The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds across the United States and Canada. Each year, the Barron Prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment; and top winners each receive $10,000 in support of their service work or higher education.

Awards will be given to those who have demonstrated positive spirit, courage, intelligence, generosity, and high moral purpose; shown initiative, tenacity, and unselfishness in pursuit of their goals; accomplished something with inspirational value, something that could inspire others to make a difference; or do more than survive a difficult personal challenge.

Applicants must have organized and led an extraordinary service activity that has benefited others or the planet we share. The service activity must have been initiated and motivated primarily by the winner and cannot have been done solely to complete an assignment for school or work.

Recipients will receive an awards package including $10,000 for their higher education or service project, recognition gifts, Young Heroes materials, networking opportunities, and media coverage.

Applicants must be between the ages of 8 and 18 (not yet age 19) and permanent residents of, and currently residing in, the U.S. or Canada.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes website.

Deadline: pre-application due March 15, 2026

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds across the United States and Canada. Each year, the Barron Prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people, their communities, and the environment; and top winners each receive $10,000 in support of their service work or higher education.

Awards will be given to those who have demonstrated positive spirit, courage, intelligence, generosity, and high moral purpose; shown initiative, tenacity, and unselfishness in pursuit of their goals; accomplished something with inspirational value, something that could inspire others to make a difference; or do more than survive a difficult personal challenge.

Applicants must have organized and led an extraordinary service activity that has benefited others or the planet we share. The service activity must have been initiated and motivated primarily by the winner and cannot have been done solely to complete an assignment for school or work.

Recipients will receive an awards package including $10,000 for their higher education or service project, recognition gifts, Young Heroes materials, networking opportunities, and media coverage.

Applicants must be between the ages of 8 and 18 (not yet age 19) and permanent residents of, and currently residing in, the United States or Canada.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes website.

Deadline: March 15, 2026 (Pre-applications)

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds across the United States and Canada. Each year, the Barron Prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people, their communities, and the environment; and top winners each receive $10,000 in support of their service work or higher education.

Awards will be given to those who have demonstrated positive spirit, courage, intelligence, generosity, and high moral purpose; shown initiative, tenacity, and unselfishness in pursuit of their goals; accomplished something with inspirational value, something that could inspire others to make a difference; or do more than survive a difficult personal challenge.

Applicants must have organized and led an extraordinary service activity that has benefited others or the planet we share. The service activity must have been initiated and motivated primarily by the winner and cannot have been done solely to complete an assignment for school or work.

Recipients will receive an awards package including $10,000 for their higher education or service project, recognition gifts, Young Heroes materials, networking opportunities, and media coverage.

Applicants must be between the ages of 8 and 18 (not yet age 19) and permanent residents of, and currently residing in, the United States or Canada.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes website.

Deadline: April 15, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. MT

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds across the United States and Canada. Each year, the Barron Prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment; and top winners each receive $10,000 in support of their service work or higher education.

Awards will be given to those who have demonstrated positive spirit, courage, intelligence, generosity, and high moral purpose; shown initiative, tenacity, and unselfishness in pursuit of their goals; accomplished something with inspirational value, something that could inspire others to make a difference; or do more than survive a difficult personal challenge.

Applicants must have organized and led an extraordinary service activity that has benefited others or the planet we share. The service activity must have been initiated and motivated primarily by the winner and cannot have been done solely to complete an assignment for school or work.

Recipients will receive an awards package including $10,000 for their higher education or service project, recognition gifts, Young Heroes materials, networking opportunities, and media coverage.

Applicants must be between the ages of 8 and 18 (not yet age 19) and permanent residents of, and currently residing in, the U.S. or Canada.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes website.

Deadline: April 15, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. MT

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds across the United States and Canada. Each year, the Barron Prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment; and 15 top winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education.

To that end, awards will be given to those who have demonstrated positive spirit, courage, intelligence, generosity, and high moral purpose, shown initiative, tenacity, and unselfishness in pursuit of their goals, accomplished something with inspirational value, something that could inspire others to make a difference, or do more than survive a difficult personal challenge.

Applicants must have organized and led an extraordinary service activity that has benefited others or the planet we share. The service activity must have been initiated and motivated primarily by the winner and cannot have been done solely to complete an assignment for school or work.

Recipients will receive an awards package including $10,000 for their higher education or service project, recognition gifts, Young Heroes materials, networking opportunities, and media coverage.

Applicants must be between the ages of 8 and 18 (not yet age 19) and permanent residents of, and currently residing in, the U.S. or Canada.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes website.

Deadline: April 15, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. MT

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds across North America. Each year, the Barron Prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment.

To that end, awards will be given to those who have demonstrated positive spirit, courage, intelligence, generosity, and high moral purpose; shown initiative, tenacity, and unselfishness in pursuit of their goals; accomplished something with inspirational value—something that could inspire others to make a difference; or do more than survive a difficult personal challenge. Their heroism must have made an impact on the world beyond themselves.

Applicants must have organized and led an extraordinary service activity that has benefited other people or the planet we share. The service activity must have been initiated and motivated primarily by the winner and cannot have been done solely to complete an assignment for school or work.

Recipients will receive an awards package including $10,000 for their higher education or service project, recognition gifts, Young Heroes materials, networking opportunities, and media coverage.

Applicants must be between the ages of 8 and 18 (not yet age 19) and permanent residents of, and currently residing in, the United States or Canada.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes website.

Deadline: April 15, 2022

Apply

Entering its twentieth year, the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes was established in 2001 by author T. A. Barron to recognize inspiring, public-spirited young people from the United States and Canada. To that end, the Barron Prize program annually honors twenty-five young leaders between the ages of 8 and18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment.

Since its inception, the prize program has awarded more than half a million dollars to hundreds of young leaders and has won the support of Girl Scouts of the USA, Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots, and Youth Service America.

Barron Prize winners are as diverse as their service projects. Examples of young people honored over the past two decades include Jaclyn, who triumphed over brain cancer and then worked to help other critically ill children; Ryan, who helped provide clean drinking water to more than seventy African villages; Michaella, who organized a rodeo for kids with disabilities; Joying, who cleaned up South Carolina’s beaches; Shawn, who organized his neighborhood to build a community garden; and Barbara, who created a successful motor oil recycling project in rural Texas.

In 2020, the fifteen top winners will each receive $10,000 in support of their service work or education.

As part of its twentieth anniversary celebration, the Barron Prize will host a Young Heroes Summit in October, bringing together past winners to share their experiences and inspire today’s youth. Honoring the spirit of the prize, the summit will commemorate the great work of young people by offering a free public event and series of panel discussions focused on humanitarian work, environmental change, and STEM projects. The two-day summit will take place October 1-2 in Boulder, Colorado, and will be accessible to schools across the country via Livestream.

Applications for the 2020 prizes are due by April 15, with the winners to be announced in September.

To learn more about the Barron Prize and apply online, see the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes website.

Deadline: April 15, 2020

Learn more and apply: https://barronprize.org/apply/

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds all across North America.

Established in 2001 by author T.A. Barron, the Barron Prize honors outstanding young leaders the ages of 8 and 18 who have had a significant positive impact on people, their communities, and the environment. Each year, up to twenty winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education. Since its inception, the Barron Prize has awarded more than half a million dollars to hundreds of young leaders and has won the support of the National Geographic Education Foundation, Girl Scouts of the USA, and the National Youth Leadership Council, among other organizations.

The Barron Prize welcomes applications from public-spirited young people who are between the ages of 8 and 18; a permanent resident of and currently residing in the United States or Canada; currently working on an inspiring service project or have done so within the past twelve months; and working as an individual. The Barron Prize does not accept applications from large groups of young people.

The prize will begin accepting applications on January 7, 2019.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Barron Prize website.

Deadline: April 15, 2019

Apply

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds across North America.

Established in 2001 by author T.A. Barron, the Barron Prize honors outstanding young leaders between the ages of 8 and 18 who have made a significant positive impact on people, their communities, and the environment. Each year, up to twenty winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education. Since its inception, the Barron Prize has awarded more than half a million dollars to hundreds of young leaders and has won the support of the National Geographic Education Foundation, the Girl Scouts of the USA, and the National Youth Leadership Council, among other organizations.

The program welcomes applications from public-spirited young people who are between the ages of 8 and 18 (not yet age 19); are permanent residents of and currently residing in the United States or Canada; currently working on an inspiring service project (or have done so within the past twelve months); and work as an individual on the project eligible for consideration. (The programs does not accept applications from large groups of young people.)

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes website.

Deadline: April 15, 2018

Apply

Deadline: April 15

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes invites applications for its 2017 awards. The Barron Prize celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young leaders ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive impact on people, their communities, and the environment. Each year, 15 winners each receive $5,000 to support their service work or higher education.

http://barronprize.org/