2009 National Winners

Mimi Ausland, 12, Bend, OR

Three years ago when she was just 9 years old, Mimi started volunteering at the Humane Society of Central Oregon (HSCO). Inspired by the homeless cats and dogs at the shelter, Mimi wanted to do more to help animals. In April 2008, she created www.freekibble.com and www.freekibblekat.com, Websites designed to help feed homeless cats and dogs via sponsors who donate cat and dog food every time site visitors answer the dog or cat trivia questions on the Website. As she designed the site, she found local sponsors, worked directly with HSCO and promoted the project. Since launching freekibble.com, Mimi continues to write new trivia questions, answer e-mails, help choose the shelters that receive donations, deliver the food and promote the site to media. Since April 2008, freekibble.com has donated approximately $250,000 worth of pet food and generated more than 3,500 meals for animals at 11 shelters every day. Mimi continues to volunteer at HSCO every week.

Rocco Fiorentino, 12, Voorhees, NJ

Rocco, a gifted singer, pianist, drummer and jazz performer, was born blind and his parents left the hospital not knowing what to do or how to raise a blind child. One year later, his family created The Little Rock Foundation, www.tlrf.org, named for Rocco, to raise awareness of and provide resources for families with blind children. Rocco has been the ambassador for this foundation for the past seven years. As the ambassador, Rocco learned to be an inspiring speaker at a very young age. He's used these skills in numerous speeches to the New Jersey State Legislature to educate legislators about the needs of blind children. Because of his speeches and advocacy efforts for blind children, the legislature has dedicated $1.2 million to Braille education and services in New Jersey. In December 2008, Governor Jon Corzine credited Rocco as the inspiration for making every October, starting in 2009, Blind Awareness Month in New Jersey.

Hannah Turner, 8, Perrysburg, OH

When Hannah was 4 years old, she saw a homeless man outside on a cold winter day with battered shoes and no socks. Hannah wanted to give the man her socks and refused to leave him until her parents promised to buy the man new socks. That experience stuck with her, and in 2005 Hannah involved her friends and family in sock drives at local schools and churches. By 2007, she formed her own nonprofit, Hannah's Socks, www.Hannahssocks.org, to collect new items for homeless men, women and children, including socks, underwear, hats, gloves, scarves and mittens. Hannah's Socks has collected 100,000 clothing items to date. Hannah, now just 8 years old, has already touched the lives of homeless people at 27 shelters around Toledo, nine shelters in Cincinnati, and two schools in Toledo.

Winter Vinecki, 10, Salem, OR

Winter, age 10, is an extraordinary athlete who has been competing in triathlons since she was 5. When she was 9, her dad was diagnosed with a rare and serious form of prostate cancer. Winter wanted to fight back and help make strides toward finding a cure. She created “Team Winter,” www.teamwinter.org, as part of Athletes for a Cure and raised more than $35,000 for her first race. To date, she's helped raise more than $150,000 for prostate cancer research. Although Winter's dad lost his battle with cancer in March, Winter continues to race all over the country to raise awareness for her cause.

Paul Carey, 18, West Chester, OH

Five years ago, when Paul was just 13, he was told his mother had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease – a fatal disease with no known cause or cure. Paul met other ALS patients, many of whom had lost the ability to speak. Paul decided he would be a voice for these patients and dedicated himself to fundraising, ALS advocacy and empowering youth to help join the cause. Paul's fundraising efforts span from sponsored walks and selling root beer floats to lobbying for corporate donations and seeking support through his Website, www.Kids4Cure.com. Over the last five years, Kids4Cure has raised $300,000 for the ALS Association. Since 2005, Paul's efforts have brought him to Washington, D.C. on numerous occasions to lobby for ALS support and funding. Paul's efforts helped Congress pass legislation for ALS research signed by President George W. Bush.

Patrick Foster, 17, Sachse, TX

After visiting family in Korea and spending time meeting U.S. soldiers stationed there, Patrick wanted to do something to show his support for our military. In 2005, when Patrick was in the eighth grade, he co-founded Dallas is Love, www.dallasislove.org, a nonprofit organization that collects products and raises funds to purchase Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAES) gift cards. Patrick, age 17, has helped raise $290,000. Thousands of soldiers receive assistance from Dallas is Love and are able to use the AAES gift cards to purchase personal hygiene, entertainment and other products. These items, especially books and CDs, help soldiers experience a temporary escape from the rigorous life of a soldier thanks to a few comforts of home.

Jeffrey Hanson, 15, Overland Park, KS

Jeff, age 15, is an accomplished artist. He also lives with a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis, a disease causing nerve tissue tumors. Jeff has an optic nerve tumor making him visually impaired. Jeff's optimism and generous spirit allowed him to channel his artistic gifts by painting to help find a cure for neurofibromatosis. He's painted and sold more than 5,000 watercolor notecards, donating all of the proceeds for medical research and other various charities. Demand for his cards became so great that a local printing company offered to mass print scanned images of his cards. Jeff has raised money through his notecards, calendar and canvas paintings and has donated more than $100,000 to 12 local, national and international charities. Jeff also donated 12 of his canvas paintings to Sir Elton John and the Elton John AIDS Foundation for a home in Khayelitsha, South Africa. The paintings arrived for Christmas 2008. Jeff's artwork and charitable affiliations can be found on his Website at www.JeffreyOwenHanson.com. In October 2009, Jeff will receive the National Children's Tumor Foundation Ambassador Award for his philanthropic works to the foundation.

Dallas Jessup, 17, Vancouver, WA

Dallas is the founder and spokesperson for the nonprofit Just Yell Fire, www.justyellfire.com, a community service project empowering girls to fight back against abduction and sexual assault. Dallas raised nearly $1 million and inspired hundreds of volunteers to create a safety program for teen girls which was rolled out worldwide resulting in a “Million Girl Revolution” across 43 countries. She travels 10,000 miles per month speaking at schools, law enforcement conferences and women's events, teaching girls that they have rights and telling them how to stay safe. Last summer, she traveled to rural India to educate women on how to stay safe amidst the sex trafficking crisis in India. In July 2008, she spoke at the Mensa national conference as the first teen keynote, and in November 2008 she lectured at MIT. Dallas hears from girls around the world about how they used her get-away strategies to avoid abduction or rape. Her stay-safe film on her Website has been downloaded nearly one million times.

Bailey Reese, 13 (12 during nominations), Niceville, FL

After a hurricane hit her hometown when she was 7, Bailey noticed the kind service of soldiers passing out water and ice. She also noticed how seldom they were thanked for their efforts. Since that experience, Bailey has been passionate about making sure that the men and women who serve our country know that their service is appreciated. She founded Hero Hugs, www.HeroHugs.org, where she's collected more than $400,000 and sent more than 38,000 packages to troops deployed overseas. All of the packages are decorated and packed by kids across the country. Bailey has also personally handed out 16,000 appreciation packages to troops working at air shows across the country. In addition, Bailey wanted to help soldiers' children at home, so she produced a kid-friendly section of her Website to show kids with deployed parents, friends or loved ones what it's like being a deployed soldier. This section of her Website features a teddy bear named Hero. Hero is photographed in many pictures with soldiers in Iraq to visually tell the story of what it's like to be a deployed soldier.

Anna Rose, 18, Evergreen, CO

While volunteering at school, Anna noticed that some students needed glasses but didn't have them. Knowing how expensive her own glasses were, she decided that she would work to help get glasses for those who could not access or afford them. At age 12, Anna started Sight Angels, www.communityofangels.org, which, over the last six years, has provided more than $265,000 worth of eyeglasses and accessories to those in need in the United States and throughout the world. Anna serves homeless shelters, assisted living centers and churches. Sight Angels donations have helped get supplies to victims of Hurricane Katrina, migrant farm workers, refugees from Darfur and remote villages throughout the world. She has helped people on six of the seven continents. While Anna's organization continues to help thousands of people around the world, she remains focused on her local community and is one of the largest donors to The Denver Rescue Mission in her hometown area.