U.S.
YOUTH ORGANIZATION HONORS 2009 DO SOMETHING
AWARD WINNERS
WITH $10,000 GRANTS TO TAKE ACTION
New York, NY --
Do
Something,
the award-winning organization that is the
largest in
America
for young people and social change, revealed
the five winners of a Do Something Award
this week on Facebook. Each winner receives
a $10,000 grant towards their specific
cause. All five of the winners will be
honored in
New York
City
at the star-studded Do Something Awards
event on June 4, 2009 at Harlem's World
Famous Apollo Theatre in
New York
City
- where one of the five winners will win a
$100,000 grand prize to continue their
amazing work.
"These are the
'Rock Stars' of social change," said
Nancy Lublin, Do Something CEO and Chief Old
Person. "We are so proud to be honoring
them with a $10,000 grant to continue their
work and be shining examples of the 'Do
Something Generation.'"
And the
2009 Do
Something Award Winners
are…(drum roll please)…
Marvelyn Brown, 24,
The Marvelous
Connections Tour
Nashville,
TN
-
Marvelyn
thought it was a compliment that the guy she
was sleeping with didn't want to use a
condom…then she tested positive for HIV.
Motivated by the lack of education about
HIV/AIDS available in her community,
Marvelyn launched an activism tour and
published an autobiography, "The Naked
Truth: Young, Beautiful and HIV Positive."
Marvelyn has given a voice to the rapidly
rising number of women afflicted with
HIV/AIDS in the US, and has spoken on HIV to
half a million people around the world,
200,000 of which got tested for HIV after
hearing her speak.
Weston,
CT
- When he
turned 16 in 2004, David was unable to
understand why young voters didn't exercise
their right to vote and participate in
politics. Four years later, David used this
frustration to launch the only youth-run,
multi-media, national initiative for young
voter registration, which contributed to the
highest registration of 18-22 year-old
voters in history. 18 in '08 started as a
film, but has quickly become an
unprecedented national peer-to-peer effort
to register, engage, and mobilize young
voters through ongoing screenings, which
feature on-site voter registration and
talkbacks with politicians, candidates,
activists, students, and filmmakers.
Mendham,
NJ
- Maggie's
high school graduation trip through
Asia
was one from which she never returned.
Instead, Maggie used her life savings to buy
land, build, and run Kopila Valley
Children's Home in Nepal, a home for the
most innocent victims of a decade-long civil
war and continued political instability.
Now, fluent in Nepali, Maggie provides a
shelter that cares for 24 kids, has sent 60
others to school, and assisted in the
placement of over 700 orphans in the region.
Boulder,
CO
- At 17, Eric
visited
Uganda
to produce an independent documentary on the
Kyangwali Refugee Settlement. He was
astounded to learn that only 40% of primary
school graduates in Uganda go onto secondary
school and less than one percent go on to
post-secondary education. In response, Eric
launched Educate!, a program that empowers
the next generation of socially responsible
leaders in Africa by giving them
scholarships, funding, leadership seminars,
mentorships, and real-life resources to
succeed as social entrepreneurs. Educate!
has trained 375 scholars and impacted over
9,600 people through locally grown community
initiatives spearheaded by their scholars.
Athens,
GA
- Darius, a 15-year old with Duchenne
Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), had a dream of
getting his wheelchair "pimped out" on MTV's
Pimp My Ride, and thus produced an
award-winning documentary called Darius Goes
West. To date, Darius has raised $1.6
million for DMD research through DVD sales,
and is working with the 2009 National
Principal of the Year, Dr. Mark Wilson, to
push for nationwide inclusion of his story
and DVD into every single high school health
class. While this disease will eventually
claim Darius' life (as it has already
claimed his 19-year old brother's), he
refuses to give up on his crusade to find a
cure for the #1 genetic killer of children.
Reaching over 12 million people (age 25 and
under) in 2008, Do Something is driven by
its rule of "No Money, No Car, and No
Adults!" A trusted resource for young people
looking to get involved in their community,
DoSomething.org gives young people easy ways
to take action around and get involved in
over 80 causes and issues (http://www.DoSomething.org/WhatsYourThing),
works with over 500 school clubs to take
action in 43 states, Puerto Rico and Canada
(http://www.DoSomething.org/Clubs),
and offers two $500 seed grants every week
to young people wanting to get their project
or cause off the ground (http://www.DoSomething.org/Grants).
DoSomething.org also houses the largest
national database of geo-sorted,
youth-appropriate volunteer opportunities,
which is available via mobile text message.
(http://www.DoSomething.org/TextMe)
ABOUT DO SOMETHING:
Do Something believes teenagers have the
power to make a difference. We leverage
communication technologies to enable teens
to convert their ideas and energy into
positive action. Recipient of Fast
Company's Social Capitalist Award in 2008
and Webby People's Voice Award in 2009, Do
Something inspires, empowers and celebrates
a generation of doers (nearly 12 million
kids in 2008): Teenagers who recognize the
need to do something, believe in their
ability to get it done, and then take
action. Plug in at
www.DoSomething.org.
ABOUT THE DO SOMETHING AWARDS:
Do Something Award applications are reviewed
and judged by the Do Something Award Academy
(comprised of former winners) who read
through every application and select 12
finalists. The 12 Do Something Award
finalists are flown to
New York City,
where representatives from the Do Something
Award Selection Committee interview the
finalists face-to-face. The 12 finalists are
narrowed down to five Do Something Award
winners who will be honored on June 4th,
2009 at a star-studded event at Harlem's
World Famous Apollo Theatre in
New York City
and receive a minimum of $10,000 in
community grants and scholarships. Of those
five winners, one will be selected as the
grand prize Do Something Award winner and
receive a total of $100,000 in community
grants. The Do Something Award community
grant money is paid directly to the
not-for-profit of the winner's choice. All
winners have the option of receiving $5,000
of the total money awarded in the form of an
educational scholarship. Check out
www.DoSomething.org/Programs/Awards.