Jason's efforts began in 1996 when he was 9 and have continued. Today he is 16 years old and has logged over 9,000 service hours.
Jason's efforts began in 1996 when he was nine. Today he is sixteen years old and has logged over 9,000 service hours.
Jason is a caring, sensitive young man who has, since a toddler, tried to help people in need. Jason has worked locally, nationally, and internationally to alleviate suffering, provide for the disenfranchised, advocate for youth, empower and unite diverse youth to make a difference in their community, and advance non-violence and multicultural harmony.
Distraught over his grandmother's death from cancer when he was nine, Jason began publishing The Informer, a by-kids-for-kids newspaper donating all profit - $5,000 to date - to the American Cancer Society for research. The following year Jason founded the annual Warrick County Springs Food Drive, which collects $500-$1000 worth of food for the disenfranchised hungry of our community each year.
That same year, after reading the true story of a Bosnian cellist who answered war with music, Jason began actively working for world peace. By age eleven, he had commissioned the Children?s International Peace and Harmony Statue, which will be a gift to Bosnia from the children of the world as a symbol of their desire for peace and harmony in the 21st century. To date, Jason and the children with whom he communicates around the world have raised $27,000 towards the $50,000 necessary. Work on the life-size bronze began in the fall of 2002. In addition, Jason created The Cello Cries On, a not-for-profit corporation with the mission "to empower and unite youth across racial, ethnic, religious, economic, social, and cultural lines to work for human rights, social justice, multicultural harmony, and peace."
He has also organized the international group Youth for Peace in the Year 2000, which creates awareness for peace while raising funds for the statue; Youth for Harmony in Action, a local group of students committed to promoting multiculturalism through education and community service; a literacy program entitled Read-Succeed-Lead; and a response to September 11 called Remember the Children Yellow Bow Campaign.
Since 1996, Jason has raised over $180,000 in cash and in-kind donations. Of this amount, $105,683 has been contributed to local charities; $47,500 has been donated to national charities; and $27,000 has been allocated for The Children's International Peace-and-Harmony Statue.
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