“13 Kids Who Care” Honored For Volunteer Service

The Honorable Kathy Sheehan, Mayor of Albany, today joined officials from WNYT-NewsChannel 13, St. Peter’s Health Partners and the Times Union at the New York State Museum to recognize “13 Kids Who Care” – children and teens from throughout the Capital Region whose volunteer efforts make the region a better place to live.

The ceremony was the culmination of a very special series on WNYT to honor and reward young persons who go out of their way to volunteer and help their community. Their involvement “touches the lives” of people in the Capital Region and improves the quality of life in its communities.

The 13 honorees were chosen from nearly 50 nominations submitted by Capital Region residents in January and February. Particular emphasis was given to selecting teens whose efforts included helping the disadvantaged, disabled, or at-risk teens.

WNYT News Chief Meteorologist/Reporter Bob Kovachick highlighted one of the 13 young people every Monday since March on NewsChannel 13’s “Live at Six” news broadcast.

Joining Sheehan, Kovachick, family members, local dignitaries, and Capital Region school administrators and teachers in honoring the “13 Kids” were WNYT General Manager Stephen Baboulis, SPHP’s President and CEO James Reed, MD, and Times Union Associate Editor Mike Spain.

In addition to being honored at the ceremony, each student received a $500 contribution from the sponsoring organizations to be given in the youth’s name directly to the local charitable organization of his/her choice.

The following are the Capital Region young people who were chosen as “13 Kids Who Care”:

Rachael Adler
Maple Hill Middle School

Jonah August Amell
Mohonasen High School

Samantha Barnes
Duanesburg Central School

Karryn Bohley
Lansingburgh High School

Elizabeth Dollard
Farnsworth Middle School

Dante Gallucci
Schalmont High School

Kaitlyn Isaac
Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville High School

Victoria LaVigne
Albany High School

Sarah Lopez-Long
Schenectady High School

Laura Manilenko
Albany High School

Blaine Neary
Hoosic Valley High School

Marygrace Polsinelli
Academy of the Holy Names

Gili Rusak
Shaker High School

The finalists for “13 Kids Who Care” were selected by a panel from the sponsoring organizations and the community.

“We’re delighted to join with Mayor Sheehan, St. Peter’s Health Partners, and the Times Union in this unique and rewarding program,” said Baboulis. “There are thousands of teens in our area who sacrifice their time daily to help others. The efforts of these young people offer a very bright light on the future of our region. We are pleased to be able to recognize their efforts.”

“At St. Peter’s Health Partners, we are pleased to recognize those young individuals throughout our community who are taking positive steps to make our world better,” said Dr. Reed. “They are giving freely of their time and effort, working hard to make a difference in our community, but also to prepare themselves for the day when they will lead our society.”

St. Peter’s Health Partners is the region’s largest and most comprehensive not-for-profit network of high-quality, advanced medical care, primary care, rehabilitation and senior services. State-of-the-art services and programs are provided through Albany Memorial Hospital and St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany; Samaritan Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital in Troy; Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady; as well as The Eddy system of continuing care and The Community Hospice. SPHP also includes St. Peter’s Health Partners Medical Associates, a non-profit, physician-governed, multi-specialty group that is a full affiliate corporation of SPHP. With more than 350 practitioners, SPHP Medical Associates is one of the region’s largest multispecialty physician group practices. For more information about St. Peter’s Health Partners, visit: www.sphp.com.