America’s youth contribute more than 1.3 billion hours of community service each year, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Today, Kohl’s Department Stores recognized 10 of these stand-up kids by naming them national winners of the Kohl’s Kids Who Care® Scholarship Program.
Ranging in age from 10 to 18, each winner was awarded a $5,000 scholarship in addition to his or her regional winnings. Kohl’s will also donate $1,000 to a nonprofit organization of each winner’s choosing.
This year’s Kids Who Care scholarship recipients were selected for advocating youth literacy, founding a charity for disabled youth, raising money for underprivileged children and more.
Scholarship recipients are:
- Sarosha Hansraj, 10, Grapevine, Tex. – Sarosha founded an organization that has helped serve more than 255 underprivileged children in Afghanistan by providing them school supplies.
- Mary-Pat Hector, 10, Jonesboro, Ga. – Mary-Pat wrote and directed a play, “Easy Street Ain’t So Easy,” to raise awareness about abuse and donated $2,500 to a homeless shelter.
- Maxwell Lawson, 11, Munster, Ind. – Maxwell turned his birthday parties into fundraising events to collect supplies for Guatemalan children and to purchase prosthetic legs for children.
- Stephen Toledo, 12, Randolph, N.J. – Stephen raised money and collected recreational supplies to donate to local children’s hospitals.
- Patrick Pedraja, 13, Palm Harbor, Fla. – Patrick has added 6,500 people to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry through the program he founded, Driving for Donors.
- Sara-Elizabeth Clark, 13, Gardiner, N.Y. – Sara-Elizabeth raised more than $25,000 for epilepsy and a book is being authored about her experiences living with epilepsy.
- David Steinmetz, 16, Woodbridge, Conn. – David obtained a grant to provide 275 of his self-written books to children at Camp Good Grief, a bereavement program for kids who have lost loved ones.
- Brittany Bergquist, 17, Norwell, Mass. – Brittany helped raise more than $1 million and has sent more than 450,000 phone cards overseas since she began the Cell Phones for Soldiers program.
- Lorna Her Many Horses, 18, Rosebud, S.D. – Lorna distributed more than 2,500 books to children on her reservation to help improve literacy.
- Michael Pesci, 18, Parsippany, N.J. – Michael raised more than $150,000 to provide sports equipment to those in need through the program he founded, the Perfect Pitch Home Run Derby Charity Event.
“To see kids as young as 10 founding programs, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and caring for those in need is inspiring because they are learning at an early age the intrinsic value of volunteerism,” said Julie Gardner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Kohl’s. “Kohl’s is thrilled to reward these kids through the Kohl’s Kids Who Care Scholarship Program and hopes it will encourage more young people to volunteer.”
Since launching the Kohl’s Kids Who Care Scholarship Program in 2001, more than 7,000 scholarships and prizes totaling over $1.5 million have been awarded to youth volunteers nationwide. This year, Kohl’s awarded more than $300,000 in scholarships and prizes to reward these outstanding kids based on their initiative, leadership, creativity and generosity.
For more information or a list of Kids Who Care winners, visit:www.kohlskidswhocare.com
