WASHINGTON, DC - The NAB Education Foundation (NABEF) announced today the winners of the Call to Service Collegiate Competition, sponsored by NABEF and the McCormick Foundation. The competition called on college students to create a unique community service project that partnering radio and television broadcasters could later promote to encourage community involvement. Competition winners will be honored at this evening's 12th annual Celebration of Service to America Awards, held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.
As previously announced, the projects were judged based on creativity, community involvement and use of media and technology to chronicle the project. Competition winners include:
First Place: Kristen Laubacker, Catholic University
Partnering Station: WCUA 97.5 FM Washington, DC
Award: $10,000 scholarship and donation to Washington DC's Central Kitchen's Campus Kitchen program
Laubacker created the Lunch Bag Brigade, an initiative designed to make lunches for the hungry and to help teach the community about the spirit of giving. She paired up with DC Central Kitchen and two of their programs, Campus Kitchens and First Helping. Working with twelve kids, 150 lunches were made, bagged, and boxed for transportation. Ninety minutes fed a full meal to 150 people. Through social networking tools, Laubacker was able to raise money needed to buy supplies for the lunches. The final step to the Brigade's success is its sustainability. Laubacker created a guide, titled Running your own Brigade, which has been sent out to over 20 schools and parishes across the country.
Second Place: Stephen Padulsky, Boston College
Partnering Station: WZBC 90.3 FM Boston, MA
Award: $5,000 scholarship and donation to SuperSibs!, Boston MA
Padulsky piloted a program with SuperSibs! that links campus groups to local pediatric oncology hospitals. Titled C.A.S.T. (Cancer Affects Siblings Too), the program provided volunteer resources to local-area hospitals to help them in directly supporting siblings of pediatric cancer patients and their families. The program will serve as a replicable, effective, sustainable model that can be implemented by SuperSibs! with campus groups and pediatric oncology hospitals across North America. C.A.S.T. has helped several siblings and families learn how to cope and deal with family members with cancer. Through PSAs, social networking, and their first annual C.A.S.T. conference, Padulsky's organization is now spreading to other colleges and universities across the nation and will only continue to grow.
Third Place: Katrina Mesina & Claire Yancy, Saint Mary's College
Partnering Station: WNDU-TV Channel 16 South Bend, IN
Award: $2,000 scholarship and donation to Center for the Homeless, South Bend, IN
Mesina and Yancy created a curriculum for women at a local homeless shelter called Our Hour to help empower women and get them back on their feet. The ten-week course features topics ranging from women's history to sexism. This will be an ongoing program at the Center for the Homeless.
For additional competition information, click here.
About NABEF
The National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving broadcasters and the public interest by supporting and advocating community service, diversity, education and broadcasting issues and trends.
About the McCormick Foundation
The McCormick Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening our free, democratic society by investing in children, communities and country. Through its grantmaking programs, Cantigny Park and Golf, museums, and civic outreach program the Foundation helps build a more active and engaged citizenry. It was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The McCormick Foundation is one of the nation's largest charities, with more than $1 billion in assets. For more information, please visit www.McCormickFoundation.org.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America's broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.