LANCASTER, PA (May 17, 2018) – The Junior League of Lancaster, PA, Inc. (JLL) is pleased to announce this year’s winners of the 2018 Deborah P. Altman Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award – Thomas Moore from Manheim Township High School, Dory Bittle from Lancaster Country Day School and Sinclaire Schuetze from Hempfield High School. Each student received a $600 prize of which $100 will be designated to a charity of their choosing. Donations will be made to the following charities: Manheim Township Recreation and Park Planning (Moore); Horizons at Lancaster Country Day School (Bittle), and the Marfan Foundation (Schuetze).

Moore is an Eagle Scout, has earned the Boy Scout’s National Outdoor Achievement Award and performed various conservation projects. He led a project that created a two-mile interactive nature trail for a municipal park featuring stations educating visitors about the environment. The 12 stations are equipped with QR codes that link to a website with more information and relevant YouTube videos, which Thomas designed. He is a volunteer for Aarons Acres’ two-week summer camp, a camp counselor at Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center and a committee member for Mini-THON.

Bittle has volunteered 70 hours every summer since 2015 with Horizons at Lancaster Country Day School (LCDS), which is a summer enrichment program for children of low income families. She is also volunteer liaison for LCDS and helps recruit student volunteers for Horizons at LCDS and other programs. Students at LCDS volunteered over 2,500 hours last year alongside Dory.

Schuetze is the secretary of Hempfield’s Anchor Club, an international volunteer organization that serves Hempfield students and the Lancaster community. Through the Anchor Club, she participates in activities such as bingo at Long Home Community, Autism Walk and Arch Street Center. She also tutors her peers as well as students at Centerville Elementary. Schuetze published a book entitled “Stories from the Heart”, a collection of essays from people living with Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that Sinclaire was diagnosis with at age three. She is on the Marfan Foundation’s National Teen Council and raises money for the Marfan Foundation.

These awards are named for Deborah P. Altman, a past president of the Junior League of Lancaster, whose life exemplified a commitment to volunteering, a love of children and service to the community.  The purpose of the award is to recognize young people who demonstrate an exceptional interest and involvement in voluntarism as well as inspiring their peers to volunteer in their communities.  Since the award was established in 1984, over $40,000 has been awarded to outstanding youth in Lancaster County.