Alliance for Student Activities
DifferenceMaker Award

2009 DifferenceMaker Award Winners Announced

After careful evaluation of all the applications for the DifferenceMaker Award, the Alliance for Student Activities is proud to announce the national winners for 2009. The decision was a difficult one because of the high quality of the projects submitted; judges ultimately decided that in addition to the two national winners, they also would award three honorable mentions.  The 2009 NSLW DifferenceMaker Awards go to:

High School National Winner: Kingfisher HS in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, advised by Kathy Kadavy for its "Basketball Bash Benefit" project, a series of activities to raise money, awareness, and support for a beloved teacher battling cancer. "The student council hoped to raise money to help [the teacher] with her travel expenses and medical costs, but perhaps more importantly they hoped to show a beloved teacher how important she is in their lives by planning an event in her honor," writes Kadavy. The project involved four days of fundraising—selling t-shirts, ice cream cones, carnival games, a dunk tank, and karaoke at lunch—leading up to a silent auction and a faculty vs. student basketball game. The group exceeded its goal of raising $10,000 and raised more than $14,000.

HS Honorable Mentions:

• Clark HS Student Council, Las Vegas, Nevada, for its Charger Family Assistance Center
• Americas HS National Honor Society, El Paso, Texas, for its "Project Dame la Mano"

Middle Level National Winner: Blanchard MS in Westford, Massachusetts, advised by Liz Benstead, for its Habitat for Humanity project. Although students were too young to work on the job site, they carried out a Penny War to raise money to purchase a washer, dryer, and dishwasher for the home. The project showed strong engagement of the student body—art students designed fliers on the theme "What Home Means to You," while art club members created a tile mosaic to be donated to the family; Family and Consumer Sciences students baked more than 1,200 chocolate chip cookies for the volunteer workers at the home; and language arts students wrote poems on "What Home Means to Me." These awareness-building activities helped the council raise $4,000. In addition to purchasing the appliances, they were able to purchase yard toys for the family, frame two pieces of student art from each grade to give the family, and donate $1,500 to Lowell Habitat for Humanity.

ML Honorable Mention:

• Bonita Springs National Honor Society, Fort Myers, Florida, for its "Cultivating Oxygen" project.

Activity advisors who are affiliated with the Alliance for Student Activities are encouraged to submit their organization’s best service project in consideration for the Alliance’s DifferenceMaker Award, which honors groups whose service to their community has made a difference in their world. One high school member and one middle level member will receive national recognition, a plaque for their school, and a speech by motivational speaker “The Original” Mike Smith at their school during the following year. Plaque and transportation for Mike Smith is provided by Herff Jones, Inc.

Official Rules

• Activity advisors in the United States and Canada who are affiliated with the Alliance are eligible to apply.
  
• Projects must be carried out between April 1, 2009 and March 30, 2010.
  
• A photocopy of the advisor’s membership card or other proof of current membership in the Alliance must accompany the application.
  
• Entries must be submitted on the official form.
  
• Attachments to elaborate on items mentioned in the application are acceptable if they are mounted on 8.5” x 11” sheets. Submit no more than five additional sheets. Additional materials can include photos, newspaper clippings, copies of printed programs, CDs, or DVDs.
  
• Winners will be selected based on their written application forms and accompanying attachments. Judges’ decisions are final.
  
• Winners will be notified individually and will be posted at www.alliance4studentactivities.org in April, 2010.
  
• Entries become the property of the Alliance and will not be returned. By entering, applicants grant the Alliance the right to publish names and quotes from entries in national materials and to the public. The Alliance reserves the rights (1) to not award a prize if none of the entries is deemed worthy and (2) to disqualify entries if they are not submitted according to the above guidelines.

Judging

A panel of judges representing organizations whose missions encompass service and leadership will judge the entries in April and will evaluate them based on:

• Engagement of the student body in the project (i.e., how many students were involved in the project)
• Impact of the project on the school or local community or results achieved
  
• Creativity of the project idea and/or its implementation
  
• Leadership demonstrated by group members in carrying out the project
  
• Written quality and clarity of the application.

Deadline for Entry

For award consideration, applications must be postmarked by March 30, 2010 and sent to DifferenceMaker Award, Alliance for Student Activities, 1129 Ortega Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114. (Note: The date stamped by the Post Office supersedes your school postage meter date.) Include a self-addressed, stamped postcard if you would like verification that your entry was received.