Words by Smiley Team
Young people are often the ones driving forward change in society, making a positive impact on those around them. It's about time they're recognized!
That's why the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes is such an important initiative. As part of the nonprofit Young Heroes Project, it honors remarkable young people from varied backgrounds throughout North America.
The Barron Prize, founded in 2001 by author T.A. Barron, recognizes 25 outstanding young leaders between the ages of 8 and 18 who have had a substantial beneficial impact on people, their communities, and the environment.
Since its creation, the Barron Prize has awarded more than half a million dollars to hundreds of young leaders and garnered support from organizations such as the National Geographic Education Foundation, Girl Scouts of the United States of America, and the National Youth Leadership Council.
We've highlighted three of the most recent winners, all who have made an impressive impact on people around them.
It was Abby’s goal to help underserved families access healthy food and to address the issues of poverty and residential segregation that prompted her to create the Sustainable Hunger Initiative (SHI). More than 600 families in need have received more than 45,000 pounds of food given by her organization since 2017. This includes thousands of pounds of locally farmed meat. A SHI program, the Greenville Community Garden, has delivered more than 3,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to local family centers and soup kitchens since its inception in 2010.
Bring Butterflies Back was formed by Duncan with the goal of protecting and repopulating South Florida butterflies via education, conservation, and research. He has taught more than 3,500 pupils and individuals, affecting over 10,000 butterflies, in collaboration with community partners.
He turned a desolate field on his school's K-12 campus into a large outdoor classroom with a garden and vivarium to foster environmental responsibility and attract butterflies. He meticulously picked plants to serve as butterfly hosts and nectar sources, designed irrigation systems, and spent weekends creating flower beds with volunteers. Find out more.
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TalkMotion, developed by Faraz Tamboli, is a communication aid for the deaf and aphonic (without a voice). With the use of his equipment, he is able to convert between sign language and verbal language and back again. An algorithm on the tablet is developed using technology to understand gesture data when deaf and aphonic persons use sign language over the detector.
The tablet's screen then displays sign language images based on the hearing person's voice. Aphonic and deaf people will be able to use Faraz's invention in their daily lives to interact with friends and family, as well as to work in occupations that were previously out of reach for them. Find out more.
These astounding young people deserve a round of applause. With all that they’ve been faced with these last few years, it’s amazing to see them using their gifts to give back in such an amazing way.
GET INVOLVED: To learn more about this organization championing young people's efforts, head to https://barronprize.org/ and help celebrate these young winners.
START A BUTTERFLY GARDEN: Use Duncan's tips and find out why it's so important.
READ: Find out more about passionate projects undertaken by Gen-Z.
