Ethan Hamblin receives Sargent Shriver Youth Warriors Against Poverty Award

The Marguerite Casey Foundation has awarded 22-year-old Ethan Hamblin, a Berea College senior and KFTC member, of Gays Creek (Perry County) the Sargent Shriver Youth Warriors Against Poverty Leadership Award.

While interning at the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky in Hazard, Ethan established the Youth Leadership and Philanthropy Initiative to spur local youth to invest in enhancing their community. In the program, high school students participate in grantmaking, fundraising, nonprofit engagement and community service.

Ethan also serves on the steering committee of the Stay Together Appalachian Youth (STAY) Project, which provides Appalachian youth with the skills, resources and support they need to make lasting change at home.

“We must promote young New Power," Ethan said in an interview with KFTC last year. "Our society must ask itself, how are we encouraging young people to run for political office and be more politically aware? As we explore the possibilities, young people will become more politically charged by showing up at rallies, attending legislative hearings, and vote on Election Day.”

Photo by Brett Marshall, Kertis Creative.

As one of 14 young persons to receive the award, Ethan will receive $5,000 in recognition of his vision, passion and dedication to improving the lives of families in his community. He was nominated by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, a statewide grassroots social justice organization.

Whether organizing youth to invest in making their communities better, speaking out about youth homelessness, fighting for immigrant rights, or helping young people gain access to good jobs, each of the 14 Sargent Shriver Youth Warriors Against Poverty Award winners has a unique and inspiring story that Marguerite Casey Foundation hopes to share with other youth and communities. Each is a local hero whose work is a powerful example of Sargent Shriver’s call to “serve, serve, serve!”

Of the Award winners, Marguerite Casey Foundation President and CEO Luz Vega-Marquis said, “Their activism, born out of necessity and rooted in personal experience, is fueled by their belief in a better tomorrow for themselves, their families and future generations. These young people are passionate and courageous and poised to take the reigns as a new generation of leaders.”

Marguerite Casey Foundation is a national, independent grantmaking foundation dedicated to helping low-income families strengthen their voice and mobilize their communities.