YOUNG VOLUNTEERS HONORED BY KOHL'S FOR SELFLESS WORK.

Byline: SIMONE SCHRAMM Community columnist

Seven local young people are among the 51 Los Angeles-area winners of Kohl's Kids Who Care, a volunteer recognition program sponsored by Kohl's department stores.

Nearly 1,000 winners nationwide will each receive a $50 gift certificate from Kohl's and be eligible for $1,000 and $5,000 college scholarships.

The local winners are: Tawny Cutbirth, 12, of Simi Valley, who volunteered with a therapeutic equestrian program; Courtney Davidson, 10, of Simi Valley, who volunteered at the Stagecoach Inn museum in Newbury Park; Samantha Goldstein, 10, of Woodland Hills, who volunteered with the Nicole Parker Foundation for Children; Tara Myl, 11, of Saugus, who organized a fund-raiser to benefit homeless children in Santa Clarita; Christina Padilla, 17, of Glendale, who created an after-school dance troupe to keep kids off the streets; Lindsey Sanders, 18, of Moorpark, a volunteer for Guide Dogs for the Blind; and Robyn Strumpf, 16, of Northridge, who founded Project Books and Blankies, which provides quilts and books to classrooms, literacy programs and needy children.

``Year after year, we are impressed by the generosity and creativity of young people who are dedicated to taking a part in bettering our communities,'' said Julie Gardner, senior vice president of marketing for Kohl's.

Wilson Flores, a second-grader at Strathern Street Elementary School in North Hollywood, tied as the Most Philosophic Second-Grader in America in a contest sponsored by Kids Philosophy Slam.

The annual contest is designed to help make philosophy fun and accessible to students at all grade levels.

Wilson's winning entry was: ``I think the most important thing about life is that we care about each other.''

His 20-member class was also tapped as the Most Philosophic Second-Grade Class in America.

Boy Scout Nicholas Dutchover, 15, of Tujunga, was recently honored by the Los Angeles Fire Department for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on his 1-year-old cousin, Joshua Greenup, who had stopped breathing because of a medical condition.

Yesica Cabirera of Reseda and Daniela Gurrola of Van Nuys, both students at Reseda High School, have received the inaugural scholarships offered by the Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Area Community Police Advisory Board.

Five local students received $1,000 college scholarships from Ronald McDonald House Charities/Asian Pacific American Students Increasing Achievement. The organization also will donate $500 to a charity designated by each of the recipients. Scholarship winners are:

Joan Beleno of Lancaster, Jacquelyn Chou of Oak Park, Richard Huh and Poonam Jolly of Burbank and Tharani Prasad of Simi Valley.

Third-graders from Carpenter Avenue Elementary in Studio City presented a $1,200 donation to TreePeople President Andy Lipkis on Friday to help build a Center for Community Forestry. The school's students have raised more than $14,000 in the past seven years by selling muffins and popcorn during recess.

Eight local men were ordained recently as deacons for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. They are: Raul Chavez of Pacoima, Frank Donovan of Camarillo, Francisco Gonzalez of Lancaster, Christopher Gorman of Ojai, Mitchell Ito of Thousand Oaks, John Kruer of Westlake Village, Michael Perez of Sylmar and William Spies of Camarillo.