May 14, 2009-“A teenager who survived cancer and then helped those she never met is this month’s Jefferson Award winner,” announced KPRC Local 2 news anchor Dominique Sachse. The prestigious Jefferson Awards for May is Faith West Academy alumni Kristin Elliott. Elliott, now a freshman at Baylor University, was diagnosed with cancer when she was sixteen. She went though a series of surgeries and radiation treatments while she kept her ‘can do’ attitude. When still in high school she went on a mission to Zambia with her mother and sister to work with the Camp Life Ministry. From that trip she spawned the idea of “Kristin’s Miracle House”, a place for orphaned children with AIDS. Once she raised the $60,000 for that house (which she will see next month), she has set her sights on building Kristin’s Miracle Clinic for AIDS patients in Zambia. She has raised almost $240,000 for that project.
The Jefferson Award has been the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize for public and community service for more than 30 years. “It has been called by the folks who created it as the Nobel Peace Prize for volunteerism. It exists really just to identify those unsung heroes and honor them for their achievements,” KPRC general manager Larry Blackerby said.
To learn more about Elliott charity work visit www.kristinsheart.com and to see Dominique Sachse’s interview with Elliott go to www.click2houston.com
