Jim Geiser played a major role in the success of the Baton Rouge Big Buddy program, which provides role models for underprivileged children through in-school leadership workshops and after-school programs.

Bertha Hinojosa was honored in 1995 for teaching English as a second language to young elementary school children. She used her own life experiences to help children and family members from foreign soil assimilate the American way of life while proudly maintaining cultural ties to their native land.

Nancy Roberts founded Friends of Environmental Education, a non-profit organization that provides scientific teaching equipment and travel grants for science teachers. The organization helped develop certification standards for environmental science teachers.

Susan Murrell’s work in 1996 as coordinator of the Children’s Program with the Battered Women’s Program in Baton Rouge led to her selection as a finalist. “I feel very strongly about the issue of violence and children,” she said. “I have become more passionate about the violence that children experience in everyday life. It’s not only at home, but even at school, or the playground, or in the neighborhood. Violence is about a choice. It’s a choice someone makes to have power or control over someone else and to get their way,” she added. “I see the potential to stop violence, because children need to be taught at a very early age that it is not okay to hit. Once a violent person is an adult, there is an attitude that is very hard to change. But children are so changeable.”

Serving in 1997 as an assistant professor of pediatrics and Residency Program Director for Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Dr. Gordon actively volunteered for the Louisiana Council on Child Abuse, Stop Rape Crisis Center and many other children’s advocacy groups. Dr. Gordon has been approached by pediatricians to join a private practice, but remains committed to being a children’s advocate in working toward an end to the horrors of child abuse.

Poche planned, organized and implemented a summer day camp for children who live with cancer. The first of its kind in Baton Rouge, Camp Care’s goal was to enhance the quality of life for seriously and terminally ill children and their siblings. Poche had to start from scratch, utilizing community resources and sheer instinct. She spent countless hours in the planning stages and 15-16 hour days during the week-long camp.

In 1999, Mary LeBlanc served as faculty advisor to Woodlawn High School’s National Honor Society and newspaper in addition to her duties as a ninth grade English teacher. A personal experience prompted LeBlanc to develop a mentoring program pairing honor society members from Woodlawn with needy children in Ascension Parish. The program expanded to include meals, tutoring, and special events – all done at private expense and donated time by the high schoolers and LeBlanc.

Kirt Bennett is founder and executive director of Young Leaders’ Academy, an organization formed to address the plight of young African-American males. The Academy seeks to nurture the development of leadership abilities in the young men, empowering them to improve the quality of their lives and contribute to the betterment of their community. There are 150 young men currently in the program.

Ari Ellerbe was introduced as a teen-ager to the needs of incarcerated youth through her parents’ faith-based prison ministry. To promote the special needs of these young people, Ellerbe created “Break the Chain…Build A Bridge,” a bi-weekly program that teaches life skills to young girls incarcerated at the Jetson Juvenile Center for Youth. Ellerbe, age 22 when she was named statewide Angel Award winner in 2001, is also a founding member of the YouWho Coalition, formed to bring together various children’s advocate groups to affect greater change. She has also founded and leads a weekly program for at-risk rural youth in the Bayou Sorrel area. A summa cum laude graduate of LSU, Ellerbe worked as first a volunteer, then as a paid student worker with the LSU School of Social Work. She is a student at the LSU Law School.

Community activist and organizer, with special attention to the rights of the poorest kids in the state

Executive director of Inner Reflections Too, an organization she founded that includes abstinence promotion and an instruction and empowerment program

"Dream" coordinator and 15-year member of Dreams Come True, an organization that grants wishes to seriously ill children

Family integrative medicine specialist and pioneer in treating autistic children; activist against mercury in vaccines

At age 71, founded the Grief Recovery Center 10 years ago; during her years with Family Services, began the STEP parenting program; created Project SKY outreach program for children and adolescents; developed Teen Concept program

Longtime volunteer in CASA and Juvenile Mentor program

Director of VOA's Children's Crisis Center, a compilation of sever programs that cares for children who have abused or neglected; director for 16 years

(female) founding administrator of Urban Restoration Enhancement Corporation (UREC), serving since 1992; instrumental in the implementation of nine programs designed to meet the needs of low-income families and homeless families; co-founder of Security Dads at Glen Oaks High School

Started Children of the Future youth ministry program, working with as many as 60 children at a time

Founder and executive director of Friends of Families, which matches mentors with homeless families; because of his success, he was asked to replicate his Baton Rouge program in New Orleans and Lake Charles

Established Project R.I.D.E. for children ages 4-16 and their families; active volunteer with the EBR Parish Scott Head Start Center

Character building of youth through his creation of "Sgt. Deaux Wright"

Establish the Children's Charity Foundation, Inc. Activity Center and organized a youth program for children in performing arts

Virginia Pearson’s devotion to youth is matched only by her diligence and dedication. She tenaciously led efforts for the creation of the Baton Rouge Child Advocacy Center, a program to help abused children during their darkest hours. The concept of the center – a nurturing haven where abused children are brought to undergo their first public statement/interviews with law enforcement authorities and to serve as a gateway to comprehensive services and assistance – was initiated a number of years ago, but stalled until Pearson became involved and helped to make it a reality. During her tenure as president of the Baton Rouge Children's Coalition, Pearson reinvigorated the organization and launched several innovative efforts. In her professional role as director of the Greater Baton Rouge Health Forum, Pearson worked with area health care providers to provide free community health screenings as well as support for other health service efforts. For several years, she worked with area schools in a five-parish area to provide Hepatitis B vaccinations free to fifth graders. As of 2002, some 23,000 students had received the three-dose vaccinations free of charge. Described as a master at marshalling resources, she leaves nothing to chance. While working against the odds, she makes things happen.

Directs health care, food and study skills outreach efforts for youth ages 14-21 in impoverished area

Volunteer in EBR Parish public schools since 1981 despite death of her child; has led number of leadership roles; volunteers at least five days a week; worked to help Istrouma Middle 8th grade class pass the LEAP test -- result was school ranked second in English/Language among 20 parish middle schools and sixth in math; founded and runs a summer enrichment camp; founder of the parent organization Parents Advocating Students' Success

In 2002, orthopedist Barry Rills marked his 14th year volunteering his services to medically treat and assist children with cerebral palsy and developmental delays through the McMains Children's Developmental Center, a United Way agency. He provides free orthopedic consultations and examinations, orders therapy, orthotics, X-rays, wheelchairs and other assistive technology in an effort to help each child become as independent as possible. This service is especially helpful to poor families since there are no orthopedist who accept Medicaid in the Baton Rouge area. Rills serves as the volunteer leader of the treatment team, and works to synthesize the professional advice of all team members into a comprehensive treatment plan. In addition to his regular volunteer services at the center, Rills has spent untold hours seeing children in his office free of charge for more intensive services, such as serial casting or surgery, when he felt such treatment was necessary. By giving these children the needed orthopedic attention early, Rills has prevented future medical problems and has minimized the neuromuscular problems children with cerebral palsy suffer. According to the center’s director, “(The agency) could never afford to pay an orthopedist for his consultation and follow-up care to children for one year, much less for 14 years. He has been a godsend.”

For more than nine years, has been coordinator of the Glen Oaks High School Security Dads, serving as a positive male parental presence at school events and activities; "dads" volunteer at other schools as well and give scholarships

Founder and coordinator of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Information Cener of Louisiana

For past 7 years, has led "Children and Guns, Saving One Child at a Time," a program that works with youth to show the dangers of gunplay and its impact

Bellcase has been a Campfire leader, Sunday school teacher and substitute teacher. She organized the Parent Teacher Organization at Zachary Elementary School and started Zachary Community Helpers to provide Christmas gifts for area underprivileged children.

“Always ready to help” is the phrase most commonly used by their friends and acquaintances to describe Charles and Frances Bennett of Baton Rouge. As volunteer administrators for Dreams Come True, Inc., the Bennetts have helped hundreds of children with life-threatening illnesses over the last 17 years. Dreams Come True was founded in Denham Springs 11 years ago and now serves children in a 13-parish area. Paperwork, phone calls and the myriad details that have to be taken care of are all handled by the Bennetts, resulting in such dreams becoming reality as trips to Disney World, shopping sprees, computers, dogs, horseback-riding lessons and other special wishes. The Bennetts have been tireless in recruiting other volunteers for the organization and in helping raise funds, and they frequently pay their own administration expenses. The Bennetts both serve on the board of directors of Dreams Come True and also work to improve the lives of Baton Rouge-area children through their service on the board of the Mental Health Association of Greater Baton Rouge and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Bernie is an assistant district attorney and chief of the Sex Crimes Division in East Baton Rouge Parish. She was the driving force behind the Children’s Advocacy Center, where child victims can be interviewed in a non-threatening setting. Bernie was also nominated in 2004.

Tyrone Black first made a name for himself playing basketball for LSU on its Final Four team in 1981. He followed that with 10 years in professional basketball overseas, but his most challenging role yet is the one he fulfills every day as father figure, role model, teacher and friend through the Boy Scouts’ “Scouting for Character” program. Begun in 1998 as “Street Corner Scouting,” the program, which brings scouting to Baton Rouge Housing Authority neighborhoods, has grown from 83 members in that year to 627 boys and 119 adult volunteers in 15 Cub Scout packs. Black is the senior district executive for the Red Stick District of the Istrouma Area Council Boy Scouts of America. Responsible adult males are so rare among the families he serves that until the first father volunteered this year, all his leaders were women. He began the program by personally establishing relationships of trust with kids “on the street,” and has served as scoutmaster for all of the troops and packs and tries to attend every meeting and planned activity.

Former men’s tennis coach for LSU, Carter organized and runs a program bringing the game of tennis to hundreds of underprivileged children in Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes. He was also nominated in 2004.

Since 1966, Cavalier, a master sergeant with the United States Army, has worked with young men from underprivileged families through his Royal Beret Challenge program, whose mission is to build leadership skills and make its cadets more productive members of society. Topics at the residential program held at Southern University run the gamut from computer skills and career planning to money management, religious study, health education and map reading. Community service is also part of the program: cadet projects include yard work and home maintenance for the elderly. Cavalier has corralled friends and family members to assist him with broadening and enhancing the lives of 65 young men who have come through the program so far.

Dargin has served as assistant to the teen pastor at Church of the Burning Fire in Zachary for 12 years. She also teaches through Junior Achievement’s Project Business.

Duke has been an active volunteer in the East Baton Rouge Parish schools for more than 30 years. She was part of a group that established Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) and has worked with Partners in Education, the Academic Distinction Fund, Library Power, and EveryBody Reads. She was also nominated in 2004.

Duncan is an attorney who specializes in providing comprehensive legal services and advocacy to youth who have serious emotional disorders. Each year the Baker resident trains more than 200 people in working with youth with emotional disorders. She was also nominated in 2004.

Feldman has served as a volunteer in Baton Rouge public school for 46 years. She has also been active in Boy and Girl Scouts as well as programs benefiting children ranging from those incarcerated at Jetson Correctional Center for Youth to those in Sunday school.

Florida, of Baton Rouge, is responsible for three programs: Project AWAKE, an after-school tutoring program; Camp Judah, a summer day camp; and “A Touch of Royalty,” a Christian debutante program for young women between the ages of 16 and 21. She was also nominated in 2004.

Garrett, a Baton Rouge consultant, runs an after-school, weekend and summer program for inner-city African-American girls focusing on leadership, entrepreneurship and investment training. She was also nominated in 2004.

Gioe, of Baton Rouge, works in area vocational schools, specializing in early childhood development. She coordinates “Reach Out and Read,” a program promoting literacy in children of low-income families.

Hills, of Baton Rouge, created the Louisiana Teen Summit Foundation, an outreach program for at-risk teens and young adults throughout Louisiana.

Hindrichs does volunteer work for St. Thomas More School, various public schools, Habitat for Humanity and the McMains Children’s Developmental Center, all in Baton Rouge. As a McMains volunteer, he conceived and organizes annually a canoe trip to Alligator Bayou for children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. He was also nominated in 2004.

In 1992, King, a Baker resident, began Project R.I.D.E., an outreach program to enrich the lives of children aged 4-16 through equestrian activities. He also volunteers at the Scott Head Start Center.

Madere, of Baton Rouge, is a school social worker on a preschool evaluation team for the East Baton Rouge Parish Pupil Appraisal Services.

McClinton, who retired from the military in 1993, established the Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation Program at Glen Oaks High School. He also serves as leader of Boy Scout Explorer Post No. 495.

A dentist in Baton Rouge, McKnight is a deacon at Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, a Boy Scout board member, and supports the Young Leaders Academy and Head Start.

Mercier has worked as a speech and language pathologist in the East Baton Rouge Parish public schools for 32 years. Since 1994, she has been the after-hours volunteer grant writer, fund raiser, volunteer coordinator, project administrator and chief gardener of the Metamorphosis Children’s Learning Garden, a nationally recognized handicapped accessible learning ecosystem. She was also nominated in 2004.

A Baton Rouge radio announcer, Mouton has planned and coordinated charitable events for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Literacy Works, and the American Lung Association, among others.

Phillips, a pastor in Baton Rouge, conducts a youth program aimed at preventing drug abuse and keeping troubled teenagers off the streets.

Spencer teaches drums at the Buddy Stewart Memorial Music Foundation, a mission to educate at-risk youth. He has worked at the Louisiana School for the Hearing Impaired for more than 20 years.

Williams has worked for 38 years in the East Baton Rouge Parish Head Start program. Through her volunteer work with Holiday Helpers, she has helped hundreds of needy families at Christmas and Easter and she is also active in the restoration of the old McKinley High School.

The Rev. Joseph Armstrong has earned the nickname “Paw Paw” from the many children of his community – children of all races, ages and economic backgrounds – whom he has served as a mentor and father figure. Among his many projects is a summer day camp Armstrong founded this year through his church to help keep at-risk kids off the street and provide them with constructive and educational activities. The camp includes reading, spelling and basic math instruction, and Armstrong also provides a tutoring service for children who need extra academic help. Rev. Armstrong was also nominated in 2005

Bernie is an assistant district attorney and chief of the Sex Crimes Division in East Baton Rouge Parish. She was the driving force behind the Children's Advocacy Center, where child victims can be interviewed in a non-threatening setting. Bernie was also nominated in 2003.

In her positions with the Louisiana Leadership Program and the Baton Rouge Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, Burrell works to make sure that no strudent is left behind when it comes to the LEAP and IOWA exams. She spends every Saturday from January to March each year along with others tutoring students on the campus of Southern University.

Former men's tennis coach for LSU, Carter organized and runs a program bringing the game of tennis to hundreds of underprivileged children in Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes. He was also nominated in 2003.

As a teacher and counselor in the public schools for more than 20 years, Cavanaugh has contributed beyond the scope of her job description to countless programs benefiting youth. Through her school and church, she has taught Sunday school, coordinated a youth council for her community, directed a drama program for all ages for 10 years, taught an eight-week seminar on understanding adolescents, donated free professional cousneling to help establish her church's counseling center and much more. She currently serves as coordinator and a volunteer reader for the Every Body Reads Porgram, which pairs adult reading friends with children at Highland Elementary School. Cavanaugh was also nominated in 2005.

Duke has been an active volunteer in the East Baton Rouge Parish schools for more than 30 years. She was part of a group that established Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) and has worked with Partners in Education, the Academic Distinction Fund, Library Power and EveryBody Reads. She was also nominated in 2003.

Duncan is an attorney who specializes in providing comprehensive legal services and advocacy to youth who have serious emotional disorders. Each year the Baker resident trains more than 200 people in working with youth with emotional disorders. She was also nominated in 2003.

Florida is responsible for three programs: Project AWAKE, an aftershool tutoring program; Camp Judah, a summer day camp; and "A Touch of Royalty," a Christian debutante program for young women between the ages of 16 and 21. She was also nominated in 2003.

Garrett, a Baton Rouge consultant, runs an aftershool, weekend and summer program for inner-city African-American girls focusing on leadership, entrepreneurship and investment training. She was also nominated in 2003.

Gautreau was the driving force behind the creation of the Platform for Children & Youth of LA (PCYLA), a document produced by a group of agency and governemnt staffers to identify youth risk factors in Louisiana and ways to address youth safety, education and health.

Hindrichs does volunteer work for St. Thomas More School, various public schools, Habitat for Humanity and the McMains Children's Developmental Center, all in Baton Rouge. As a McMains volunteer, he conceived and organizes annually a canoe trip to Alligator Bayou for children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. He was also nominated in 2003.

Through his organization, the National Merican Holocaust Memorial, Mahoney has provided access to counseling for women who are considering are who have had abortions, education for high school students and office space for teen pro-life organizations, access to free pregnancvy testing and adoption services, formula, clothing and furniture for mothers and their children. He also works with the Governor's Program on Abstinence to educate teenagers about the value of chastity and the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases. He was also nominated in 2008.

Mercier has worked as a speech and language pathologist in the East Baton Rouge Parish public schools for 33 years. Since 1994, she has been the after-hours volunteer grant writer, fund raiser, volunteer coordinator, project administrator and chief gardener of the Metamorphosis Children's Learning Garden, a nationally recognized handicapped accessible learning ecosystem. She was also nominated in 2003.

Dr. Pope has volunteered her professional services to the McMains Children's Developmental Center for more than 20 years. Her half-century of experience as a pediatrician makes her an invaluable resource to the children served by the center, who have cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and other developmental disorders, as well as to their parents and the center staff. Dr. Pope also volunteers with the Early Head Start Program for babies and their teenage mothers and travels weekly to St. Francisville to care for children in the Bains Elementary School clinic. Dr. Pope was also nominated in 2007 and 2008.

Rockhold initiated, personally funded and assisted in planning the first and only South Louisiana camp for children with arthritis, Camp J.A.M. (Juvenile Arthritis & Me). Rockhold has been actively involved in planning the annual camp since 2000 as well as serving on the board of directors of the local Arthritis Foundation chapter. When the chapter closed its doors in January 2004, he helped launch a new local arthritis group, the Arthritis Alliance of Louisiana, in part to ensure Camp J.A.M. would continue.

Smith is a dedicated volunteer for the Reach Out and Read Program at the Earl K. Long Pediatric Clinic in Baton Rouge and helped secure grant fuding for a program called Born to Be a Reader for pregnant mothers and babies at EKL.

Smitherman has spent 30 years championing art education for children. She has advocated for the addition of art to school curricula and taught countless children to stimulate their own sense of creativity, as well as helping teachers learn to bring art to chldren in church, at school, in day-care centers and at camps.

In 1992, Strohschein founded the Capital Area Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association and served as its first board chair. Strohschein was also nominated in 2005.

Weisner has served abused and neglected children through her work with the Louisiana Department of Social Services Office of Community Services. Weisner was also nominated in 2005.

White volunteers as a mentor for area teenage girls.

Registered nurse Ahmad has for years spent volunteer time educating parents in the proper installation and use of child safety seats. She has also served the community by making car seat inspections, testifying before legislators and visiting injured children in the hospital.

An accomplished dancer, practicing attorney, and a teacher at Episcopal High School, Chatelain serves as artistic director of the Mid City Dance Project, which she co-founded 10 years ago.l She also devotes time to the Baton Rouge Bar Association Holiday Star Committee, which provides Christmas presents to needy children, and Best Buddies, which pairs mentally impaired children and adults with non-impaired peers. She was also nominated in 2002.

Chesney is a certified speech language pathologist who works with hearing impaired children. She spends considerable amounts of her own time and funds to further her training in audio visual therapy and to work with the families of her patients.

A corrections officer for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Christy spends his spare time teaching karate classes free of charge to underprivileged children.

DeLoach works as a principal in an elementary school serving at-risk and disabled students. She frequently works 10- to 12-hour days, even accompanying students home to their inner-city neighborhood on the bus.

Folse is only 21, but she has been working with causes benefiting children since she was 14. An elementary education major, she is chapter development coordinator for the Louisiana Students Against Destructive Decisions state office. She trained to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer at 17 and became the youngest official CASA volunteer at 18. She also helps her family care for newborns awaiting adoption.

Ford has made it possible for many children to enjoy YMCA activities who otherwise would not have the opportunity. She has also worked to provide these children from low income families with clothing, school supplies, tickets for recreational activities and even healthcare.

A teacher at Baton Rouge Magnet High School Handal devotes her time and energy to helping students understand cultures other than their own through her work with the International Culture Association, the Arabic Club, the French Club and the International Heritage Festival.

After a career in medicine at Earl K. Long Memorial Hospital, where she operated the sickle cell clinic and the AIDS clinic devoted solely to children, Dr. Moore is the director fo the St. Jude's Affiliate Clinic in Baton Rouge.

Shepherd works with underprivileged youth through acting, music and counseling. He has established youth and adult literacy programs, a youth ministry and a choir, the "Angels of Zion."

The Singletons have always had an “open door” policy welcoming children in the community who need help.

Thibodeaux founded the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Information Center of Louisiana and was instrumental in the passage of legislation providing subsidies to grandparents raising their children’s children.

After graduating from college and moving to Baton Rogue from Iowa, Tommingo signed on as a volunteer residential counselor with Boys Hope. She provides a family-like environment for six boys ranging in age from 12 to 18.

Eighty-three-year-old West spends about 20 hours a week working with special needs children at Southdowns Elementary School. He has been doing this for more than 19 years.

Wilford is involved in many organizations serving children, including Girl Scouts and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She also teaches Sunday school.

Believing that the most effective way to break the cycle of adult illiteracy is reading with young elementary students, Bradsher works with the Volunteers in Public Schools’ EveryBody Reads program. She has worked with up to six students per year, and every day she is reading or tutoring a public school student. During the summer months, Bradsher reviews training materials, recruits new volunteers and raises money for the program.

Greer has added Boys Hope Girls Hope to a long list of volunteer eactvities which also includes Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana, St. Joseph's Children's Home, St. Joseph's Academy and Catholic High School.

An accountant by trade, Hebert began his involvement with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) as the organization’s auditor. After learning more about CASA’s volunteer advocacy for timely placement of abused and neglected children into permanent homes, Hebert gave up his paid position as auditor to become a volunteer advocate. He worked directly with three abused youth in foster care, logging hundreds of volunteer hours to assist them in reaching permanent homes. Hebert also has served as treasurer and chair of the CASA Board of Directors and volunteers his office each year to host a picnic for the CASA volunteers and kids in his area.

As director of the Youth & Teen Services Department of the YWCA of Greater Baton Rouge, Jackson manages five programs to meet community needs, including Public In-School Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Community-Based Abstinence, HIV/AIDS education and community service learning organizations for teens. Among her many volunteer projects outside of work, Jackson has been a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer for three years and a volunteer troop leader for the Girl Scouts Audubon Council for nine.

Jumonville works year-round to plan and put on the Bunny Hop Brunch, which raises thousands of dollars annually for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Kalivoda is president of Dreams Come True in Baton Rouge. She devotes many hours of volunteer time to the organization's mission of granting wishes to seriously ill children.

Despite a near-fatal brain aneurysm 20 years ago that left him paralyzed, Langlois has organized a Bike-A-Thon benefiting St. Jude's Hospital for more than two decades.

Although a CASA volunteer for only six years, Ott has spent more than 1,300 hours, including countless visits to foster and biological families, teachers, tutors and caseworkers, helping two brothers and a third child who had been languishing in the foster care system.

As founder and curator of the Odell S. Williams Now and Then Museum of African-American History, Roberts-Joseph works to preserve the historical and cultural perspectives of the African-American experience through children.

Serpas is a speech therapist for Lake Elementary in St. Amant who works hard beyond the call of duty to help make speech therapy fun. She devotes hours each week to each of her clients and has presented a workshop after hours to help educate parents on their kids’ progress.

Eighteen years ago, Town started the St. Elizabeth Foundation, an organization that has helped thousands of women, including teenagers, facing unplanned pregnancies. He has provided untiring volunteer service and executive leadership to the group since its inception.

Tucker-Gosnell, who is going into third grade this fall at St. Jean Vianney, hosts a party for all of her classmates each year on her birthday. After everyone leaves, she brings her presents to sick children in the local hospital. She often stays and plays with the sick children for several hours, helping to brighten their day.

Eighty-four-year-old David West spends about 20 hours a week working with special needs children at Southdowns Elementary School. He has been doing this for more than 20 years. West was also nominated in 2005.

Ballard is chairman and founder of the World Youth Exposition Care Foundation, whoe goal is "to serve as a gateway to academic excellence in order to give our youth the capacity to become life-long learners who will engage themselves in continuous improvements in family relations, social interations, personal growth, and career development during and beyond their prep school years."

Boozer devotes countless volunteer hours to the Istrouma Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, working hands-on with more than 250 young people each week in summer camps and mentoring boys through other Scouting activities. She was also nominated in 2008.

Believing that the most effective way to break the cycle of adult illiteracy is reading with young elementary students, Bradsher works with the Volunteers in Public Schools’ EveryBody Reads program. She has worked with up to six students per year, and every day she is reading or tutoring a public school student. During the summer months, Bradsher reviews training materials, recruits new volunteers and raises money for the program. Bradsher was also nominated in 2006.

Through her work at Sanctuary House, a group home for pregnant women, Duncan helps young women, some little more than children themselves, to become independent and competent parents. Above and beyond her work schedule, she looks for resources, represents the needs of the women in crisis in community churches and helps them complete their educations.

Greer has added Boys Hope Girls Hope to a long list of volunteer activities that also includes Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana, St. Joseph's Children's Home, St. Joseph's Academy and Catholic High School.

An accountant by trade, Hebert began his involvement with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) as the organization’s auditor. After learning more about CASA’s volunteer advocacy for timely placement of abused and neglected children into permanent homes, Hebert gave up his paid position as auditor to become a volunteer advocate. He worked directly with three abused youth in foster care, logging hundreds of volunteer hours to assist them in reaching permanent homes. Hebert also has served as treasurer and chair of the CASA Board of Directors and volunteers his office each year to host a picnic for the CASA volunteers and kids in his area. Hebert was also nominated in 2006.

Emily Honeycutt came out of retirement to serve as interim principal at Northwestern Elementary School in Zachary following Hurricane Katrina. Under her leadership, attendance at the school has remained high, helping the Zachary School District earn top honors. Mrs. Honeycutt, 69, devotes all of her spare time to the school and the community.

Despite a near-fatal brain aneurysm 20 years ago that left him paralyzed, Langlois has organized a Bike-A-Thon benefiting St. Jude’s Hospital for more than two decades. Langlois was also nominated in 2006.

Malone is the volunteer administrator for the Uniforms for Kids program, which attempts to furnish two free school uniforms for each child in Head Start through eighth grade in the public school system. She oversees the program for 12 parishes in the Baton Rouge Catholic Diocese, where more than 30,000 uniforms were distributed last year.

Martin is director of Safe Kids Louisiana, which is dedicated to preventing accidental childhood injuries. She oversees programs on home, child passenger, fire, bicycle and pedestrian safety.

When Neal came to the Baton Rouge Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation as a senior worker through the Catholic Community Services program for elderly citizens in 2001, the organization had only 20 active clients. By the time she retired this year, the list had grown to 475, thanks to Neal's persistence in contacting past clients and parents of new sickle cell patients. She frequently added 10 to 15 hours voluntarily to her part-time work week and even in retirement assists with the training of new volunteers.

Although a CASA volunteer for only seven years, Ott has spent more than 2,000 hours, including countless visits to foster and biological families, teachers, tutors and caseworkers, helping two brothers and a third child who had been languishing in the foster care system. Ott was also nominated in 2006.

Dr. Pope has volunteered her professional services to the McMains Children's Developmental Center for almost 25 years. Her half-century of experience as a pediatrician makes her an invaluable resource to the children served by the center, who have cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and other developmental disorders, as well as to their parents and the center staff. Dr. Pope was also nominated in 2004 and 2008.

A retired administrator, Smith serves the children of East Baton Rouge Parish as a substitute teacher. She is in the process of creating the Hurt, Help, Heal, Hope IV-H Home Retreat Center, which would provide a summer camp, weekend retreat and cultural, emotional, psychological and social connections for disadvantaged children and families. She also serves children through her work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and as a member of the Community Association for the Welfare of School Children, the Juvenile Justice Task Force, the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation and Gail House.

Nineteen years ago, Town started the St. Elizabeth Foundation, an organization that has helped thousands of women, including teenagers, facing unplanned pregnancies. He has provided untiring volunteer service and executive leadership to the group since its inception. Town was also nominated in 2006.

Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Social Services, Williamson is committed to serving Louisiana's children and families. She led the department in its efforts to help Louisiana families and children rebuild their lives after the hurricanes of 2005 and is currently working to reorganize the department to deal with declining numbers of homes available for foster care.

Winter arrives early and stays late at her job as a kindergarten teacher in a school filled with poverty-stricken children to accommodate the many parents who cannot afford before- or after-school care. She has worked to improve the lives of these children not only academically but spiritually. After Hurricane Katrina, she collected tons of food and clothing for children sheltered at the Baton Rouge River Center.

Boozer devotes countless volunteer hours to the Istrouma Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, working hands-on with more than 250 young people each week in summer camps and mentoring boys through other Scouting activities. She was also nominated in 2007.

Carnahan founded Volunteers in Public Schools, believing that whether students are enrolled in private or public schools, community members need to be involved in public education — and the most effective means to initiate that involvement is through a spirit of volunteerism. She also initiated the We Believe In Children campaign that helps people of various faiths find ways to meet the needs of public schools.

Dawson is program coordinator of the LaCapitale Chapter of The Links, Inc., an international organization for professional women of color. Dawson founded the chapter’s Girls of Distinction program and developed a schedule of educational and social workshops for the girls as well as conducting regular visits to each of the participating girls at their schools to interact with them, their teachers and their administrators.

Faulk is the superintendent of the newly formed Central Community School System, which ended its first year as an independent district with some of the state’s highest LEAP test scores.

Hager plans activities once a month for children to become involved in positive activities, stay away from gangs and drugs, and increase their self esteem.

Hollins is the founder and director of Louisiana Youth Football, the founder and executive director of Louisiana Youth Coaches Alliance and a founding board member and program director at Scotlandville Sports Academy. All of these programs provide safe environments for inner-city youth to promote the academic, social and physical growth of student athletes.

In addition to full-time employment as a respiratory therapist and art technician, Mahoney dedicates at least 40 hours per week to pro-life and pro-children advocacy in Louisiana and other states. He was also nominated in 2004.

Dr. Pope has volunteered her professional services to the McMains Children’s Developmental Center for almost 25 years. Her half-century of experience as a pediatrician makes her an invaluable resource to the children served by the center, who have cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and other developmental disorders, as well as to their parents and the center staff. Dr. Pope was also nominated in 2004 and 2007.

Porter is the author of “You Are Sunshine”, a book to help children understand and cope with teasing, parental conflict and other difficulties that they may face in their early years. The book is distributed to all kindergartners throughout the state each school year through The Sunshine Foundation, which she also founded.

Robinson founded Brave Heart Children in Need, an organization for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. Each child receives an age-appropriate Brave Heart Gift Bag containing a Brave Heart bear, a personalized hygiene bag, a box of school supplies and other items they can call their own. Robinson has organized many successful fundraisers and given her time to other Brave Heart projects, such as birthday and Christmas programs for children in foster homes and the refurbishing of the visitation rooms in Office of Community Services locations statewide.

After losing a child in a car crash, Savoy became a volunteer with MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Savoy has made speeches and presentations to more than 20,000 students and their teachers throughout Louisiana about preventing underage drinking and the effects of alcohol on young bodies and minds. She currently works directly with eight teachers and their students on the “Protecting You, Protecting Me” curriculum, a program piloted in Louisiana for the first time under Savoy’s leadership.

Sedberry is the founder of the Thomas Dixon Sedberry Memorial Foundation for the Handicapped and the Enchanted Mansion, A Doll Museum, where special-needs children and their caregivers may tour free of charge. She volunteers her time to plan events at the museum and also tutors local schoolchildren in reading.

While working full-time, Washington also puts in hours of volunteer time each day for several programs. One effort provides free day care for children in single-parent households so the parent can seek employment or enroll in school; another gives backpacks filled with school supplies to impoverished, displaced and disabled children affected by disasters. She runs a Christmas gift and toy program for people affected by Katrina and a mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents.

Wheeler, a retired educator, has implemented four successful volunteer programs at Buchanan Elementary School, a public school in one of Baton Rouge’s poorest neighborhoods. These programs, Story Time Reading, Reading Friends, Manners of the Heart and the Teacher Encourager Program, have led to marked increases in teacher morale and the kids’ reading skills. In addition to securing funds for the programs, Wheeler raises money to pay for the school’s Accelerated Reader program, LEAP test study materials, library support materials and any other special programs or activities that may arise.

Dr. Whitfield, known as “Tha’ Hip-Hop Doc,” incorporates hip-hop music with medical knowledge to educate youth, especially in the African-American community. A highly sought-after lecturer, Dr. Whitfield created the “Hip-Hop Medical Moment” audio series and delivers dynamic presentations on preventive medicine, teen pregnancy, physical fitness, drugs of sexual assualt, HIV/AIDS, discrepancies in healthcare and diabetes.

Ballard is chairman and founder of the World Youth Exposition Care Foundation, whose goal is "to serve as a gateway to academic excellence in order to give our youth the capacity to become life-long learners who will engage themselves in continuous improv

As executive director of Health Care Centers in Schools, Sue Catchings has used her dual background in education and health care to implement school-based health services to children and youth in two parishes.

Vicki Ellis currently serves as Executive Director of Heritage Ranch; a Greater Baton Rouge area faith-based non-profit organization serving community youth through Life Skills programming in East Baton Rouge and West Feliciana Parishes. Vicki has develop

Alice Hondzinski is the volunteer leader of an organization that makes and distributes handmade bears to children in hospitals.

Patrice Hudson is a dedicated principal at Buchanan Elementary, an inner city school in Baton Rouge.

Dr. Maybeth Lima is an LSU professor who has helped 18 public schools design, fund and build new playgrounds.

Patty McMurray is a Baton Rouge attorney who is a founding member and very active volunteer for Boys Hope Girls Hope, a residence for troubled children.

Rev. Mary Moody has dedicated herself to ensuring that low income children are exposed to the arts. Moody initiated Acts and Deeds, Inc. Youth Arts Program that was a first in Baton Rouge at Dufrocq Montessori Magnet Elementary School. This new method o

Carolyn Myer is the founder and director of Key Foundations. Carolyn has established a montessori-oriented child care centers for low income families, provided school supplies, and organized the Girls Club, an after school mentoring and tutoring program

Tonja Myles is the director of the Free Indeed Treatment Center. The center has helped hundreds of people overcome addictions.

Roderick Newton is a dedicated track coach at Greater King David church.

Gail is a long-time volunteer for Volunteers of America's Parker House home for abused and neglected children. She has been instrumental in the creation of several new programs as well as fundraising. As a board member, board officer and volunteer, Gail

Pastor Rice serves as the pastor of Baton Rouge and Lafayette Worldwide Church of God ministries. He also serves as the youth pastor, devoting countless hours to teens and their activities and problems. He organizes and directs summer camps and is activ

For 20 years, Jill Rigby Garner has dedicated herself to transforming the hearts of children. Her program, Manners of the Heart, focuses on teaching children to be "self giving" instead of "self seving" and has been taught to hundreds of children in Lou

Dr. Albert Sam is an active member of the board of Advance Baton Rouge, a nonprofit organization working to bring systemic change in public education. Dr. Sam also mentors high school students interested in the health profession.

For the past 25 years, Dr. Christel Slaughter has organized and lead several programs and initiatives to help Louisiana's children. Her main focus areas have been improving public education and preventing child abuse. She is well known in the community

Dr. Whitfield, known as “Tha’ Hip-Hop Doc,” incorporates hip-hop music with medical knowledge to educate youth, especially in the African-American community. A highly sought-after lecturer, Dr. Whitfield created the “Hip-Hop Medical Moment” audio series a