More than 20 Naperville students received recognition for their volunteer efforts during the annual KidsMatter Youth Service Awards. Mayor Scott Wehrli joined councilmembers Supna Jain, Dr. Benjamin White, and Ashfaq Syed in presenting and congratulating each honoree.
“We always talk about, ‘How do you be a good citizen of your community?’ You give back! You do good things for other people,” said Mayor Wehrli. “I hope that it ignites – or has already ignited – the flame for you to continue to do that throughout all of your lives.”
Celebrating service for more than 30 years
This year’s honorees are among the 650 total since KidsMatter started the Youth Service Awards in 1993. Over the years, award recipients have logged more than 50,000 volunteer hours to more than 50 local nonprofit organizations.
“It’s always inspiring to see our community’s young people giving back to causes that matter to them — supporting local organizations in their vital work and learning what it means to help others,” said Nina Menis, CEO and Executive Director of KidsMatter. “I’m confident that these outstanding young people will carry their commitment to service with them into adulthood.”
The 2025 award recipients
This year’s nominees include:
- Daniela Arias: Naperville Park District
- Peter Carroll: Team Tutors 204
- Rachel Chen: KidsMatter
- Estella Czech: The Morton Arboretum
- Noah Eun: KidsMatter
- Bo Evans: 360 Youth Services
- Taylor Ferritto: Endeavor Health Edward Hospital
- Juliana Filapek: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
- Abigail Gerhard: Turning Pointe Autism Foundation
- Emerson Hebel: Feed My Starving Children
- Sofie Hodgson: West Suburban Community Pantry
- Sami Jones: Little Friends, Inc.
- Tommy Kacedan: Little Friends, Inc.
- Lukas Keane: Alive Centers for Teens
- Shriya Kunnanath: Naperville Public Library
- Suri Mishra: DuPage Children’s Museum
- Ritisha Ojha: Naperville Public Library
- Grace Parli: 360 Youth Services
- Neil Sekhri: Alive Centers for Teens
- Maya Singal: Endeavor Health Edward Hospital
- William Shields: Naper Settlement
- Simran Tarigopula: KidsMatter
Photo courtesy of KidsMatter
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!