In 1995, Patricia Moore ran HEER US, a non-profit educational organization that included an AIDS intervention and prevention program for minority youth in the Greater New Orleans area. She took on the voluntary post out of concern for young people; she was motivated by the desire to help children realize the consequences of their actions, and to help them see that they have a future.

Schofield was honored in 1995 for his work as a juvenile parole and probation officer and motivational speaker who helped young people put their lives back on the right track.

Through his Visual Jazz Art Gallery, Richard Thomas provides a “safe haven” for young people who are interested in art. Thomas, who has worked with other youth programs, started his own project in 1991. He works with 40 young people, including students at McDonogh 35 Senior High and others, offering his time and gallery space to teach these kids art and showcase their exhibits. But his “Pieces of Power” program goes far beyond aesthetics. Thomas’ program has nurtured many budding artists. He represents the young artists, serving as a mentor and helping them sell their work. “The program gives them an understanding of how to develop careers in art and where the possibilities lie for them, for the future and for now.” Many of the students who have completed his program have earned college art scholarships, and many have become professional artists. “In my program, kids get life principles. They understand the importance of sharing, being with a group and making a contribution,” he said. “The program helps transform their behavior, tear down peer pressure. I’m telling them that all is not lost. There is hope.”

Mo Leverett is founder and director of Desire Street Ministries. “There is no better place in the country, as far as I’m concerned, to do urban ministry than New Orleans, and no better place in New Orleans than the Desire community,” he said. “One misconception that people have about neighborhoods like Desire is that the neighborhood is full of people who can’t really make it in life. The kids who grow up in the Desire neighborhood are created with the same potential for life and success as anybody on the planet. That’s the purpose of our work, to help them tap into that natural God-given creative resource to become everything that God created them to be. And that’s what we are doing one person at a time.”

An elementary school teacher in New Orleans, Ponoroff established a volunteer reading program for grades 1-5. She was very active in the program, coordinating the efforts of more than 100 volunteers, soliciting funds to purchase books, sponsoring reading contests and much more. A program volunteer reported that reading levels and test scores of the entire school significantly increased as a result of Ponoroff’s reading program.

John Wyseman, in 1999 a special education teacher at Alcee Fortier High School, initiated and developed several programs for students at the New Orleans inner-city school. Run after school hours, one of the programs helped disadvantaged students develop marketable skills, and earned national recognition. In the decade that Wyseman directed the school’s vocational co-op program, 85 percent of the participating students remained in the job of their choosing, with teen-age pregnancy, criminal activity and expulsion non-existent within the group.

Artist, activist, educator and entrepreneur Kyshun Webster had contributed more at age 24 (when he was named an Angel Award finalist in 2001) than many people do in their lifetimes. A former resident of the St. Bernard Housing Development, Webster – at age 13 – organized and implemented the first free tutorial program for children of the Lower Ninth Ward. He operated the program out of his garage. Webster continued his mission of helping children during high school and his days as a student at Xavier College, when in 1999 he opened A Home for Homework, a grass-roots, student-run youth community center. In 2001, he was a graduate student in urban studies education at the University of New Orleans and a full-time instructor at Xavier University. Webster expanded his program to include parental involvement, cultural enrichment, and a summer arts camp.

Five-year volunteer with Teen Life Counts (TLC), a youth suicide prevention program

Began ministry 35 years ago in New Orleans through the non-profit Trinity Christian Community (TCC) which still ministers to youth today in the Carrollton-Hollygrove area, one of the toughest neighborhoods in New Orleans; now retired at age 80, Brown continues to inspire and motivate a new generation of advocates for the urban poor in New Orleans and around the nation

Works with foster children, striving to reunite them with their biological families as much as possible

Volunteer baseball coach and playground manager at Oak Park Playground, and has transformed a formerly unused, city-owned park into an enjoyable location for three baseball teams; postal worker

Principal of the Bright School, a preschool for deaf and hearing-impaired children

Volunteer tutor with Operation Mainstream; founded and volunteered administratively for eight year with a summer day camp for working families; helped organize enrichment program at a New Orleans public elementary school; urban Girl Scout troop leader; organized and helped coach recreational sports teams at St. Thomas Housing Development; helped organize an urban branch of Young Life

24-year-old, volunteer basketball coach to boys team while in college in Mississippi and in Army Reserve; works to give life skills as well as basketball skills; also volunteers at camps and other social programs for youth

A business and social studies instructor in the New Orleans Public Schools, Bardell has initiated, headed or participated in a number of academic and extracurricular programs to help shape the next generation of New Orleans' business leaders. He was also nominated in 2006 and 2008.

Rev. Dejean has served for 30 years as the executive director of Youth Inspirational Connection, Inc. (YICI), an organization providing educational and performing cultural arts opportunities for at-risk and artistically talented inner-city children. She lives in New Orleans.

Sister Girshefski runs a daycare workshop in New Orleans for mentally retarded children and adults helping them to earn a living and learn to live independently.

Hornbrook is president of the New Orleans Public School Alumni Association and chairman for the Rally for New Orleans Public Schools.

Jolly has been confined to a wheelchair for 10 years by muscular dystrophy. She is a counselor for ACCESS, a program of the Archdiocese of New Orleans that counsels young women considering abortion.

Mims was heavily into drugs and debauchery when his father’s murder forced him to look at his life and make a complete turnaround. A world champion kickboxer, he devotes many hours to working with children at the Jordan Noble Center, a New Orleans public school for youngsters with serious emotional problems.

Utter, of New Orleans, is director of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, a non-profit organization that challenges the conditions of confinement in Louisiana’s secure care facilities for juveniles.

As a member of the community policing squad assigned to New Orleans’ Iberville public housing development, Marcellus White saw a pressing need for a productive way for the children who live there to spend their leisure time – something to serve as an alternative to the violence, vandalism and drug abuse he was all too familiar with from his own childhood in the Desire housing development. Five years ago, he helped start the Iberville Scorpions Karate Academy, which for three afternoons a week during the school year offers instruction in karate theory and skills as well as principles of Afrocentric culture. White’s program now receives housing authority funding, but to get it started he solicited donations, held suppers and crawfish boils and sold raffle tickets. Today, he continues to go above and beyond the duties of a cop on the beat. He checks on his 40 students’ progress in school, makes home visits and supervises field trips, ensuring that the ideals that boys and girls are exposed to at his academy – discipline, honor, self-worth and good judgment – are valued in their everyday lives.

Described by friends as a "humble, energetic hard worker," DeJan is a mentor and role model for the youth of his community, volunteering for hours each week at the local elementary school, tutoring children after school and counseling local college students.

Gaudin has volunteered with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity for 19 years. Thanks to her help, 85 new Habitat homes have been constructed in partnership with low-income families. Her work has made it possible for hundreds of children in New Orleans to move out of substandard housing and into safe, decent homes.

A health care worker for more than 20 years, May has been involved in hospice organizations for more than 10 of those years, and has been particularly devoted to the cause of bereaved children. She has given hours of her time to Slidell's Camp Courage for chldren who have lost loved ones and has raised funds and conducted extensive outreach into the community as well as volunteering at the camp. May was also nominated in 2005.

Russell, who is blind, works as a volunteer tutor and counselor, organizer and fund raiser for the Methodist home for Children in New Orleans. She also volunteers with the Children's Literacy Program. She was also nominated in 2003.

While pursuing his masters degree in pastoral studies at Loyola University and getting certified in youth ministry at Xavier University’s Institute of Black Catholic Studies, Augustine, who also works at an entertainment company, serves as Director of Youth Ministries at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church. He has also devoted time to the Young Adult Chorale, the Liturgical Dancers, a weekly bible study for Xavier’s campus ministry and the annual Rally for Faith for all the black Catholic youth in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He is also working on a neighborhood tutoring program and a “rites of passage” program for 8th and 9th graders.

Bartlett has supported the Methodist Home for Children for many years through various fundraising efforts.

As an 11-year-old weighing 65 pounds, Brown was abandoned at St. Elizabeth’s Orphanage. Eight years later she began her career with a railroad, moving only across the street from the orphanage so she could devote her spare time to “her girls.” After 35 years of working, she retired due to disability, and began volunteering at the orphanage full time. At 83, despite heart surgery and crippling arthritis which has necessitated two hip replacements, she still takes on administrative duties there.

A motivational speaker and licensed minister, Cook presents programs addressing issues of self esteem, alcohol and drug abuse and violence, including the “Choose 2 Refuse” drug prevention program. She is the author of “Goodbye Caterpillar, Hello Butterfly,” a book on spiritual transformation.

Corley is an auntie, mother or grandmother to every child she has ever met in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. She goes way beyond the call of duty in her job as team coordinator of Kids First Pediatrics, which provides preventive healthcare to low-income families. She has also served as director of the youth department at her church and spends her weekends taking care of neighborhood children.

Dr. Dreschnack works with several organizations benefiting children but the bulk of his volunteer hours are spent on the India Project, in which plastic surgeons operate on children deformed by birth defects. These children live in India. Dr. Dreschnack has also recently founded “Orbus Dei,” another charity benefiting children who live in Africa and Asia.

Encalarde seeks to empower adolescent girls through The Beautiful Foundation, which she founded and serves as executive directoThe foundation’s programs include a variety of topics, from financial and career planning to peer pressure and the breaking down of stereotypes.

Eustis is co-mentor of the Boys to Men program at an inner-city New Orleans middle school. He plays football with these students on weekends and has started a chess program for them.

In 1993 Harris cofounded Each One Save One, a mentoring program, and has guided it from the concept of placing willing, caring adults with young people in need of encouragement to a fully functioning, growing non-profit organization. She is also involved with the “Just for Kids” program at a school near the St. Bernard Housing Development and several other programs for young people.

Hobbs spends every day of the week operating a non-profit organization that provides on-site vision screenings for children in the New Orleans public schools.

The Hutchinsons are practicing artists who founded KID smART, in which they still have a hands-on interest. They began with a small board and a program for 20 children and have grown to become an arts education initiative serving more than 1,500 students in the city’s most underperforming schools.

“Coach” Joseph has been working with children for more than 30 years. Through his James Joseph School of Boxing, he has provided an environment in which inner-city children can stay out of trouble and learn the values of honesty, integrity, good sportsmanship, academic success and discipline. Club participants are required, among other things, to learn about fitness and nutrition, respect authority figures, maintain a “C” average or better, have a library card and, if they are over 18, be registered to vote.

Jazz artist Marsalis founded the Uptown Music Theatre, a non-profit organization providing arts and music education. He has composed six full-length musicals in which hundreds of children have participated and thousands more have enjoyed.

Dr. Osofsky is a psychologist, psychoanalyst and professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and public health at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. She has dedicated her life to prevention, intervention and clinical service programs for children and families at high psycho-social risk. In 1992, she began the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) for Children and Families at LSUHSC, which provides consultation and therapy to more than 1,000 children each year.

Peacock is director of the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program in Jefferson Parish. The number of advocates in her program has grown from nine to more than 130 in just three eyars. She is always on call after hours for the advocates on her staff and spends a great deal of off time working on CASA programs.

The Pipers run an afterschool and summertime educational program. Their Wilbert Tross Educational Center has begun a new program for teen focusing on improving behavior through creative, recreational and counseling services. It will also train adults to be mentors and tutors.

Tate leads the Louisiana Family Council, which provides programs in teen pregnancy prevention and character development. He authored “Stop the Drama,” a parenting strategy curriculum for divorced or never-married parents. He also created a responsible fatherhood program used in communities and prisons which attempts to reintegrate fathers back into the lives of their children.

Tobias works with at-risk youth in her community.

Westfeldt established the Chartwell Center, a non-profit organization that serves children with autism and related disorders by providing direct educational services and training and technical support to teachers and other professionals. While a full-time teacher in Jefferson Parish, she began a tutoring program for at-risk boys in a residential program. She also serves on the board of the Parenting Center at Children’s Hospital and organized its major fundraiser.

A business and social studies instructor in the New Orleans Public Schools, Bardell has initiated, headed or participated in a number of academic and extracurricular programs to help shape the next generation of New Orleans' business leaders. He was also nominated in 2003 and 2008.

As Executive Director of the New Orleans chapter of Boys Hope Girls Hope, Howat has overseen the removal of multiple at-risk children from troubled and broken homes and placed them in a safe environment to prosper and mature into successful high-school and college graduates. Through his fundraising efforts, he has grown the BHGH budget to provide a better program for both the children and the staff. Howat also co-founded Alive in You, a 2006 Catholic Youth Summer Camp unifying youth groups from around the country with education, spirituality and service to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged communities.

Piper runs an afterschool and summertime educational program. The Wilbert Tross Educational Center has begun a new program for teens focusing on improving behavior through creative, recreational and counseling services. It will also train adults to be mentors and tutors. Piper was also nominated in 2005.

A foster parent for more than 28 years, Valteau has worked with CASA and several foster parent organizations, helping other parents navigate the system.

Burson has gone above and beyond her job description in the 38 years she has worked for the Children's Bureau of New Orleans. Her work during and after Hurricane Katrina ensured that the bureau not only survived, but increased its capacity to serve children and families.

A social worker for the State of Louisiana's Child Protection Agency for more than 25 years, Kerry Ermon has helped to find foster and adoptive families for children in the state's custody. She created the Times-Picayune's "A Home of My Own" series as well as pamphlets, billboards, public service announcements and other creative measures to find families for abused and neglected children. To date, she has written and coordinated more than 2,250 adoption segments.

Kaichen, executive director of the GPOA (German Protestant Orphans Association) Foundation and a licensed social worker, organized the United Nonprofits of Greater New Orleans to revitalize non-profit organizations following Hurricane Katrina. Through this program she gave leaders of community organizations throughout the city the knowledge and courage to carry on and rebuild.

A 77-year-old volunteer for Deliquency Alternative Program Ministries, Mary Williams provided meals for hudnreds of student workers ferom all over the country in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

A business and social studies instructor in the New Orleans Public Schools, Bardell has initiated, headed or participated in a number of academic and extracurricular programs to help shape the next generation of New Orleans' business leaders. He was also nominated in 2003 and 2006.

Gould is currently site director of the For the Children reading program at Benjamin Banneker Elementary School, where she has doubled the program’s size. Before Hurricane Katrina she created and ran Youth Outdoors, a program that brought low-income kids from New Orleans on trips each summer to wilderness areas in the Colorado mountains, Arizona and Utah and to Grande Isle, La., to learn about coastal erosion and wetlands conservation. After Katrina she founded Huddled Masses to educate the community on coastal land loss.

A full-time U.S. Magistrate Judge, Roby volunteers as a founding board member of the First Tee of New Orleans, a life-skills program that uses golf as an avenue for character and values development for metropolitan New Orleans youth. The program gives children ages 7-17 of all races and economic backgrounds access to learning facilities, educational programs, wellness education and career assistance. She works tirelessly and unselfishly, giving her time, talent and treasure to make the program’s benefits available to all participants.

Short is the executive director of the Fountain of Youth Foundation, a grassroots organization that guides high school youth to become effective leaders in their communities. She has also worked with PICO Louisiana and All Congregations Together on the nationwide campaign to ask Congress to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

After Hurricane Katrina, Brian Bordainick, a New Orleans public school teacher, established a sports field in the lower 9th Ward.

Emily Braneon is a dedicated librarian in the recovery school district of Louisiana in New Orleans.

Founder of organization that provides vision screening and glasses at school sites.

Stacy Horn Koch is the Executive Director of Covenant House, a community center offering a myriad of programs to homeless and at-risk youth in New Orleans. As a recovering addict, she is uniquely equipped to fully understand and relate to the kids who co

Jack McShane is a 15-year-old boy who volunteers regularly with the Mow-Rons. Mow-Rons are a small group of volunteers who cut the grass at New Orleans City Park every week.

Minh Nguyen is the devoted founded of the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans, which is a youth-led organization dedicated to the empowerment of Vietnamese American and other underrepresented youth through services, cultural enric

Russ Rehm is a devoted volunteer with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). He has served as an advocate for 3 children since he began. He is devoted to these children, despite losing everything in Hurricane Katrina.

Kaseem Short developed and implemented a youth tutorial program for low income children in the Gert Town Community. Rev. Short encourages the enthusiasm and strengths of the members of the community to participate in volunteering in community clean-ups a

Judge Karen Wells Roby has volunteered in many capacities with the First Tee of Greater New Orleans. She was also nominated in 2008.

After Hurricane Katrina, Jane Wholey organized Rethink, an organization that encourages kids to advocate for changes in their own schools.