ERCA is proud to announce the recipients of its 2001 - 2002 Community Contribution Scholarships. ERCA scholarships are awarded to students who have made a difference in their communities. The winners created and carried out volunteer projects that helped to bring their community together, making their school or neighborhood safer, more welcoming places. ERCA invites you to read more about these Community Contribution Scholarship awardees whose leadership and depth of commitment has already made an impact on their world. The following 25 students have been chosen as the 2001-2002 School Year Winners. Each recipient will receive a grant of $1000 to use for college-related expenses.

Christian Agudelo from Gulliver Preparatory High School, Miami, Florida

Christian coordinated a group of students from his school to work with Habitat for Humanity in building a house. The students spent at least 2 Saturdays a month helping to build the house and then raised money to help the family move in.

Christian will attend Duke University in Durham, North Carolina this fall.

Joshua Baranowski from Lake-Lehman High School, Lehman, Pennsylvania

Joshua "adopted" three grandmothers in a local apartment complex. He visited each of them once a week after school. During his visits, he would perform small chores around the apartment, read aloud, or just visit. In addition, Joshua represented his school on the United Way Youth Allocations Committee, where he was one of 30 high school students who helped to decide which charities should receive funding from the United Way.

Joshua will attend the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this fall.

Barry V. Belcher from Glascock County High School, Gibson, Georgia

Barry has donated his artwork to create a more attractive community. He painted signs for the town and donated paintings, mailboxes, and merchandise for his county's "relay for Life." In addition, he painted city limits signs for Edgehill, the city where he lives, as well as signs for the Edgehill city hall and fire department. His school and a local rehabilitation center also have been made more attractive by Barry's large paintings.

This fall, Barry will attend Augusta State University in Augusta, Georgia.

Brittany Box from Burleson High School, Burleson, Texas

Brittany has been an active participant in the Burleson Junior Chamber of Commerce, organizing over 130 volunteers for a large variety of community activities. She led the initiative to create incentive programs for students to volunteer within the community.

She will attend Baylor University in Waco, Texas this fall.

Steve Byers from Woodstock Union High School, Woodstock, Vermont

Steve helped to create a project to improve middles school/high school relations. He formed a committee that created a mini-course run by high school students for middle school students. He researched student interest and sought faculty support leading to the creation of a movie-making mini-course. In addition, Steve has been very active in Vermont Special Olympics and in volunteering at the local nursing home.

He will attend Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts this fall.