2007 Caring Youth Recognition award recipients
Local youth to be honored for outstanding community service
Twenty-two youth who have given outstanding service to others will be honored at the Caring Youth Recognition event Thursday, March 22, at 7 p.m. at the Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka. Former Deephaven mayor and active community volunteer Lynn Johnson will present the keynote address.
The Caring Youth Recognition salutes young people in grades 7 through 12 who have unselfishly involved themselves in a cause or situation benefiting others. It is designed to honor young people who demonstrate caring by reaching out to others or whose day-to-day lifestyles reflect uncommon concern for others. Caring Youth supports the attitude of giving without expectation of reward or recognition. It encourages an attitude of recognizing the needs of others and responding to those needs in a personal, caring way.
Faith community members, civic and service organizations, and schools in the Golden Valley, Hopkins and Minnetonka communities nominated the youth.
The Caring Youth Recognition event is an extension of the February “We Love Our Kids” month activities, and is a collaborative effort among the cities of Golden Valley, Hopkins, and Minnetonka, and the Minnetonka and Hopkins school districts. Additionally, the Glen Lake Optimists of Minnetonka have generously lent their financial support to this year’s event.
The 2007 Caring Youth recipients include:
- Aaron Achartz, Hopkins High School
- Nominated by All Saints Lutheran Church, Minnetonka, for his volunteer work with children’s ministry.
- Sarah Albert, Hopkins High School
- Nominated by Minnetonka United Methodist Church, Minnetonka, for her volunteer work at the church.
- Liz Bayer, Hopkins High School
- nominated by the Ridgedale YMCA for her volunteer work with YMCA Youth in Government and the city of Minnetonka’s EDA commission.
- Mitch Bayer, Hopkins High School
- Nominated by Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis for his volunteer work with that organization’s Big Brother/Big Sister program.
- Jane Bergquist, Minnetonka High School
- Nominated by We Can Ride, Inc. for her volunteer work with therapeutic horseback riding for children and adults living with disabilities.
- David Cherne, Blake School
- Nominated by St. Therese Southwest for his volunteer work as a weekly grocery shopping assistant for senior citizens.
- Paul Devitt, Minnetonka High School
- Nominated by Intercongregation Communities Association for his volunteer work organizing a collection drive for non-food items for ICA.
- Sean Gogerty, Minnetonka High School
- Nominated by the Church of St. Therese Deephaven for his volunteer work with the church preschool program.
- Vlad Gruin, Hopkins High School
- Nominated by The Depot Coffee House for his volunteer work on The Depot board of directors.
- Rachel Hersman, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
- Nominated by Hopkins Catholic Youth Ministry, for her volunteer work with Catholic Youth Ministry and St. John’s Church.
- Hannah Hoogland, Hopkins North Junior High School
- Nominated by Hopkins North Junior High for her volunteer work with the school’s anti-bullying program.
- Goldi Johnson, St. Louis Park High School
- Nominated by Speak the Word Church for her volunteer work in the hospitality ministry at the church.
- Kayli Kirkegaard, Minnetonka High School
- Nominated by All Saints Lutheran Church, Minnetonka, for her volunteer work at an orphanage in Mexico and with Sunday school at the church.
- Heather McCarthy, Main Street School of Performing Arts
- Nominated by Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Minnetonka, for her volunteer work with Sunday school, Youth Council and summer mission trips at the church.
- Sean McDonald, Main Street School of Performing Arts
- Nominated by Teens for World Peace for his volunteer work with Feed My Starving Children, homelessness and other community needs.
- Grace Mevissen, Minnetonka High School
- Nominated by Children’s Hospital and Clinics for donating more than 200 hours of care and concern for hospitalized children and their families.
- Kristina Ortmann, Hopkins High School
- Nominated by the Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis for her work on the Girl Scout Council Board of Directors.
- Andy, Casey and Kelly Pearson, home-schooled Golden Valley residents
- Nominated by the Golden Valley Library for their five years of volunteer work with library programs.
- Lauren Wiig, Minnetonka High School
- Nominated by Minnetonka High School for her volunteer work with students with developmental disabilities.
- Carl Wilcoxon, Hopkins High School
- Nominated by Oakland Avenue United Methodist Church, Minneapolis, for his volunteer work with patients at the Walker Health Care Center.
