sloan@wildernessworkshop.org
Address: PO Box 1442, Carbondale, CO 81623
Phone: 970-963-3977
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Aired the week of 4/22/09 #0917
Shelly Pollock, GrassRoots Garbage Gang: Shelly spearheaded this all-volunteer, grassroots effort to clean up the beaches of small home communities situated on a 25-mile long peninsula in Washington State. Since beginning in 2001, thousands of volunteers, locals and vacationers alike, have collected about 100 tons of trash and marine debris via routine cleanups throughout the year. They also reach out to educate the community on the destructive impacts of plastics on marine life and health and to change patterns and break the destructive habit of littering.
Website: www.ourbeach.org
Email: Shelly@OurBeach.org
Address: PO Box 1480, Ocean Park, WA 98640
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etown thanks InTheSpotlight.com for its generous donation of our e-chievement award frames. www.inthespotlight.com
