Distinguished Finalist

Gordie Hamilton, 16, of Mission Hills, Kan., a junior at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, raised $15,000 to build a therapeutic playground for abused and neglected children by hosting a benefit tennis tournament. Gordie, inspired to help abused children by his adopted sister's history of abuse, recruited a group of volunteers who started "Ad-In," a youth volunteer organization whose first project was the tennis tournament.