2000 Yoshiyama Award Recipients Proclaim a Generation of Dynamic Leadership: 11 High School Seniors to Receive $5,000 Gifts for Outstanding Service.

Business Editors/Education Writers

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2000

"During an election year our focus correctly turns to the quality of American leadership. But to look only at political leadership is far too limiting a perspective. By widening our field of focus we find that America is bubbling with dynamic, creative leaders. Many of them, as we discover each year, are under 21," said Barbara Dyer, President and CEO of The Hitachi Foundation, as she announced the recipients of the 2000 Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community. "The 33 young people being singled out today eloquently make the case that the current generation deserves both our respect and faith."

The Hitachi Foundation named eleven high school seniors as recipients of the 2000 Yoshiyama Award; six other young men and women were named finalists and 16 others, semi-finalists for this prestigious award. The 2000 Awardees, who will receive a $5,000 gift and who will be honored at a ceremony in October in Washington, DC, are:

Amber Coffman, Glen Burnie, MD

Emily Douglas, Powell, OH

Marc Freed-Finnegan, Montclair, NJ

Jennifer Kean, Norcross, GA

Lauren Lubowicki, Flint, MI

Mariah Martin, Loveland, CO

Jameka Pankey, Maxton, NC

Pamela Rogers, Lewiston, ID

Dhwanit Shah, Houston, TX

Ashley Amber Wallin, Hattiesburg, MS

Irving Zamora, Miami FL

From creating new efforts to help the homeless, to teaching other young people how to choose a successful and healthy lifestyle, to breaking down communications barriers that can lead to distrust and bigotry, these special young men and women are leading their generation:

Amber Coffman, Glen Burnie, MD: Growing up in a single-parent household in a low-income neighborhood, Amber was only eight years old when she began serving food at a homeless shelter. Two years later, at the age of 10, Amber enlisted the help of her friends, their parents, and local businesses to found Happy Helpers for the Homeless. Happy Helpers is a nonprofit organization that provides a nutritious meal to the homeless population in Baltimore, MD. On its first day, Happy Helpers distributed 50 lunches in front of Baltimore City Hall; since then, Happy Helpers has served more than 300,000 lunches. Amber quickly saw the need for personal care items at shelters and she now provides toiletry kits for people in homeless shelters. In addition to her work with the homeless, Amber serves as a national Youth Ambassador for the Speaking from the Heart Ambassador program. The program utilizes youth leaders to inspire and motivate other students to serve their community. Amber has worked with America's Promise and is a member of Youth Service America's Youth Action Council.

Emily Douglas, Powell, OH: Inspired by the memory of her late grandmother, Emily founded Grandma's Gifts, an organization dedicated to bettering the lives of the children of the Appalachian region. Emily has supplied food, clothing, and educational resources for children in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Grandma's Gifts has provided more than $300,000 in goods and services, including free vision screenings, eyeglasses, and immunization incentives. The organization also sponsors children so that they can attend summer camp. The organization's signature project is the Spring Clean Book Drive, which has resulted in the donation of nearly 70,000 books over four years to Appalachian children. Grandma's Gifts established lending libraries in schools that previously had no libraries, as well as in hospital pediatric and emergency wards, domestic violence shelters, and Head Start programs. Grandma's Gifts also sponsored food drives, the Christmas Angel program, and traveling science exhibits. Emily is a member of the Ohio Youth Action Council and the Governor's Community Service Council.

Marc Freed-Finnegan, Montclair, NJ: Marc has been serving his community since the 4th grade when, to help save tropical rain forests and protect endangered species, he and a friend designed and sold "Save the Earth" t-shirts, raising $600 for their environmental club. They donated funds to the Nature Conservancy to adopt 10 acres of the Rain Forest and to name and thereby protect a dolphin. Four years later Marc created an on-line homework and information service, entering homework assignments daily for four teachers, allowing students to access assignments from home. At the beginning of his freshman year in high school, Marc founded Kids for Kids, an organization that encouraged high school students to volunteer their time with local homeless children. Kids for Kids later expanded to a second high school. Students from the two schools visit children living in homeless shelters. Kids for Kids sponsored an annual Halloween excursion, educational field trips, and other special activities. As part of Kids for Kids, Marc created a 2-week enrichment summer camp. The camp is housed at his high school and activities include swimming, arts and crafts, and other outdoor games.

Jennifer Kean, Norcross, GA: As a student with disabilities, Jennifer is committed to educating her community, state, and the nation about the strengths and needs of people with disabilities. She served as the first teen advisor for Family Voices, an organization devoted to children with special health care needs. In this capacity she developed a Young Adults with Disabilities survey that was distributed nationally. The survey was used to determine mechanisms to assist young adults with disabilities. Jennifer has spoken to local and state politicians about the rights of people with disabilities and helped educate the state legislature about the need to make preschool special education and services for infants and toddlers with disabilities permanent and statewide. Jennifer also helped plan an event that coincided with the Olympics and Paralympics to promote a model educational transition plan that she helped formulate. Families and schools can use the plan as a guide for assisting disabled students move from high school to college. In addition to her work with the disabled community, Jennifer has volunteered in Hands on Atlanta, the AIDS Walk, Festival Trees, Art of the Season, and Habitat for Humanity.

Lauren Lubowicki, Flint, MI: Lauren is committed to educating minors about the dangers of tobacco. Lauren co-created an anti-smoking coalition entitled SMARTeens. She developed a video presentation and organized an information session geared towards teens, informing them that 3,000 children start smoking daily and more than 30% of them will eventually die from it. Lauren developed peer-counseling anti-smoking classes that have been presented monthly for more than three years and SMARTeens organized the Great American Smoke-Scream in Genesee county, an event that brings every sixth grade student in the county to a local university campus to see skits depicting the dangers of smoking. Lauren also helped write and produce, and acted in a public service announcement that aired on the local ABC, NBC and FOX stations. She has spoken with legislators about tobacco advertising on billboards. As a result, legislators have eliminated all tobacco billboards in Michigan. In addition to her service in the field of tobacco prevention, Lauren has worked on projects for disabled students, abused women and children, and for a local self-help housing commission.

Mariah Martin, Loveland, CO: As creator of Tomorrow's Leaders, Mariah is helping local children build the skills and confidence to make healthy choices. Mariah developed and teaches this 9-week curriculum in three elementary schools in 11 classrooms. Tomorrow's Leaders is a program geared towards second-grade students that concentrates on improving self-esteem; steering youth away from violence, drugs and alcohol, and helping children make healthy decisions. Mariah originally founded Tomorrow's Leaders in January 1998 and revised the program to incorporate service-learning principles, thereby allowing students to apply academic content in meeting authentic community challenges. She has recently received a service-learning grant from the Colorado Department of Education and has taken a leadership role in the state's Service-Learning Youth Ambassadors program. In response to requests to expand Tomorrow's Leaders, Mariah has contacted and trained students from two other area high schools to deliver the curriculum. In addition, Mariah trained a number of her classmates to ensure that the program will continue at her high school even after she graduates.

Jameka Pankey, Maxton, NC: Recognizing there were few outlets or activities for youth in her rural, underserved community, Jameka approached community leaders and started a cheerleading squad for a wide range of sports. Jameka overcame a number of obstacles, including parent apathy, to continue her plans and has served as the coach of the squad for the past two years. While teaching cheers to 15 elementary and middle school students, Jameka has also taught leadership and respect for others. She organized fundraising activities to purchase uniforms for the team, including a Valentine's Day dance. Jameka facilitated planning meetings, recruited parents to serve as chaperones, cook food, and decorate, produced the tickets, and organized the cheerleaders to sell tickets throughout the community. Jameka's efforts have inspired Maxton town officials to initiate other programs for youth, including a Youth Community Club, computer training opportunities, field trips, and a youth rally in the city park. Jameka has also been an active member of her church, serving on the Junior Usher Board, Missionary Department, and Junior Church.

Pamela Rogers, Lewiston, ID: Concerned about the natural resources in her economically and socially diverse community, Pamela helped coordinate an annual Environmental Awareness Day event. She recruited, trained, and motivated class assistants and group leaders to deliver specialized curricula. Pamela has also been involved in the Peck Flood Mitigation Project designed to improve public safety for community residents - Pamela helped develop and distribute public outreach materials. The Nez Perce County Cooperative Extension System identified a need to educate community members about the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Pam responded by helping to coordinate a booth at the annual home show, which is attended by more than 10,000 individuals. She recruited, supervised, and trained a group of youth to prepare educational materials. Pamela also publishes a newsletter for residents in an effort to increase water quality awareness in her community, has completed a ground water quality and conservation needs assessment, and has served as a volunteer with the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Earth Team program.

Dhwanit Shah, Houston, TX: Committed to helping underserved children succeed in the 21st century, Dhwanit has provided hands-on computer lab training after school to low-income and minority students. He has established training programs for students and created a web site that helps students worldwide learn computer programming. Dhwanit attended a school in India that was run by the Lions International Club, the largest service organization in the world, and he wanted to return to the community what the Lions Club did for him in India. So Dhwanit served as an officer and then president of the Leo Club, reconstructing homes, participating in a quarterly road clean-up, and raising funds for a camp serving children with disabilities. Dhwanit also serves as vice president of the Alief Youth Corporation. He has helped raise money to fight multiple sclerosis, provide eyeglasses to the underserved, feed the hungry, and house the disabled. He has also volunteered on a joint community garden project, at a local food bank, and with a neighborhood beautification project.

Ashley Amber Wallin, Hattiesburg, MS: Amber serves as a positive role model to the youth of her community, where poverty, teen pregnancy, and drop out rates exceed the national average. Amber became president of the local Phi Delta Kappa International League of Values Driven Schools and organized and directed "Real World Hattiesburg." This group of twenty dancers and actors have traveled and performed for more than 1500 students, teaching how to make correct choices on issues such as smoking, drinking, and sex. In collaboration with Junior Achievement, Amber created "Our City," a mentoring program that pairs high school students with all third grade classes in the district. She was the first high school volunteer of Helping Other Students To Succeed (HOSTS) where she works one-on-one to help students improve their language skills. While volunteering with HOSTS, Amber realized that many of the youth were suffering from tooth decay, lack of hygiene, and malnutrition. In response, Amber organized her peers and wrote two "Learn and Serve" grants to start "Healthy Learning Fairs." Students now learn about the dangers of drinking and smoking and are provided healthy living kits.

Irving Zamora, Miami, FL: Irving's 12-year quest to achieve permanent residency since arriving as an immigrant from Nicaragua has convinced him that communication can and must exist across cultures, nationalities, race, age, and socioeconomic levels. He has been actively involved with Bridging Communication Across the Generations, an organization that addresses the needs of the elderly, terminally ill, and children, where he spearheaded the Circle of Life Program. Circle of Life, which grew out of Irving's training in peer mediation and conflict resolution, is designed to address intergenerational communication challenges. The program trains students in mediation techniques and has since expanded to train middle school and elementary students and their families. Irving also serves as vice-president of the Southern Regional Health Occupation Students of America, where he leads his fellow students across the state in various aspects of community service. Irving has been a four-year participant in "Penny Wars" and "Make a Wish Foundation," helping to fulfill the dreams of terminally ill children. He volunteers at the emergency room of The Miami Health Institute. As a participant in the "I Can Help Program," he has taught more than 300,000 elderly citizens and children about fire safety.

The Hitachi Foundation also awards six finalists a gift of $1,000 and a certificate for their achievements. Sixteen Semi-finalists will receive a certificate recognizing their contributions. The 2000 The 2000 Yoshiyama Award recipients were selected by a diverse committee from 407 confidential nominations submitted by teachers, community leaders, and others directly affiliated with youth organizations.

The Hitachi Foundation is a nonprofit, philanthropic organization incorporated in the District of Columbia in 1985 with an endowment from Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), in Tokyo. The Foundation was established to promote social responsibility through effective participation in global society. The Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community was established in 1988 with a generous gift from Hirokichi Yoshiyama, former president and chairman of Hitachi, Ltd., in Tokyo, Japan, upon his retirement. For additional information about the Yoshiyama Award or The Hitachi Foundation, visit the Foundation's web site at www.hitachi.org or contact the fax-on-demand system at 202.457.0588 ext. 551.