Named for the acclaimed photographer who documented early twentieth century exploitation of child labor, the Lewis Hine Awards for Service to Children and Youth are bestowed annually to ten relatively unknown men and women for their efforts on behalf of the health, education, and welfare of children and youth, particularly those at risk.
The Lewis Hine Awards are given to unheralded professionals and volunteers who devote extraordinary time and energy to improving the lives of young people. The recipients, who come from many walks of life and from across the United States, are selected by a panel of distinguished judges from nominations submitted by elected officials and community leaders.
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LAUREN BOOK of Aventura, Florida, Founder & CEO of Lauren’s Kids Inc., will be honored for her advocacy on behalf of sexually abused children. As a survivor of teenaged sexual abuse, Ms. Book has made it her life’s work to provide sexual abuse victims with hope, support, and empowerment by educating the public about sexual abuse and fighting to get laws changed in the state of Florida.
LESTER PAUL CLARAVALL of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Child Labor Director for the Oklahoma Department of Labor will be honored for his crusade to ensure that teen workers are safe and protected when in the work environment.
GREGORY L. DAVIS of Boston, Massachusetts, Family Services Manager at the Boston Housing Authority, will be honored for providing youth living in the public housing development run by Boston Housing Authority with positive alternatives to drugs and violence.
MICHAEL DUGGAN of Stamford, Connecticut, Executive Director of Domus, will be honored for dedicating his life’s work to ensuring that vulnerable youth who need extra support to reach their full potential are given adequate support, structure, and love to experience success.
MARSHA A. GLINES of Boca Raton, Florida, Dean of the Institute for Achievement and Learning at Lynn University, will be honored as a trailblazer in the field of special education. Feeling that children with learning and neurological disabilities were underserved, she set out to understand how their minds learn, and in the mid-1970s created the first special education resource rooms for grades K-12 in Massachusetts, which became the model for the state.
ANA RIVERA-PAGAN of Merced, California, Director, Merced County Human Services Agency, will be honored for her visionary efforts in finding solutions to the problems of poverty, substance abuse, and child neglect in one of the poorest counties in California. To fulfill her duties, she draws on her past experiences in anthropology studies, community development, child welfare, and mental health, and as a Vietnam-era veteran.
MIRIAM P. ABERNATHY of Cheyenne, Wyoming, Mentoring Program Volunteer in the City of Cheyenne, will be honored for her 35 years as a mentor to young juvenile offenders.
HUSSEIN A. BERRY of Dearborn, Michigan, Co-Founder and President of the Dearborn Youth Football Association, will be honored for his decade-long work as a mentor and advocate in his community on behalf of Dearborn youth.
BOBBYE R. BURKE of Houston, Texas, Volunteer, Special Schools: Academic Behavior Center, West Harris County Department of Education, will be honored for her decade as a volunteer teacher to autistic and emotionally disturbed children and youth.
SISTER PATRICIA CARAHER, O.P. of Atlanta, Georgia, Co-Founder & Former Board Member of the International Community School, will be honored for her over half-century spent teaching, mentoring, and inspiring disenfranchised children and teens with education and social justice. She saw it as her calling to help them to become self-confident, treat others with mutual respect, and be the very best they can be.
THEODORE J. HORVATH of Cleveland, Ohio, Trustee, Eleanor B. Rainey Memorial Institute, will be honored for applying his passion for the arts and music to create a safe haven for low-income children and families.
DARELL HAMMOND of Washington, D.C., Founder and Chief Executive of Play, KaBOOM!, will be honored for working with communities and corporations to create safe and accessible playgrounds across America.
MARLEY KAPLAN of New York, New York, CEO, Chess in the Schools, Inc., will be honored for transforming the lives of thousands of public school students by promoting and expanding a chess education program in the New York City school system.
FATHER GREGORY BOYLE, S.J. of Los Angeles, California, Founder and Executive Director of Homeboy Industries, will be honored for creating positive alternatives for young people to combat the escalating problems and unmet needs of gang-involved youth. He is a Jesuit priest and nationally renowned speaker who stresses the importance of adult attention, guidance, and unconditional love in preventing youth from joining gangs.
J. CLIFFORD HUDSON of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Sonic Corp., will be honored for his successful efforts to raise over $500 million and orchestrate the rebuilding and turnaround of the 40,000 student inner-city Oklahoma City Public School system.
DAVID R. JONES, ESQ. of New York, New York, President and CEO of Community Service Society of New York, will be honored for being an outspoken advocate for low-income New Yorkers and fighting to make organized philanthropy more responsive to the needs of the socially, economically, and politically disenfranchised groups in New York City.