Discus Awards

My passion for service and helping others began when I was diagnosed with an under-jaw bite when I was starting middle school. Doctors projected that I would have major problems speaking and eating if it was not corrected by a costly surgery. Thankfully, I eventually had my under-jaw bite fixed.

But for all this time, I thought about all the kids who had the same difficulties as I did and those who could not even afford treatment. Soon I decided to join in the

Smile Train‘s mission to help raise funds for life-changing cleft-lip surgery for underprivileged children around the world. Funding 60 cleft surgeries and treatments for children around the world, we were able to provide each surgery for less than $250! After countless fundraisers and events, I had seen the power of youth to change the world.

Kids Change the World was founded in 2007 to improve the lives of children by mobilizing the caring power of youth to advance the common good. Since then, we have offered hundreds of youth-led ideas, groups, and charitable initiatives with action tools: website domains, mentors, and grassroots services. You, too, can even use our free action tools for your own community initiatives by getting started here.

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Filed under: Christopher Yao • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Discus Winner

The basis of my idea for a charity program started when one day, my mom was talking to me and said that my grandmother had glaucoma, an incurable disease that gradually closes in on the vision and slowly drives the victim to a devastating state of blindness. That very summer, I got glasses, due to slight power in both of my eyes. I had always had 20/20 vision, but suddenly, my eyesight deteriorated, and I became the first one in my family (at the age of 14) to get glasses. Afterwards, I thought about my aunt on my dad's side. When she was about seven or eight years old, she lost one of her eyes to an infection. My grandparents had neither the money nor the resources to go to an optometrist to save their daughter's eye. She had to have an operation, and her entire eye was taken out. Now, she has power in her remaining eye. Then it came to me. What about all those other adults and children in poverty-stricken areas of the world that do not have the financial support to get a needed eye operation? I suddenly felt the strong need to do something about it. The worst thing I could do was nothing.

In June of 2011, I got started. First, I put up a website to inform the public about the program which I named “Small Acts of Kindness". Next, I found my organization, which was Sankara Nethralaya, a non-profit organization situated in the USA. They collect money from any patrons and send it on over to Chennai, India, to supply poverty-stricken people with free eye operations. Then, I put together a group of 72 children, hence "Small" Acts of Kindness, to show India that people around the world have not forgotten their culture and that WE CARE.

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Filed under: Shruthi Prabhu • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Discus Winner

Editor's Note: Sophie Hollingsworth is a 2011-2012 Discus Award winner from Florida who has founded a non-profit organization, AquaAid International, Inc., that aims to provide safe drinking water for communities in the developing world.  Sophie was kind enough to share her experience through this guest blog post.  For more information on AquaAid International and how you can get involved, please visit the AquaAid Blog or e-mail them at aquaaid.international@gmail.com.

It started with an invitation, a debutante invitation to be specific. I was honored to be considered by an assemblage of notable women; however I was drawn to an alternative more in keeping with my spirits: to be a debutante or to donate the funds required for debutante participation to an organization serving humanity. For me the decision was clear. In the course of researching organizations to donate to, the idea of starting my own nonprofit was born.

I decided to provide safe drinking water for communities in developing nations without access to potable water; I established AquaAid International, Inc. to do just that. I had always known about the global water crisis; however, not until I spent time in Bahía Honda, Panamá did I truly understand the importance of the liquid so many of us take for granted.

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Filed under: Sophie Hollingsworth • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Discus Winner

Have you ever taken a test to show which side of your brain is more dominant? If not, here’s a quick and crude description of each.

Can you clearly lean towards one or the other? Most people can. But what do you do when – like me – you are split between the two? It can be challenging and difficult to deal with what sometimes feel like “competing” characteristics…over time, however, you learn which characteristics are best for particular situations and learn to adapt accordingly.

For instance, in most tests that I take, I always seem to score right down the middle – dominated by neither half, but sharing traits of both. The left brain, for instance, is a great help to me in math and science and allows me to focus on the task at hand. My right brain side is what allows me to be creative and spontaneous – to flourish at musical theater and drama.

When I was deciding what major to pursue in college, I really struggled. I have so many different interests it was hard to narrow it down to something I could see myself doing as a career for the rest of my adult life. I recalled which classes I enjoyed the most, and at the top of my list was Marine Biology. It was unlike any other class I’d had before; because my school is located on an island, we actually got to put on hip waders and go out into the water to conduct experiments. I loved learning about all different kinds of marine life and the ecosystem in general. Perhaps this was my calling?

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Filed under: Kaeleigh Thorp • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Discus Winner

Jason van der Merwe, the February 2011 Discus Scholarship recipient, is a talented artist with his own local photography business. He snaps shots for both work and pleasure, and he's even donated his services for charity events. In this post, you will find the thumbnails and corresponding descriptions of Jason's favorite pictures from his 10+ years behind the lens. View the full gallery at Jason van der Merwe's Photo Gallery.

1) Egyptian Boy - This young boy was the helping hand on the Felucca, an Egyptian sail boat, that my family and I took a short trip in. We visited Egypt for almost two weeks, traveling all across the country. This image is especially special to me because I can see the despair and lack of hope in the boy's eyes. The captain of this vessel explained to us that the government cared nothing for its people. He hated living there, but had no hope to escape it. I could already see the beginnings of a revolution, and this was three years ago. Now, as we see Egyptians rising up, fighting for freedom, I think back to this moment. A moment of mixed beauty as I watched the sun disappear over the horizon.

2) Captain Arthur - This boat resides on the peaceful shores of Honduras. I visited Honduras in the summer of 2009, spending time on the mainland as well as Roatan, a small island just off the coast. The experience was incredible; it was the first time I had visited a country in Central America and this opportunity meant I could utilize my Spanish. Honduras is a beautiful country and I encourage everyone who is able to visit and explore both the resort side, and the country itself.

3) Lincoln Memorial - I have traveled to many all over the world, but one of my favorite places remains Washington D.C. As an immigrant from South Africa, I am honored to call myself an American now. DC is the icon of American freedom, a symbol of hope and democracy. It is full of rich history and I love visiting. This photo was taken last summer when I visited DC to compete in National History Day. The competition schedule left me with a lot of free time, so I spent several days walking around the city by myself, taking photographs of many great structures. Unfortunately, it was cloudy the entire time, but I found an opportunity to use the weather to my advantage. I turned the photo into black and white. I managed to capture the high dynamic range, so this photo looks antique, but modern. Very little editing was actually done on it. It remains one of my favorite photographs.

4) A Glorious Graveyard - This is photo of a Native American cemetery in Taos, New Mexico. My trip to New Mexico occurred directly after my Washington D.C. trip. This was a wonderful vacation. My family and I basically drove around New Mexico, exploring the many natural wonders in the state. As a photographer, this excursion was fantastic. The scenery that I captured was amazing and breathtaking. New Mexico is a fascinating and gorgeous state and I will never forget climbing on the red rock, hiking down into giant canyons and hiking up into a volcano, then immediately descending into an ice cave.

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Filed under: Discus Dan • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Discus Winner