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Leo was voted as one of the People Magazine's 30 All–Stars Among Us for 2009! He was honored by People Magazine and Major League Baseball at the 2009 MLB All–Star Game in St. Louis on July 14th, 2009. Mariah's Challenge and Leo would like to thank all of those who voted for him. |
30 Winners of the People Magazine's 30 All-Stars
Among Us
Kathleen Brooks – Detroit Tigers
Works to recruit bone marrow donors for the Be The Match Registry. As the coordinator for the Southeast Michigan District of the United States Postal Service, Kate has secured more than 1,000 potential donors under the USPS Delivering the Gift of Life Campaign.
Melanie Burton – Toronto Blue Jays
Melanie runs Reading Rocks, a program that encourages children with reading difficulties to love reading and improve their literacy. Melanie does most of her own fundraising and has helped children read thousands of books.
Rob Dixon – Boston Red Sox
Rob works to transform at-risk youth into serious students. He founded the non–profit Project RISE to give these children the skills and motivation to succeed. Amazingly, 96% of participants graduate from high school and 164 students have attended college.
Sherri Friedman – Cincinnati Reds
Sherri founded and runs Most Valuable Kids of Greater Cincinnati, an organization that distributes unused tickets for live sports and cultural events to underserved children. Sherri has helped 22,000 kids experience these events.
Dr. John Glaspy – Washington Nationals
John is an oncologist and UCLA professor of medicine. He is a strong voice for patients, he speaks out to dispel the social isolation that affects cancer patients and their families. His ideas inspired Stand Up to Cancer, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation that awards grants to researchers who could change the face of cancer treatment.
Brad Hennefer – Philadelphia Phillies
Brad Hennefer is the only person with Down Syndrome in his high school Hall of Fame. He started the Golf for Life Foundation to introduce Down Syndrome individuals to the game of golf. Started locally, Brad's foundation has grown into an outstanding national program.
Ryan Housley – Atlanta Braves
Inspired by conversations with his younger brother Evan, deployed in Iraq, Ryan Housley started HeroBox to support soldiers in combat. The non–profit organization supplies packages customized to a soldier's specific needs. Demand grew quickly, and Ryan now works full time to fulfill requests so that every soldier feels appreciated.
Frank Kolarek – Baltimore Orioles
Frank started League of Dreams for children with mental and physical disabilities. His foundation enables kids to play baseball and softball in a safe and loving environment, and gives them an opportunity to feel like big leaguers.
Dr. Michael Konstan – Cleveland Indians
Dr. Konstan has focused his life's work on cystic fibrosis and those with the disease. Due to his research and leadership, the life expectancy of CF patients has nearly doubled. His care and compassion have brought comfort and hope to his patients and their families.
Marylou Krest – Minnesota Twins
Marylou and her husband have spent years collecting school supplies, used little league equipment and uniforms to donate to the children of the Dominican Republic. With a $100,000 school building project underway, they are now looking for another project in the Caribbean.
Matt Kuntz – Pittsburgh Pirates
Matt Kuntz's stepbrother Chris committed suicide in 2007 after returning from Iraq with undiagnosed Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder. Matt made it his mission to ensure that all National Guard Troops in his home state of Montana receive adequate PTSD screening.
John Lair – Kansas City Royals
 | In 2001, John started a Special Olympics team for people with developmental disabilities. Today, it has grown to be the best in Kansas. John volunteers over 600 hours of his time a year to Special Olympics and has coached three World Champion Special Olympians. |
Erin Leyden – Chicago Cubs
Erin started a foundation to help families who have children suffering from epilepsy. She offers support by listening to their struggles and calming their fears. Erin's foundation is educating the public about epilepsy and seizure first aid while working to eliminate the stigma and dispel myths surrounding epilepsy.
Gary Lynn – Houston Astros
Gary has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair bound. Refusing to be defined by his disability, today he is a straight–A student at Spring High School in Houston. In addition, he has his own foundation, which has raised and donated $12,000 for CP research.
www.thegaryjlynnfoundation.org
Leo McCarthy – Seattle Mariners
Those of you who have navigated within this site, know Leo's story. However, for those who have stumbled upon this page of our website without seeing the rest of the site, here is Leo's story in short. Leo's activism stems from a tragic incident. In 2007, his teenage daughter Mariah was struck and killed by an underage drunk driver as she walked home. Leo started Mariah's Challenge to keep teens from drinking – and to promote responsible behavior by adults. Mariah's Challenge has issued over $30,000 in scholarships to teens how graduate high school without drinking.
Kristen Malfara – Florida Marlins
Kristen's son was diagnosed with leukodystrophy. She founded The M.O.R.G.A.N. Project to support parents caring for their special–needs children with information, equipment and small grants, and to enhance the quality of life for these families.
All information retrieved from www.peopleallstars.com
Loyal Mehnert – Milwaukee Brewers
Loyal's "Everyday Journeyman Project" began with January's 4,200–mile Plymouth–Dakar charity rally. It continues with a 2,175 mile solo hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. All money raised will be donated to assist Habitat for Humanity's Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts.
Julieann Najar – St. Louis Cardinals
Julieann started A Soldier's Wish List in 2004. It conducts fundraisers and collects donations to finance care packages for soldiers overseas. Julie's organization also coordinates an "adoption" program, matching soldiers with volunteers who send them packages.
Richard Nares – San Diego Padres
Richard Nares started the Emilio Nares Foundation after his young son died of cancer. Its Ride With Emilio program transports sick children to their weekly cancer treatments and medical appointments when their families lack access to transportation.
Barbara Palilis – Los Angeles Dodgers
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Barbara founded Circle of Friends, a social language skills program for teens and young adults with disabilities. Teens with special needs partners with a non–disabled peer so everyone can learn life skills of understanding and acceptance. |
Siblings – Christina & Michael Pesci – New York Yankees
Christina is president of Bridging the Generation Gap, an outreach club encouraging friendship between young people and seniors. Michael founded the non–profit Perfect Pitch, which has raised $175,000 for mentally and physically handicapped children and young adults.
Bruce Petillo – Arizona Diamondbacks
At age 4, Bruce's son was diagnosed with epilepsy. Bruce started the Fans Across America Charitable Foundation to help other families. In a time of need, the foundation helps offset everyday living expenses so parents can focus on their child's health.
Kendra Robins – San Francisco Giants
v | Founder of Project Night Night, which helps homeless children "one sweet dream at a time." It donates tote bags filled with childhood essentials: a security blankey, a book and a stuffed animal. The Night Night packages comfort young children in homeless shelters and promote their emotional and cogitive well–being. |
Ben Sater – Texas Rangers
Ben dreated KidSwing, a benifit golf tournament for children. Now in its seventh year, it has helped raise $660,000 for the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, where Ben was once a patient.
Joe Schmitz – Chicago White Sox
Joe is founder of Operation St. Nick, an organizaion that has donated over $1 million to 3,700 families in Morris, IL. With fundraising bus trips to Chicago White Sox games and an impressive baseball collection, Joe helps families in need every day.
Darrell Scott – Colorado Rockies
 | Darrell's daughter was the first person killed at Columbine High School in April 1999. He launched the non–profit Rachel's Challenge to spread her message of good will and compassion. By sharing Rachel's story and inviting students to start a chain reaction for kindness, Darrell has helped change lives and prevent suicides. |
Christine Shively – Los Angeles Angels
 | Since 2007, Christine has brightened the lives of more than 18,500 strangers suffering from the ravages of cancer. Through her organization, Knots–of–Love, she knits and crochets cancer caps and sends them to 140 cancer centers around the US, Canada and Mexico providing warmth and TLC in a time of need. |
Duane Silverstein – Oakland Athletics
Duane's organization, Seacology, finds win–win environmental solutions. It has built 85 schools and established over 35 scholarship programs benefiting indigenous peoples around the world. In exchange, they have preserved over two million acres of threatened forests and coral reefs.
Tara Suri – New York Mets
Tara was galvanized by the sexism she encountered in India at 13. She founded Turn Your World Around to engage young people in initiatives ranging from empowering sex trafficking victims to increasing access to education.
Tommy Timberlake, III – Tampa Bay Rays
 | Tommy makes it possible for disabled people to experience the joy of sailing in a safe, supportive environment. A qualified instructor, Tommy has spent hundreds of hours teaching sailing to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. |
www.sailabilitygreatertampabay.org
| Mariah's Challenge and Leo McCarthy Win People Magazines' Contest The Montana Standard 6/30/2008 |