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Springfield Teen Wins 2001 Maryknoll Youth Award
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| Father Peter LeJacq & Award winner Mollie Bresnahan |
Congratulations Mollie Bresnahan, of Ware, Mass. She is an inspiration to the youths of the world, as well as the adults to become proactive in fighting for humanitarian causes around the world. Mollie collected artificial limbs and thousands of dollars for handicapped in Nicaragua
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 Mollie Bresnahan, of Ware, Mass., has won the 2001 Maryknoll Youth World Mission Award, a prize given annually by Maryknoll (Fathers, Brothers, Sisters and lay missioners) of Ossining, N.Y., to an individual or youth group (ages 13-19), who has made an outstanding effort to improve the lives of others. On Tuesday, May 29, 2001 at 7 p.m. at Cathedral High School in Springfield (260 Surrey Road, 413-782-5285), Maryknoll Father Peter Le Jacq, Sister Jeanne Houlihan and Lay Missioner Margo Cambier will present Bresnahan with a $1,000 scholarship during the school's annual Baccalaureate Mass.
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| From left to right A.P. Sister M. Sheehan, SSJ, Father P. LeJacq, Mollie Bresnahan, and Principal D. Granger, SSJ |
In 1999, Bresnahan, 18, founded a chapter of Operation First STEP (Students and Teachers Exporting Prosthetics) at Cathedral High School. Nearly 25 students participating in the volunteer program have collected artificial limbs and components, medical supplies, and raised more than $10,000 for Walking Unidos, a prosthetic clinic located in León, Nicaragua. Coincidentally, their efforts have been supported and encouraged by Maryknoll Sisters Elizabeth Salmon and Joan Uhlen, missioners who have worked in the region for the past 12 years. The student chapter plans to help fund a second clinic in Choluteca, Honduras.
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| Mollie and her parents Kathleen and Shaun. |
Bresnahan learned about Operation First STEP through her father, Shaun Bresnahan, who started a student chapter at Belchertown High School in Belchertown, Mass., where he works as a social studies teacher. The program was founded by the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development in Worcester, Mass., a nonprofit organization that strives to strengthen communities by promoting social and economic opportunities for people with disabilities.
By volunteering with Operation First STEP, young adults at Cathedral High School learn about the impact of war and the use of land mines on the people of Central America, and help to raise public awareness in their local communities. Students, including Bresnahan, have traveled to Leín more than once to assess the needs of the community, and to see the results of their fundraising efforts.
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| Mollie Bresnahan with Sister Jeanne Houlihan. Roll mouse over image. |
"This young woman is an extraordinary example of Christian youth in action," said Sister Jeanne Houlihan, who helped to judge the nearly 50 entries. "It’s a noble undertaking to raise money for the vulnerable of our world. But, it’s quite another level of commitment for a teenager to travel to a developing country and immerse herself in the challenging lives of these people. Mollie has demonstrated her deep passion for service."
"I am struck always by the resilience of the Nicaraguan people and their belief in God," said Bresnahan, who will attend Smith College in Northampton, Mass., as a freshman this fall. "No matter what devastation happens to them, they keep going." During the last 30 years, the country of Nicaragua has been the victim of several natural disasters, as well as a civil war that has resulted in the death of thousands of innocent people.
As part of this year's contest, Maryknoll also awarded honorable mentions for community service projects to: Jennifer Alevizos of Honolulu, Hawaii; Justin Kennymore and Melissa Pieper of Fort Collins, Colo.; and Kasia Paprocki of St. Paul, Minn.
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 Previous Maryknoll Youth World Mission Award winners have included: Jessica Marie Kiefer and Sarah Joy Bollinger (2000), of Suwanee, Ga., who founded "Amigos for Christ," a youth organization that raised $200,000 for needy Nicaraguans, and funded a health center and two schools; Katherine Schwager (1999), of Louisville, Ky., who brought computer technology to youth in Ecuador. Amanda Meyers (1998), of Fort Wayne, Ind., who built homes for low-income families with Habitat for Humanity; and Bradford and Cameron Kirby, of New Canaan, Conn., who collected nearly 30,000 pounds of linens and blankets for a hospital in Tanzania. |
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