Sarah Cronk Receives Top Honor and $100,000 Prize for The Sparkle Effect

NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2011 -- DoSomething.org and VH1 announced the winners for this year's 2011 Do Something Awards on tonight's telecast which aired at 9:00pm PST / EST on VH1.  Hosted by Glee star Jane Lynch, the ceremony honored and celebrated the nation's best young world-changers who represent the pivotal "do-ers" in their field, cause or issue.  Celebrities such as Tyra Banks, David Beckham, Justin Bieber, Sophia Bush, Will Ferrell, Demi Lovato and Olivia Wilde were on-hand to receive awards in a variety of categories from 'Do Something Movie Star' to 'Do Something Athlete' for all they have done to inspire young people.

In addition to a night of celebrities and performances by Demi Lovato, Foster the People and OneRepublic featuring B.o.B, Sarah Cronk (18) of Bettendorf, Iowa received a grand prize of $100,000 for The Sparkle Effect. This is the largest and most prestigious prize in the world for young people and social change.

Cronk watched her older brother Charlie struggle to fit in during high school because of his disabilities. He was depressed and anxious, until the captain of the swim team invited him to join. Suddenly, the cool kids welcomed him, and he found a new group of friends. Inspired by Charlie, Cronk co-founded the first high school-based inclusive cheerleading squad in the nation. Today, The Sparkle Effect has generated 34 squads in 15 states and South Africa, encouraging a culture of acceptance in every community.

"I'm not sure that I've ever had a more proud and grateful experience in my twenty year career than helping produce this show," said Nancy Lublin, CEO and Chief Old Person of DoSomething.org.

"It was so inspiring to see this mash-up of incredible people from the worlds of music, film, television and comedy sharing their personal experiences about what's really important to them in fun yet poignant ways.  I think our viewers will agree that the show was another signature pop culture moment for VH1, and I hope that it inspires them to, well, do something, for their communities," said Tom Calderone, President, VH1. 

Full list of awards include:  Do Something Athlete, David Beckham; Do Something Docu-Style,  Waiting for Superman; Do Something Movie Star, Olivia Wilde; Do Something Charity Song, "Make a Wave" by Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas; Do Something Music Artist, Justin Bieber; Do Something City, New York, NY; Do Something Reality TV Show, America's Best Dance Crew; Do Something Comedian, Will Ferrell; Do Something Style, Tyra Banks; Do Something Concert, Taylor Swift's Speak Now Tour to Benefit Tornado Victims; Do Something TV Show, Glee; Do Something Festival, Coachella; Do Something TV Star, Demi Lovato; Do Something Couple, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert; Do Something Twitter, Sophia Bush; and Do Something Facebook, Robin Hood Foundation - Lady Gaga Giveaway.

The finalists this year have all gone above and beyond to make a difference in their communities and will be rewarded with a community grant and continued support from DoSomething.org. Nominees include Taryn Guerrero Davis for The American Widow Project, David Schwartz for The Real Food Challenge, Mark Kabban for YALLA (Youth And Leaders Living Actively) and Adam Lowy for Move for Hunger.

• Taryn Guerrero Davis (25) is from Buda, Texas.  When she was just 21, Guerrero received devastating news: her husband, Corporal Michael Davis, had been killed in Iraq. While her family provided emotional support, she still felt lost and alone. When her Google search for "widow" turned up the result: "Do you mean window?" she knew she had to take action. Guerrero created The American Widow Project to provide resources to the 3,000+ other women around the country whose husbands have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. This national movement has served and united over 700 widows so far, using peer-to-peer retreats, counseling, and virtual tools.
• David Schwartz (25) of Providence, Rhode Island grew up in a low-income neighborhood where the school food was so bad that he and his friends would often go all day without eating and spend whatever little money they had on fast food after the last bell rang. When his family later moved to a nearby affluent suburb, he was shocked by the disparities between his two communities—how access to healthy foods in the inner city was so devastatingly low, and the diabetes rates so high. Schwartz created The Real Food Challenge to shift $1 billion of college food purchases toward local, sustainable, humane and fair trade sources by 2020. To date, over 35,000 students have taken part, and David and his team have trained over 1,700 student leaders at over 300 schools, all working together to build a healthy, fair, and green food economy.
• Mark Kabban (23) of San Diego, California is familiar with the linguistic, financial, and educational struggles that immigrants face because of his own family's experience coming to the United States from war-torn Lebanon. He realized the power of sports and education after earning a college athletic scholarship, and established Youth And Leaders Living Actively (YALLA) to empower immigrant families and their children, using soccer and art to help them develop the knowledge and confidence to pursue their goals. In 2010 YALLA provided over 150 refugee children with soccer scholarships, in addition to offering tutoring programs and community service opportunities, providing a full-rounded holistic program for refugee youth and their families.
• Adam Lowy (25) resides in Neptune, New Jersey.  His great-grandfather started a moving company over 90 years ago, and in working with his family, Adam has seen firsthand the amount of food that people throw away when they move. He recognized the potential of this wasted food and founded Move for Hunger, which works with moving companies to strengthen our nation's food banks. Move for Hunger currently works with 130 moving companies across 32 states and has collected 150,000 pounds of food for food banks.

The 2011 Do Something Awards were presented by State Farm®, Tide Loads of Hope and Warner Bros. Pictures / Alcon Entertainment's "Dolphin Tale."

This year's show was executive produced by Michael Dempsey for Dempsey Productions and Lee Rolontz for VH1. Nancy Lublin and Naomi Hirabayashi oversaw the awards show for DoSomething.org.

About DoSomething.org

DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US that helps young people rock causes they care about. By leveraging the web, television, mobile, and pop culture, DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers:  young people who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action.  Plug in at www.DoSomething.org. Follow us on Twitter @DoSomething. For more information visit: http://www.dosomething.org/programs/awards or follow updates on the Do Something Awards on Twitter by searching hashtag #dsawards, the official hashtag of the Do Something Awards.

About VH1

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 99 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, and extensive video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.

SOURCE: VH1