The NAB Education Foundation (NABEF) announced 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.
The competition winners were honored Monday night (6/14) at the 12th annual Celebration of Service to America Awards in Washington, DC.
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, Notre Dame, 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.
