If you believe that a student or group of students have engaged in exceptional community service, please click the link below and fill out the form prior to the end of the last day of each month of the school year. The Jefferson Award student leaders will review the nominations and select one student or student group each month to recognize with a Jefferson Award. Winning students will be notified and awards will be presented in a breakfast ceremony on a scheduled date before the beginning of school. Friends and parents are invited to attend.
2011 ~ Jefferson Award Winners ~ 2012
During a time that most families prefer to sit in their cozy house around a full dinner table, Mary "Molly" Brandt recognized her power to help those whose dinner tables are empty. Mary feels an emptiness on Thanksgiving day that is painful, marking the day her cousin passed away at the age of 20. This grief has pushed her on to better the lives of others as the Thanksgiving Food Drive Co-Coordinator at St Patrick Church in Lake Forest where she leads the effort to brighten the holidays of many. The Thanksgiving Food Drive raises over $6000 annually and distributes Thanksgiving dinners to over 300 families through the Community Social Services Food Pantry in Waukegan, IL. Over the past four years, Mary created a food distribution system which organized each meal based on size and food preferences, created family labels, helped purchase the food and eventually sorted, packed and delivered the Thanksgiving meals to individual homes. In addition, Mary translates for Pantry volunteers and customers since more than half speak only Spanish. She coordinated the drive again in November 2011 along with being a regular volunteer at the Soup Kitchen at the food pantry. Her selfless attitude has allowed her to project her grief into a positive effort, which has impacted the families in our community.
April 2012
In the summer of 2010, Michael Goldfine was diagnosed with High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a blood cancer that prevents white blood cells from maturing into healthy cells. Since that summer, Michael has chemotherapy treatments at Children's Memorial Hospital with sometimes weekly visits. Throughout the medical protocol, Michael has continued with his education at Stevenson and continued his participation on the SHS hockey and baseball teams. At one point during his treatment, Michael's treatment required 3-6 day hospitalizations over a 10-week period. Michael's sophomore year, he missed 42 days of school. During his visits and hospitalizations, Michael noticed that there was no place for teens to relax during chemotherapy treatments. A waiting room for young children was provided with toys and age appropriate activities. But no facilities were designated for adolescents. Michael asked about a place for teens, somewhere to study, do homework and with activities for the high school student. He worked collaboratively with Dr Jennifer Reichek from CMH to develop a vision and begin fundraising efforts outside of the hospital. Through advocacy, Michael submitted a proposal to the SHS Hockey Board that the CMH oncology clinic be selected as the 2010-2011 charity for that season and raise additional funds for the teen lounge projected to open at the new CMH location in June of 2012. Through donations and wristband sales, $8,800 was raised during the 2010-2011 season. These funds were designated to help purchase computers, printers, Ipads, an Xbox, and age appropriate games, tables and chairs for the teen lounge. Michael's efforts were further supported by the SHS cheerleaders and they raised an additional $10,000 for the teen lounge. Michael's vision is resulting in two teen lounges, one in the oncology outpatient clinic, and one on the oncology inpatient floor. Through these efforts, thousands of hematology/oncology patients and their families will benefit.
April 2012
The world of today is one afflicted with difficulties of its own and it has a need for men and women who can ease the burdens of the problems off of our shoulders. With natural disasters and economic turmoil at every turn, the world needs problem solvers, not benchwarmers, waiting on the sidelines for other people to lead the team. Michelle Hannon acknowledges problems and strives for solutions. Michelle was having trouble breathing one day in class. The problem was that the neighbors next to the school were burning leaves. She extensively researched the issue and discovered that there was a significant impact on the health of individuals, especially people who have chronic conditions such as asthma. It was a scary situation for the students and staff because they had no control over the air they were breathing. She decided to take action and solve the problem. With the guidance of former Principal Janet Gonzalez, the Lake County Chairman David Stolman, and Stevenson's nurse, Peg Cucci, she spearheaded a campaign to ban leaf burning near schools in Lake County. Michelle worked with David Stolman for two years to get a law passed to ban leaf burning. She received eighty-six e-mails and collected 800 signatures in support of the ban with the assistance of Zack Kozub, Carly Margolin, Ali Castriano, Kalei Sorenson, and Rebecca Hannon. She presented a 200-page document to the Lake County Board and the Commissions in support of the ban at a public meeting. Michelle utilized the press by contacting the four area newspapers. The proposal received the press it needed to get people to acknowledge the problem and get the Lake County Board to consider passing a law. On July 12, 2011, the Lake County Board passed a law banning yard waste burning during school hours. The board decided to test pilot Stevenson High School and if the ban is successful, the law may apply to all schools in Lake County. Michelle has been an outstanding advocate for the health and safety of the students, faculty, and neighbors of Stevenson High School. The Jefferson Awards would like to graciously thank Michelle Hannon for providing us all with cleaner air to breathe.
April 2012
Jed Stone is a 17 year-old student with aspirations, motivations, and actions that speak louder than any individual I've come across. At age 15, Jed became an avid supporter of anti-drug organizations. Targeting the spread of heroin and marijuana use in suburban towns, Jed gave a seminar on the effects of marijuana to junior high school students at an OMNI youth group. However, Jed's leadership and service did not stop there. At age 16, Jed began what would likely become his lifelong career. After attending an economics class at Duke University on a campus visit, he had an idea. Furthermore, he had an urge to do something about what he just learned. The subject of the class that day addressed underfunded schools across the nation. Jed set out to do something about that. Living just north of Chicago, Jed knew all about budgetary crises in public schools. That is why he founded a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization called Edufund to make a difference. Edufund, a club at with Adlai E. Stevenson High School, seeks to connect businesses and individuals with underfunded schools in the Chicago-land area. They try to have a positive impact on students in any way they can. As Jed enters college, he has expressed that he will spread the organization there to help local schools in the area. Not only is the cause noble, successful, and necessary, but it all started in the hands and mind of a 15 year old. Jed continues to raise awareness and money as the active president and founder of Edufund. For his immense contributions, the Jefferson Awards Students In Action team would like to recognize Jed Stone for his outstanding leadership in the area of community service.
December 2011
Libby Staples has made riding horses and learning horsemanship her passion ever since she rode her first horse as a young girl. Libby’s amazing experiences riding these horses made her realize that others should be able to experience this joy, even though it may not be so simple for them. This realization made Libby began volunteering at Horsefeathers Therapeutic Riding Center in Lake Forest. At Horsefeathers, Libby volunteers to help children with special needs learn to ride horses and practice many skills that may be damaged as a result of their disability, as a form of therapy. Although this proves to be hard work, Libby is extremely committed to what she does, giving up at least five hours every Sunday to go volunteer during the school year and five hours at least twice a week during the summer at Horsefeathers . Because of Libby’s hard work, many children who never thought they would be able to horseback ride have learned to ride, and Libby has become much more aware of what it takes to work with special needs children. Libby has learned to deal with each unique child and disability differently, setting goals for each child and following through with them. Libby has also attended the Special Olympics with Horsefeathers twice, giving up entire weekends to help special needs children succeed in such a large competition. Through her work at Horsefeathers, Libby has helped over 100 special needs children, and she will likely continue helping more. For this incredible work of community service, we present Libby with the Jefferson Award.
December 2011
Here at Stevenson there are many ways for a student to earn hours of community service. One of the programs offered at SHS is a club called Best Buddies. This is a non-for-profit international program that enhances the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing them with one-on-one friendships. Students with disabilities are known as buddies, and are paired with students without disabilities, which are known as peer buddies. One specific peer buddy, Colleen Reilly, has been an active participant in Best Buddies for the past two years. During her time with the program, Colleen has been a peer buddy to a special needs student. As a peer buddy, Colleen spends time with her buddy twice a week outside of school as well as take part in various in-school events. The relationship between Colleen and her buddy is truly an outstanding one. Although her buddy no longer attends Stevenson, Colleen continues her commitment by spending time with her on a regular basis. Expecting nothing in return for her actions, it is clear to see Colleen is more than just a peer buddy and has become a true friend. Within the past few years, Colleen has spent over 200 service hours working passionately to serve others with intellectual disabilities. For that reason the Stevenson Jefferson Awards Committee would like to honor Colleen Reilly for her hard work and devotion to Best Buddies.
December 2011
"With vision and enthusiasm,
Jaslene Chitkara has a remarkable dedication to community service and sense of compassion for those in need. Regularly volunteering for Children’s Memorial Hospital, each year she collects over 200 toys from her neighborhood and delivers them to the children undergoing treatment. Jaslene also volunteers at PADS, an organization that provides support to families and individuals experiencing homelessness, and certain weekdays she has spent up to 4 hours preparing and serving food. Her efforts with PADS originated from involvement with Teen-Aiders, a program in which teen volunteers help serve homeless children, and with Teen-Aiders she participated in a Halloween Costume Drive last year. Additionally, Jaslene is a "blanketeer" for Project Linus, a national organization that provides seriously ill or traumatized children with blankets so that they may feel a "sense of security, warmth, comfort, and love," and she has made and donated 8 blankets thus far. Jaslene’s commitment to helping children in difficult situations, however, extends beyond her local community to the global level. As a volunteer for the Cove Alliance, she poured time and effort into designing 3 brochures for the organization, which provides food, shelter, education, and health care to orphaned and vulnerable children in Kapeeka, Uganda. Furthermore, turning difficult news into inspiration, Jaslene has recently worked to foster awareness for breast cancer after seeing friends and family members fighting the disease. From designing and selling t-shirts, she raised $625 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Answering the call to serve her community in any way she can, Jaslene Chitkara’s exemplary passion for service highlights the ability of an individual to truly create a brighter future in many areas."
December 2011
Every year, the Stevenson National Honor Society hosts its biggest in-school fundraiser called Give-A-Thon. Not only does Give-A-Thon help 255 needy families in the Chicagoland area, but it also helps fill the Vernon Area Township Food Pantry with food for the holiday season and provide baby items to young mothers in PADS shelters. The success of Give-A-Thon each year would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of the
Give-A-Thon Committee members. Within eight sub-committees, they work to plan out every aspect of Give-A-Thon so that it can run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Each committee head played a different role as Moderator, Secretary, or Director of Communications. The Moderators created the agenda and made sure everyone stayed on task every week within their committee. The Secretary accounted for the membership of their committee and took minutes for the meetings to keep the rest of the committees aware of their progress. Finally, the Director of Communication maintained relationships between the members of the committee and kept each of the members updated on their individual tasks outside of the meetings. The committee heads who lead and organize the planning of this huge event have put in countless hours since the beginning of the semester to innovate and perfect Give-A-Thon for 2011. The committee heads have driven this event to the next level by improving it with new ideas such as the candy gram sales, the decorative and creative advertising for this year’s Harry Potter theme, and more efficient systems to run Box Day, Craft Day, Collection Day, and the Student Leader Luncheon. This year, the committee heads have helped make Give-A-Thon more organized than ever, which has only allowed it to extend its reach even farther than before.
December 2011
During times of personal suffering, we rarely take time to consider the unhappiness of others. But this was not the case with Stephen Cohn. During the previous school year’s spring break,
Stephen Cohn was airlifted by the US Coast Guard from his cruise and taken to a hospital in Puerto Rico to be treated for bleeding ulcers. As he underwent and recovered from three surgeries, Stephen observed the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the underprivileged children also receiving treatment at the hospital. Empathizing with the children and realizing how difficult it is for a child to remain strapped to a hospital bed for weeks on end, unable to participate in diverting activities, Stephen decided to take advantage of his circumstances to improve those of the children. Only two weeks after he was released, Stephen and his friends advocated for the patients and began collecting more than 1,500 books and DVD’s in order to provide entertainment, comfort, and company to the disadvantaged children he encountered and to promote their well-being and development. Stephen collected donations from Aptakisic Junior High School, Pritchett Elementary School, and from locals by spreading the word through Facebook. Four boxes, containing the donations and weighing a total of 200 pounds, were sent off to the hospital in Puerto Rico. The Jefferson Awards Students in Action Leaders would like to acknowledge Stephen’s efforts to improve the lives of others while trying to overcome a personal struggle.
We encourage all Stevenson students to follow his lead in making the world a better place.
September 2011
The National Honor Society of Stevenson High School hosts a fundraiser known as Spirit Fest annually and selected CASA of Lake County as the local charity supported for this year. CASA is a charity that advocates for the 3000 abused and neglected children in the Lake County area. It took over nine months of hard work and innovative leaders to transform the entire design of Spirit Fest into the most successful one yet. Spirit Fest began as a 5K walk around Buffalo Grove, and was known as "Spirit Walk". It later transformed into Spirit Fest- a Sunday afternoon carnival. The Spirit Fest Committee of 2011 took the event to the next level. They were able to incorporate fireworks and activities directed towards teenagers such as "Human Bowling" and "Jumbo Jousting", and involve the teachers in a dunk tank. All of these ideas couldn't have been possible without the Entertainment Committee. Local food was provided from restaurants like Giuseppe’s Pizza and host school-wide bake sales to get students involved - all with the management of the Food Committee. Through all of their dedication and commitment, the Logistics Committee organized an entire Guinness World Record, the Largest Glow-Stick Design and Spirit Fest broke it by 826 participants. The Advertising Committee was able to notify our entire school effectively about Spirit Fest to have 1434 participants register through the design of creative posters and commercials. For the first time, Spirit Fest received five corporate sponsorships of up to $1000 and hosted a silent auction through the Sponsorship Committee. Spirit Fest was able to raise over $20,000 in total for CASA of Lake County, and the impact that this will have on the charity is a direct reflection of the immense amount of hard work these leaders put into it. The leadership of these committee heads and many others in the committee was the driving force behind this event. On behalf of CASA of Lake County and the National Honor Society, we thank you for your service, and congratulate you on your success. Jefferson Award presented to Spirit Fest Committee Heads: Hayley Glatter (Sponsorship Committee), Anna Leng (Sponsorship Committee), Gina Li (Entertainment Committee), Kathy Li (Food Committee), Vivianne Nyugen (Advertising Committee), and John Park (Logistics Committee).