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| “There are opportunities every day, to make a difference in somebody’s life,” said Joe Sanberg, Jefferson Awards Chairman” |
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| WASHINGTON, D.C. (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 |
| The nation’s highest honor for community service is being awarded today to 20 extraordinary individuals and organizations whose selfless, noble and compassionate work has improved the lives of countless people and amplified our collective commitment to helping one another and contributing to the larger good. |
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Co-founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard, known as the “Nobel Prize of public service,” this year’s Jefferson Awards – now in its 41st year – recognizes contributions to service in eight separate categories, including: Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official; Greatest Public Service by a Public Citizen; Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged; Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, and Outstanding Service by an Athlete.
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| “It is so easy to dismiss the opportunity to do something good, because you are hoping to do something great. There are opportunities every day, to make a difference in somebody’s life. The Jefferson Awards encourages individuals to do something. Do not wait. Do not wait to do something, because you think it is small.” said Joe Sanberg, Jefferson Awards Chairman. “This is seen in the extraordinary work that our recipients are doing every day to touch the lives of so many people |
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| Jeffrey Ryan Futrell, President/CEO of Young Man University Memphis, TN (nominated through The Commercial Appeal) |
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| As a former “ranking” member of the notorious street gang, the Crips, Jeffery Futrell paid a price for his gang life, the murder of his 6 year-old daughter. Jeffery is president and CEO of Young Man University, an agency he founded that uses the power of Christ and the fundamentals of family and fellowship to bring young men out of the cycle of violence. He works in three area high schools. At Northside High School, the average GPA has risen from a weighted 0.79 to 2.85. He has documented that 39 former gang members are now attending college and 284 youths with gang affiliations received their high school diplomas |
