The M Foundation is now in its third year of The M Awards. The 2012 application period for The M Awards is now closed, and winners will be announced in June of 2012. Applications are already being received for the 2013 Award cycle.
For more information about eligibility, criteria or to apply or to apply for the 2013 M Awards, please select the RULES or APPLY options above. Applications are accepted both here and at www.beRecruited.com,and are due by or before midnight on March 31, 2013.
The 2012 M Award Bronze and Silver Award winners will be announced in June of 2012, with the Gold Award announcement made at a special event hosted by The M Foundation later in the summer.
The M Foundation and its partners are proud to showcase the 2011 winners of The M Award, who are profiled below:
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MITCH ARNOLD |
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| STATE: |
Wisconsin |
| SPORT: |
Soccer |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Mitch founded and has helped fund "Peace is the Goal," an organization created to spread goodwill through the world's game of soccer. He has shipped nearly $25,000 of soccer supplies to community projects impacting about 10,000 children through soccer and afterschool programs – turning kids away from violence and drugs and enabling peace-based dialogue in war-torn parts of the world. MORE > |
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Brian Hindle |
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| STATE: |
Illinois |
| SPORT: |
Soccer |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
Sports has long been Brian’s passion, his escape, and a part of his identity. Given its importance to him, when he thought of how he might make a difference and give something to other people his ideas focused on sports. He wanted to help others less fortunate, who could not afford the right sort of equipment. To make his thoughts real, he contacted everyone he could think of and asked them to give to those less fortunate. They responded and Brian collected over 150 balls (baseballs, soccer balls, footballs, basketballs, and volleyballs) still in good condition, as well as shin guards and spikes. He organized and sorted everything by type and donated them to an organization called "Beyond the Ball" in Chicago, which serves kids in need. That was the beginning, and he has since continued to gather “gently used” sports equipment for those less fortunate. |
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Preston Wilson |
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| STATE: |
Indiana |
| SPORT: |
Wrestling |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Preston is involved in a program called Take Down Crime. The program’s focus is to teach inner-city elementary/middle school kids the art of wrestling while keeping them off the streets and out of trouble. He works with underprivileged kids on sportsmanship, the importance of grades, and the bond of the wrestling family, teaching them that hard work and dedication is key to a successful career in wrestling and in life. He is also a volunteer at a local elementary school every Friday, helping 4th graders with schoolwork, which has deepened his passion for working with youth. |
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Megan Auzenbergs |
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| STATE: |
Ohio |
| SPORT: |
Swimming |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
With the help of her sister, Megan founded a non-profit organization called Christmas Is For Kids. Each Christmas they raise funds to purchase gifts for needy children in her community. In their first year, they were able to raise enough cash and corporate donations to provide gifts for over 40 children at the Transitional Housing program in inner-city Cleveland, and most recently they raised money to donate gift bags to refugee children new to our country through Building Hope In the City. Megan is also a member of Key Club, which works throughout the year to provide food, supplies, and assistance to those in need. For the past five years she has also been a volunteer with Interfaith Hospitality Network, a group that provides temporary housing for homeless mothers and their children, organizing crafts, games and study assistance for the children during their stay. |
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Matthew Holcombe |
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| STATE: |
Texas |
| SPORT: |
Baseball |
| CLASS: |
2013 |
| SERVICE: |
Working in partnership with his Select Baseball Team, Matt helped deliver 295 Christmas cards and meals and 250 blankets this past year. In part through Matt's leadership, the team has also logged about 900 hours in the community through park clean ups, a visit to a Children's Hospital, and Meals on Wheels. A recipient of the President's Award for Community Service, Matt has also helped lead the Toys for Tots campaign during the past two years, with the 2010 event collecting about 1,000 toys and $4,000. |
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Sarah Kukich |
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| STATE: |
Connecticut |
| SPORT: |
Rowing, Track and Field |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
Sarah helps to serve her community as a young, energetic athlete in many ways, from educating younger children at the Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut, to helping feed and house the less fortunate with Habitat for Humanity. Through the international leadership service coalition, HOBY, national programs like Girl Scouts and the Naval Sea Cadet Core, and town programs like the Board of Education and High School Student Senate, she has the opportunity to reach out to people of every situation and every type of need. While sometimes it’s just sharing the smile with an autistic eight-year-old at the elementary school or a game of Uno in Spanish at the New London Homeless Hospitality Center, the act of encouraging others inspires Sarah to do even more, and motivate others to help. |
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Kylie Courtney |
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| STATE: |
Hawaii |
| SPORT: |
Rowing |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
Kylie is an active participant with her Rowing Club in beach cleanups, working with Lanikai Canoe Club to keep the area she uses for rowing practice clean. She helps organize her school's canned food drives, with this year's 3,000 pounds of food going to Aloha United Way for the homeless. But her greatest passion is in working with Project Pure Light, a non-profit organization that allows both mentally and physically challenged people to participate in outrigger canoe paddling – a service activity that she describes as "inspirational." |
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Ashley Runion |
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| STATE: |
Virginia |
| SPORT: |
Softball |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Since being diagnosed in June 2008 and surviving Leukemia, Ashley has helped raise $25,000 towards The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She is the team captain of The Conquer Crew which has participated for the last three years at the Light the Night fundraiser and works with several IHOPs in a fundraiser called Pancakes for Ashley, whereby IHOP donates a free stack of pancakes to each person who donates to LLS so that, in her words, "no child has to go through what I have gone through." |
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Lauren Cruz |
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| STATE: |
New Jersey |
| SPORT: |
Rowing, Swimming |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
For the past two years, Lauren has been a volunteer at Riding High Farm in Allentown, New Jersey, where adults and children with disabilities such as autism or Down’s Syndrome have the opportunity to ride horses with a lead. The contact with horses builds confidence while increasing muscle tone and improving motor and communication skills. The program piqued her interest because she grew up with a friend whose brother is autistic. She now works daily at Riding High throughout the summers and on weekends during the school year. Her responsibilities include leading the children on horses and ensuring their safety, as well as feeding, cleaning, and preparing the horses before lessons. She is also involved in the Farm’s summer camps and all day workshops by organizing activities for participants and assisting during events. |
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Logan McGill |
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| STATE: |
Texas |
| SPORT: |
Swimming, Track and Field, Cross Country |
| CLASS: |
2014 |
| SERVICE: |
Logan has created a charity called Race for the Curve. She has scoliosis and wears a back brace 20 hours a day to prevent the curve from getting worse. She received treatment from Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, a hospital specifically for children with orthopedic needs. Scottish Rite does not charge its patients and Logan wanted to find a way to give back to this incredible institution. She is also a runner and a competitive swimmer so she decided to form teams that would run in the Dallas White Rock Marathon, each runner soliciting donations that would go directly to Scottish Rite. This effort raised $71,000, which far surpassed the fundraising of every other participant in the marathon (about 25,000 people) combined. |
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Marissa Pittard |
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| STATE: |
California |
| SPORT: |
Volleyball |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
Marissa is a student leader in the HAND UP youth food pantry that is helping San Diegans struggling with hunger. HAND UP collects cans, organizes fundraisers, distributes food, and fights for the passage of beneficial legislation. Marissa is also a member of National Charity League: Del Norte Chapter, a mother-daughter service group that performs a wide variety of services in the area from beach clean-ups to delivering food to the elderly. She also actively serves with her youth group at her Presbyterian Church, which helps cook and serve meals for the homeless in a city park each week, provides service through a soup kitchen once each month, and has engaged her in mission trips to LA, New Orleans, and the Dominican Republic. |
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Justin Churchman |
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| STATE: |
Texas |
| SPORT: |
Soccer |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Justin builds houses with Casas por Cristo for the homeless in Juarez, Mexico, recently completing his 18th house (having built five in 2010 alone). He has recruited more than 75 volunteers and $48,000 for this organization. He is an Eagle Scout who has spent hundreds of hours in various projects, an active youth group member, and president of his school's National Honor Society and Rotary Interact Club which sponsors a local after-school program and meals for the underprivileged. |
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Jakob Dovgan |
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| STATE: |
Tennessee |
| SPORT: |
Swimming |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
Jakob, a Presidential Service Award winner, is an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America and has earned bronze, gold and silver palms for his service to his Troop. He has also volunteered at the American Cancer Society Headquarters for the past three years, volunteering at least 50 hours per summer to help with fundraising, and to assist cancer patients with wig and hat fittings. Last summer, he was a student volunteer at Blount Memorial Hospital, concentrating on patient and doctor assistance. He was recently elected as Chair of the Teen Board of Knoxville, a teen service volunteer organization that helps raise money for the less fortunate, for which he mobilized a team of 45 to compete in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure this past year.
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Alexandra White |
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| STATE: |
Utah |
| SPORT: |
Soccer |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Alexandra was part of a humanitarian project in Uganda, Africa with the Goals for Girls team that raised over $95,000 as a team to help the people of Uganda. She has also helped lead a book drive for an orphanage in Uganda to financially sponsor an orphan's education there, and helped lead a soccer equipment drive for the children of Iraq. A Stay in Bounds volunteer since her sophomore year, Alex has also been an active LDS volunteer in her community. |
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Ashley Corona |
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| STATE: |
Florida |
| SPORT: |
Volleyball |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Ashley started a foundation with her family three years ago after her grandfather died from a lung transplant procedure with a wish to help a 13-year-old girl in their community who had cystic fibrosis. The foundation has raised more than $50,000 to help that little girl and other children to receive donor lungs. The foundation also helps to mentor other children in similarly challenging situations. |
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NATE SUDNIK |
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| STATE: |
Illinois |
| SPORT: |
Football |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
In addition to being a member of the Key Club at his high school, Nate has been working with an organization affiliated with his local church called PADS, which provides food and shelter to homeless individuals. Mornings before school and most evenings – for nearly seven years now – Nate has helped to take care of the bedding arrangements for an average of 40-70 people per day with his PADS co-workers. |
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MARLIE LAFERR |
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| STATE: |
Oklahoma |
| SPORT: |
Soccer, Softball |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Though she lives 17 miles away from her rural school, Marlie volunteers at her local elementary school helping with reading and other activities aimed at encouraging kids while also helping to care for her mother and sister, who have epilepsy. She also works with the elders from her Native American elders from the Kiowa and Crow Tribes, where she provides meals during tribal pow-wows, ceremonies and church services. |
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MIGUEL SOSA |
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| STATE: |
California |
| SPORT: |
Soccer, Track, Cross Country |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
As a member of the UCLA Council of Youth Researchers and a partner in the Watts Youth Collective, Miguel is passionate about doing social research – in particular about the way that his community in Los Angeles is portrayed. He has spoken in front of hundreds of people on the subject and works to foster positive change by seeking answers to problems in his school system, and challenges public leaders to help achieve social justice. |
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DARRELL FREEMAN |
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| STATE: |
Michigan |
| SPORT: |
Football, Basketball |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
As a Southfield Kappa Leaguer, Darrell helps teach young men their responsibility to the community. He volunteers at homeless shelters, mentors young children, and helps keep his designated area clean. He is also a peer mentor at his school, so freshmen have someone to turn to when they have academic or social problems. He participates in neighborhood patrols and back-to-school neighborhood rallies as well. |
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JAYDE HAIR |
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| STATE: |
Idaho |
| SPORT: |
Volleyball |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Jayde has helped raise 600 pairs of shoes and 600 pairs of socks to take to orphans in Guatemala and has taken 800 pounds of humanitarian aid to people in Africa. She has also been a part of "Hands for Uganda," The Mbikko Project, YWAM San Francisco (feeding the homeless). She is planning to go to the Philippines in November and do volleyball clinics for young orphan girls. |
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LAUREN OWENS |
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| STATE: |
Kentucky |
| SPORT: |
Track and Field |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Lauren is a volunteer with the Big Brother/Big Sister organization in her community. She mentors a "little sister" in the 3rd grade at her local elementary school, eating lunch with her weekly and tutoring her in math. She is also a Senior/Freshman mentor and tutors special needs kids in her high school an hour a day, four days a week, teaching them writing and other daily living activities. |
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JONATHON GEORGE |
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| STATE: |
Pennsylvania |
| SPORT: |
Soccer |
| CLASS: |
2012 |
| SERVICE: |
Jonathon is a member of his school's Student Council and participates in organizing service projects like their local blood drive. Having an older sibling who participates in Special Olympics, he is passionate about helping and teaching children with mental disabilities. He also mentors younger children through the "Little Kickers" program in his community and an adjacent community. |
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KELSEY KAPELLA |
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| STATE: |
Missouri |
| SPORT: |
Softball, Basketball |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Kelsey is a leader of her Student Council and is active as a youth mentor and in other community-based service programs. She serves food to the homeless through her church's "Loaves and Fishes" program, and has planted trees around her school as part of their local "Going Green" project. She has led the Relay for Life team at her school, and is also leading her school's Special Olympics Team. |
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MITCH ARNOLD |
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| STATE: |
Wisconsin |
| SPORT: |
Soccer |
| CLASS: |
2011 |
| SERVICE: |
Mitch founded and has helped fund "Peace is the Goal," an organization created to spread goodwill through the world's game of soccer. He has shipped nearly $25,000 of soccer supplies to community projects impacting about 10,000 children through soccer and afterschool programs – turning kids away from violence and drugs and enabling peace-based dialogue in war-torn parts of the world. |
© 2012. The M Foundation. All rights reserved.