Community Corner
Geneva 12-Year-Old Creates 'Hear the Cheers' Organization
Eliza Peters' organization raises more than $18,000 in three weeks to purchase hearing aids for local children unable to afford hearing aids.
A Geneva 12-year-old has won a $1,000 scholarship from Kohl's Department Stores for her outstanding community service work.
And while that award is terrific and appreciated, it's secondary to the work she's done and is doing to help people with hearing impairments.
Eliza Peters, 12, is an athlete who uses hearing aids to hear her coaches, teammates and fans. She won the Kohl's scholarship for creating the Hear the Cheers organization, which raised more than $18,000 in three weeks to purchase hearing aids for local children unable to afford hearing aids.
Eliza was one of 10 Chicago-area youths honored by Kohl's for their community service efforts. In all, nearly 200 youth volunteers were awarded $1,000 scholarships and qualify for $10,000 in total scholarships through the Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program.
Ten children from the Chicago-area were chosen from more than 35,000 nominees nationwide for making a positive impact in their local communities.
Through the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program, Kohl's is encouraging promising youth to further their education at a time when college costs continue to rise and parents are relying heavily on federal and private student loans to fund higher education.
Other amazing local recipients of $1,000 scholarships are:
- Claudia Beard, 17, Hinsdale – In 2012, Claudia traveled to Guatemala on a Medical Mission Trip where she helped provide medical service to more than 2,100 individuals in the country, utilized her Spanish language skills to translate between the American doctors and the Guatemalan people, and distributed toothbrushes, toothpaste and toys she had collected back home to the citizens of Guatemala.
- Alex Caraynoff, 15, Minooka – Since 2011, Alex has been planning and hosting “Pop Tab Dump Days” events that have raised more than $12,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities through the collection of nearly six tons of recyclable tabs from aluminum cans.
- Daniella Cohen, 14, Highland Park – After developing a friendship with a girl in India through a writing project, Daniella created GIVE, an organization dedicated to cross-cultural, global friendships and education. Through GIVE, Daniella sends books and flip-flops signed with messages of hope to children in India and Uganda.
- Nicholas Curley, 8, Chicago – In honor of his cousin who has epilepsy, Nicholas ice skated 100 miles and raised $40,000 for the Danny Did Foundation. The Foundation is using the money to purchase monitoring devices that sound an alarm when someone with epilepsy suffers a seizure while sleeping.
- Sarah Dynia, 16, Oak Lawn – Sarah founded the organization Stuffed Love, creating hand-stitched pillows that are donated to a variety of groups in the Chicago community, including several local hospitals, a grief counseling support group and a center for the developmentally disabled.
- Emily Graves, 10, La Porte – Emily started the Cookies for Soldiers organization, dedicated to sending boxes of Girl Scout cookies to American soldiers. With the help of local Girl Scout troops, Emily has collected, packaged and sent 5,400 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to soldiers overseas.
- Acey Longley, 9, Plainfield – To honor his father — a musician — who passed away, Acey created B.E.A.T.S. (Bringing Everyone A Tremendous Smile), collecting drum sticks, drum pads or iTunes gift cards to donate to children at Edward Hospital in the hopes of raising their spirits. In addition to B.E.A.T.S., Acey also runs the Illinois chapter of Legos for Leukemia.
- Jen Rubino, 18, Park Ridge – Jen created “Cards for Hospitalized Kids” to distribute handmade cards to more than 20,000 hospitalized kids in more than 200 hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses nationwide. Jen has also recruited the help of celebrities including Olympian Aly Raisman, actress Lucy Hale, and singer Jesse McCartney to sign autographs to send to kids, along with the cards.
- Jessica Streepy, 12, Palatine – Jessica devotes her time to advocating for the organization One Day’s Wages and has raised more than $20,000, including profits from the sale of homemade hair and hat clips and scarves from her business B-U-Barrettes, to help alleviate extreme global poverty.
National winners will each receive a total of $10,000 in scholarships and Kohl’s will donate $1,000 to a nonprofit organization on each national winner’s behalf. In total, Kohl’s will recognize more than 2,300 young volunteers with more than $400,000 in scholarships and prizes.
In 2013, Kohl’s celebrates its 13th year of rewarding young volunteers. Since the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program began in 2001, Kohl’s has recognized more than 19,000 kids, including the 2013 winners, with more than $3.9 million in scholarships and prizes.
The Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program is part of Kohl’s Cares®, Kohl’s philanthropic program focused on improving the lives of children. For more information on the Kohl’s Cares® Scholarship Program, visit kohlskids.com.
