The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes is a national award that celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from across the U.S. and Canada. Established in 2001 by author T. A. Barron, the Barron Prize annually honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people or the environment. Some of the most recent young heroes are working hard to reduce pollution, fight climate change, save endangered species and more:
Anna De Volld founded Promote Our Pollinators to raise awareness of pollinators’ importance and devastating decline, and to provide ways to promote their population growth.
Aseel Rawashdeh developed an inexpensive and environmentally friendly solution to mosquito-borne diseases, creating a larvicide that could be produced in industrial quantities.
Austin Picinich founded Save Our Salmon Through Art to create vibrant public art projects in the Greater Seattle area that engage, educate, and empower communities to restore salmon spawning streams.
Jack Dalton, known as the Kid Conservationist, works to protect critically endangered orangutans and their rainforest habitat, as well as to educate and inspire people to protect the environment.
Karina Samuel founded the Florida chapter of Bye Bye Plastic Bags, an international student-led nonprofit committed to reducing the amount of plastic on the planet.
Laalitya Acharya invented Nereid, a low-cost, globally applicable device that uses Artificial Intelligence to detect water contamination within seconds. Her hands-on educational programs, now offered online, have reached thousands of people.
Lucy Westlake founded Lucy Climbs to raise awareness of the need for clean water in developing countries by climbing the world’s highest mountains. She is the youngest American woman ever to summit Everest.
Luna Abadía founded the Effective Climate Action Project to increase awareness of solutions to climate change – especially the possibilities of systemic thinking and collective action.
Sri Nihal Tammana created Recycle My Battery, a nonprofit that installs free battery recycling bins and educates young people and adults about battery recycling.
William Charouhis founded We Are Forces of Nature and its A Million Mangroves initiative to combat climate change and to protect coastlines from the effects of sea level rise.
Ethan Bledsoe founded Confront the Climate Crisis to engage youth in climate change policy making, action, and education. He began by rallying 300 peers to join him in a school strike, demanding a high school environmental science class.
Isabel Sutton raises awareness and funds for environmental causes. Through her JustIZZY initiative, she designs biodegradable bracelets and ornaments and donates proceeds to nonprofits such as wildlife rescue centers.
Kelly Tung founded Youth Environmental Power Initiative (YEPI) to empower young people to combat climate change and advocate for environmental justice and racial equity.
Reed Spaulding created the Tributary Festival, an annual benefit concert that raises money to protect Chesapeake Bay. A recent event on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore drew more than 500 attendees who donated over $7,000 to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Reshma Kosaraju invented a way to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to predict forest fires with nearly 90% accuracy. Her AI model uses Machine Learning and open access meteorological data such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed to determine when and where forest fires are likely to occur.
“Nothing is more uplifting than learning about heroic people who have truly made a difference,” says T. A. Barron. “The goal of the Barron Prize is to shine the spotlight on these amazing young people so that their examples will encourage others to take action.”
For more info visit www.barronprize.org.
About the Barron Prize
Established in 2001 by author T. A. Barron, the Barron Prize is a national award that annually honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment. Fifteen top winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education. These young people are as diverse as their service projects. They are female and male, urban and rural, and from a wide variety of backgrounds across the U.S. and Canada. All of them demonstrate heroic character qualities like courage, compassion, and perseverance. Through the years, the Barron Prize has earned the support of Girl Scouts of the USA, The Wilderness Society, Youth Service America, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, among other organizations. To learn more about the Barron Prize, visit www.barronprize.org