By Laurie Hanson
Eleven philanthropic youth volunteers from nine local nonprofits were recognized at The Youth Center’s 7th Annual A Night Among the Stars awards ceremony on Jan. 26 for their amazing commitment to give back to their community.
The night was filled with moving stories of the many causes the students have dedicated their free time to over the last year or more — causes involving raising awareness and funds for Crohn’s Disease, tutoring elementary and middle school students, protesting gun violence and advocating for gun control locally in Washington, D.C., creating social media campaigns about the dangers of texting and driving, and giving hope to children and teens who struggle with difficult challenges, just to name a few. The event packed room was inspired by every nominee’s effort to make this world, challenged by so many difficult issues, a better place. As shared by Lina Lumme, Executive Director of The Youth Center, “It’s easy to give up and do nothing. These Stellar Volunteers give their time and talents to give us all a brighter future by making a difference in our community.”
Nominees acknowledged for this year’s awards included:
Kaylie Matthews – Rossmoor resident – The Youth Center
Vivian Ramirez – Anaheim resident – Grateful Hearts
Darren Deutsch – Long Beach resident – Los Alamitos High School
Valerio Guercio – Los Alamitos resident – Casa Youth Shelter
Julia Dillenbeck – Huntington Beach resident – Village Bible Academy Leo Club
Rebecca Gomez – Seal Beach resident – Seal Beach Leo Club
Rory Lowdermilk – Long Beach resident – Girl Scouts
Rosslyn Lyell – Bellflower resident – LAVP & Girl Scouts
Hallie Alcantar – Seal Beach resident – Be the Good
Cheryl Godbee – Cerritos resident – The Youth Center Leo’s Club
Madison Godbee – Cerritos resident – The Youth Center Leo’s Club
The nominees were honored by Los Alamitos Mayor Kusumoto, Bellflower Mayor Santa Ines, Los Alamitos City Councilman Richard Murphy, representative Ryan Billings from Assemblyman Tyler Diep’s office, Rossmoor Community Services District (RCSD) President Joe Mendoza and RCSD Board Member Bill Kahlert, Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors President Karen Kuns, Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman Dawnette Palmore, LAUSD Board of Education member Karen Russell and Andrew Pulver with LAUSD, Los Alamitos High School Principal Gregg Stone, and The Youth Center’s Board of Directors.
The Youth Center awarded Stellar Volunteers Darren Deutsch, Rory Lowdermilk, and Rebecca Gomez with a $500 scholarship and Viviana Ramirez was awarded a $500 scholarship from the Rotary Club of Los Alamitos for her “Courage in Volunteering”.
For more information about The Youth Center, please visit www.theyouthcenter.org.
