'Young Heroes' Awarded for Charity and Activism

After a teammate's suicide, Ellen Brown took action to ensure that her friend wouldn't be forgotten, including creating a support group for other students who were experiencing a sense of loss at West Chester's Henderson High School.

"The grief group was part of the process I needed for myself, and I knew I wasn't alone," she said, adding that participants studied different types of coping skills and shared each others' company in times of need.

Creating that grief group was just one part of a transformative experience for Brown. She channeled her despair and that of others into a suicide-awareness program, created and distributed education materials for it, and even co-chaired "Alive and Running," a 5K run/walk that, thanks to at least 450 participants, raised more than $5,000 for the West Chester Area School District.

Brown said that the event "brought the community together not only to remember, but to share memories, too. Since I can't make any more memories with [my friend], it was important to share what we all have."

Because of her efforts, Brown was chosen as one of 60 winners of this year's Commerce Bank Young Heroes Award, given by the National Liberty Museum. The annual award recognizes those between 8 and 18 who have made a positive contribution to society through charity and activism, as well as excelling both in and out of the classroom.

Other young Jewish heroes this year included Gavriel Horwitz, a senior at Stern Hebrew High School. Horwitz has been a junior firefighter for more than a year, training weekly and serving on-call in case of emergencies. He also packs and delivers food to the less fortunate with the Jewish Relief Agency several times a year, has started a homework club to help tutor others, and was a member of the Satell Teen Fellowship for Leadership and Jewish Activism.

One of this year's youngest award-winners was 10-year-old Gwyn Montemuro, a fifth-grader at Pennswood Elementary in West Chester. This Girl Scout has bagged food for the hungry at Thanksgiving, and donated hard- earned money to charities.

Brittany Resnick made her mark by tutoring and spending time with mentally handicapped classmates, as well as participating in rallies and hosting an event at her synagogue to help victims in Darfur, Sudan.