LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Montage Hotels & Resorts announced the five winners of the Montage Memory Makers Contest, held in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the opening of the brand’s first hotel, Montage Laguna Beach. The contest, which launched in February 2013, was designed to award five humanitarians between the ages of 13-17 with a $10,000 college scholarship for their efforts in inspiring and providing service in their communities. In addition to the scholarship, the five winners will receive a trip for two (2) to Montage Laguna Beach to meet with Montage Founder and CEO Alan Fuerstman. Each winner will also be highlighted on the contest website and in Montage Magazine’s fall issue as the Montage Memory Maker Ambassadors for 2013.
Montage Hotels & Resorts congratulates all young humanitarians, including the following five winners of the Montage Memory Makers Scholarship Contest:
- Lulu Cerone of Sherman Oaks, Calif.: founded LemonAID Warriors to inspire her peers to make social activism a part of their social life. Their “Philanthro-Parties” have raised $60,000.00 for global causes, and her mentoring Action Plans are used by major corporations to inspire over 4 million youth.
- Marisol Meyer of Miami, Fla.: founded Good Acts by Great Actors based on Marisol’s belief that the arts can help to improve the quality of life for children in need. Her nonprofit organization hosts sensory friendly shows that autistic children can enjoy, raised money to purchase theatrical costumes for a children's cancer hospital in Guatemala and participated in the creation of an anti-bullying video and campaign that is being aired from Miami to Nashville.
- Katharine Rhoten of Eau Claire, Wisc.: created KatharinesWish.org, which collects toys for hospitalized children in her home state and Minnesota. She has donated nearly 5,000 toys to children and has also created her own donor-advised fund, with the hope of issuing grants to hospitals around the country to buy toys for children.
- Jason Cui of Great Falls, Va.: was motivated to create Youth Inspire when he realized that hospital patients lacked peer interaction and emotional support. His effort has now grown into a global enterprise which has raised $10,000 in funds to benefit teens in 10 countries.
- Kiran Sridhar of Palo Alto, Calif.: is the founder of Waste No Food, a web-based nonprofit organization which allows food donors to efficiently donate to charities in real-time. To date, Waste No Food has served 30,000 meals to the hungry.
“I have been very inspired by these five young people, as well as the other finalists, and want to commend them for being so dedicated to serving and helping others,” said Founder and CEO of Montage Hotels & Resorts, Alan J. Fuerstman. “For the past 10 years, Montage has focused on serving our communities, and we’re honored to recognize and celebrate this next generation of passionate and devoted humanitarians.”
The selection process for the Montage Memory Makers contest featured a panel of judges, who handpicked 10 finalists based on their merits of community service, impact of achievement on the community and beyond, creativity of achievement, and inspirational value to others*. After the finalists were chosen, the contest was opened up to the general public, who were encouraged to cast their votes on the contest site to narrow down the search to select the five winners.
*All entries were judged on the requirements of a one-hundred (100) to two-hundred (200) word essay and a video (optional), specifying their efforts to inspire and provide service to their communities by a panel of judges made up of Montage executives, and CEOs of national charity organizations, including:
- Alan Fuerstman, Founder & CEO of Montage Hotels & Resorts
- Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org, a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty
- Charles Best, Founder & CEO of DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit organization which provides a simple way to address educational inequality
- Darrel Hammond, Founder & CEO of KaBOOM!, a not-for-profit dedicated to saving play by making sure there is a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America
- Nancy Lublin, CEO and Chief Old Person of DoSomething.org, the largest organization for teens and social change
- Jeffrey Bradach, Managing Partner and Co-founder of The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit advisor and resource for mission-driven organizations and philanthropists
For more information on Montage Memory Makers, visit www.montagehotels.com/memory.
About Montage Hotels & Resorts
Montage Hotels & Resorts is a hotel and resort management company founded by Alan J. Fuerstman. Designed to serve affluent travelers and homeowners, the company features an artistic collection of distinctive hotels, resorts and residences in stunning settings that offer comfortable elegance, a unique sense of place and spirit, impeccable hospitality and memorable culinary, spa and lifestyle experiences. Montage Laguna Beach, the company’s flagship oceanfront resort, opened in the vibrant arts community of Laguna Beach, California, in 2003. Montage Beverly Hills, the company’s second hotel, opened in Beverly Hills in 2008 and was the first Gold LEED certified hotel and residences in Southern California. Montage Deer Valley, located in Park City, Utah, is the company’s third property which opened in December 2010 and was recently awarded Top Family Program in the World (2011) by the Virtuoso travel network. www.montagehotels.com