Stellar philanthropic youth shined at The Youth Center’s 3rd annual A Night Among the Stars “Together We Make A Difference” awards ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Marina Center in Seal Beach.
More than 130 people gathered to recognize the outstanding achievements of 16 young community volunteers who all received certificates and letters of recommendation from The Youth Center along with State Senate certificates presented by local city dignitaries. Two stellar volunteer nominees were recipients of $500 scholarships each.
“Making a difference in the lives of youth can only be deemed a worthwhile endeavor, yet when youth such as these become involved with and give back to those from which they receive, that is stellar,” said Youth Center Executive Director Lina Lumme. “Our nominees truly make a lasting difference in the lives of our community. Volunteers are so important. You are never too young to make a difference”
Marty Thompson of the We Care Family Resource Center in Los Alamitos said she thought the awards ceremony is awesome as she had a nominee, Jaelyn Sagen, who at age 6 was concerned for the homeless. She then went on to raise more than $5,000 at a lemonade stand over the last four years to benefit them.
Another nominee was Yasmine Goulhiane who helped the Seal Beach Lions Club by giving the gift of sight to the needy. She was involved with helping them provide free eye exams and glasses.
Yet another nominee was Girl Scout Daisy Allison Head who made a difference in the lives of military service kids by helping to send toys, snacks and care packages to them. Her fellow Girl Scout Junior Hannah Grace Sokol also helped to provide 275 pounds of food donations to the Orange County Food Bank as well as food for the We Care Family Resource Center in Los Alamitos.
The 2012 stellar volunteer scholarship award winner, Evan Jenkins of the Seal Beach Leo’s, then presented this year’s scholarship winners, Andrew Turner and Jennifer Lang, with checks for $500 at the awards ceremony. Turner spoke of his “Suzie Project,” fondly. He said he was in a Starbucks in 2012 when he was feeling loss in humanity after the Sandy Hook tragedy, when a woman came from out of nowhere and gave him $20. The random act of kindness inspired him to pay it forward and help low-income people along a local bus route by giving them care packages.
The Youth Center congratulates all 16 nominees including Allison Head of Los Alamitos (Girls Scouts Daisy), Andrew Turner of Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos High School), Brook Denny of Los Alamitos (Casa Youth Shelter), Erin Henkhaus of Rossmoor (Girls Scouts Ambassador), Gustavo Hernandez of Cypress ( Grateful Hearts), Gwyneth Poetsch of Los Alamitos (Girls Scout Cadette), Hanna Grace Sokol of Rossmoor (Girls Scout Junior), Jaelyn Sagen of Los Alamitos (We Care Family Support Center), Jaymn Singh of Cerritos (The Youth Center), Jennifer Lang of Long Beach (Seal Beach Lions Foundation), Melissa O’Gorman of Los Alamitos (Casa Youth Shelter), Miranda Keller of Los Alamitos (The Youth Center), Shannon Kilmarx of Long Beach (Precious Life Shelter), Siobhan Allen of Seal Beach (Los Alamitos High School), Victoria Elias of Stanton (Los Alamitos High School), and Yasmine Goulhiane of Whittier (Seal Beach Lions Foundation).
Los Alamitos Mayor Richard Murphy and Seal Beach Mayor Ellery Deaton were in attendance. Murphy said he was happy to be involved in the awards ceremony and that anytime the community has young people succeed, that everyone wants to be involved in recognizing them. He also said that he thought that the Youth Center played an important role in the development of youth, and that recognizing the youth for all the work they do is important. Also in attendance were Los Alamitos Mayor Pro Tem Troy Edgar, Los Alamitos City Council Member/Youth Center Board of Director President Shelley Hasselbrink and Council Member Dean Grose.
Los Alamitos Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Sherry Kropp said of the awards ceremony, “What I love is recognizing young people who have such big hearts in giving back to the community. I love it, and it’s a privilege for me to be here for this celebration.”
LAUSD Assistant Superintendent of Education Services and Los Alamitos High School Principal Joshua Arnold was also in attendance and said “A big part of education is what you do with it. It’s really incredible what these young people give back to the community. It’s really cool, and we will see them continue doing this for years to come.”
The Youth Center wishes to give a special thanks to the Seal Beach Lions Club for hosting this year’s award night, and who volunteered more than 120 hours to bring this beautiful event to the community.
The Youth Center has started accepting applications for nominations for A Night Among the Stars 2016. For more information, contact Youth Center Executive Director Lina Lumme at lina@theyouthcenter.org.