Congressman John Tanner (right) recently
presented THE BETTER HOUR Teen
Public Service national prize to
Ellie Morse of Dickson in
Tanner’s Washington office.
Ellie, who graduates from
Dickson County High School May
23, was inspired by a
documentary called "Invisible Children" to
raise $10,000 to help children
in war-torn Northern Uganda.
Ellie is accompanied by her
father, John (left).
(high-res
version of photo here)
Ellie Morse on CBN's NewsWatch
(May 20, 2008)
Click on the arrow to start the
video.
Ellie Morse with Jay Hein,
director of the White House
Office of Faith Based and
Community Initiatives, in front
of the White House.
Winners Announced
THE BETTER HOUR National High School
Contest Honors Teen Leadership in Public
Service
NEW YORK, NY. Six high-school
students are being awarded for their
philanthropic leadership from THE BETTER
HOUR Contest for High School Students
(www.thebetterhour.org), a national
effort to stir service efforts among
today’s youth and honor the legacy of
abolitionist and philanthropist William
Wilberforce.
The winners are being honored by The
Wilberforce Project, a division of
Essentials in Education, with prizes
ranging from $10,000 to $2,500, which
were funded by the John Templeton
Foundation (www.templeton.org) whose charter
highlights character education.
The year-long national contest
encouraged high school students to
launch public service projects, inspired
by William Wilberforce, the British
Parliamentarian who led the fight for
the 1807 abolition of the slave trade
and helped establish 67 philanthropies
to fulfill what he called his "two great
objects--the suppression of the slave
trade and the reformation of manners."
Last year, the feature film "Amazing
Grace" and the documentary film on
national public television, "THE BETTER
HOUR: The Legacy of William Wilberforce"
helped restore Wilberforce’s remarkable
story and his rightful recognition in
history.
THE BETTER HOUR Contest for High School Students
is associated with the documentary film which airs
nationally on public television, "THE BETTER HOUR:
The Legacy of William Wilberforce," (Click here to buy the DVD) and the related
study guide, "CREATING THE BETTER HOUR: Lessons from
William Wilberforce," with foreword by Rick Warren.
All information is at
www.thebetterhour.org.
THE BETTER HOUR Contest First Prize winner, Ellie
Morse of Dickson High School in
Dickson, Tennessee, will receive
the $10,000 top prize and award,
to be presented by her
Congressional Representative
John Tanner (D-8) in Washington,
D.C. on May 20th. She wins
the first prize for her public
service to raise money for
"Invisible Children," for whom
she provided supplies to several
schools in Northern Uganda, the
war-torn area where children
have been kidnapped and left
without parents, hope,
provision, or education. Ellie
initiated creative events,
fairs, and projects at her
school, and engaged many people
in her community, not only to
raise money, but also to raise
awareness of the plight of the
forgotten children of Uganda.
Ellie Morse was born and raised in a small
town in Tennessee. She is
seventeen years old and about to
graduate high school. As a
student, her main efforts are
qualifying for the honors
program, working with art, and
learning about health
occupations. Most of her time
outside of school is spent on
Invisible Children, church,
homework, arts and crafts, and
spending time with friends or
her new puppy, Juno. She will be
going to Lee University to
pursue the call to be a
missionary. She says her
ultimate goal in life is "to
decrease so He can increase."
Second place winner, Ashley Eberhart of Culver
Academy in Culver, Indiana, led
an American Cancer Society
"Relay" for Life. Ashley
raised an unparalleled amount of
money and brought divided
sections of her small town
together to unite for a cause
that impacts one out of three
Americans.
Ashley was born and raised in Illinois.
She attends Culver Girls
Academy in a college
preparatory program.
Ashley is looking at a
couple of east coast
schools where she plans
to major in journalism
or pediatric medicine.
Her work with the
American Cancer Society
has driven her interest
in activities that bring
positive cultural change
to those around her. In
her spare time she rides
horses on the equestrian
team at school. She also
enjoys photography and
writing and has won many
awards for her articles,
stories, and essays.
When Ashley is home, she
her friends take over
the kitchen the creating
a wide range of culinary
experiments. Her
favorite pastry is the
beignet.
Third place winner, Riley Mulhern of
Littleton High School in Englewood,
Colorado, organized his Boy Scout
troop to collect 1518 pairs of
gently used shoes, which were
shipped to orphans in Kenya and also
supplied to the Denver Rescue
Mission.
Riley was born and
raised in Denver, Colorado, where he
has lived in the same home for
sixteen years. As a student at
Littleton High School, he is
involved in Student Council and Jazz
band. and runs cross country,
and plays baseball. Other general
hobbies include playing the guitar,
mountain climbing and camping, rock
climbing, and writing. He has
many goals in his life, some of
which include obtaining a college
degree and a masters degree,
climbing all 54 mountains above
14,000 feet in Colorado, traveling
the world extensively and becoming
fluent in Spanish. Overall, although
it is difficult to be specific at
16, his life goal is to live outside
the safe and comfortable boundaries
of society, and love unconditionally
as a disciple of Jesus, the Christ.
Fourth place winner, Sarasi
Jayaratne of
Potomac Falls High School in Potomac
Falls, Virginia, form the Keep
Reading Foundation and collected
2000 children’s books which she
shipped to impoverished children in
Sri Lanka. Sarasi visited her Sri
Lanka homeland, gave seminars to
children about the value of reading,
donated books to schools, and helped
establish new libraries in areas
which suffered devastation from the
Tsunami.
Sarasi Jayaratne was born in
Virginia, and raised in the
neighboring suburban town Potomac
Falls. Now as a senior in high
school, Sarasi spends her days with
close family and friends, reads
classic novels, and participates in
service projects after school. Some
of her hobbies include playing the
piano, soccer, painting, and
photography. In the fall, Sarasi
will be attending Cornell University
and is planning to major in
Biological Sciences. As a life goal,
Sarasi hopes to become a
pediatrician and treat children in
underdeveloped countries that are in
dire need of help.
Fifth place winner, Greyson Gregory of Branford High
School in Branford, Connecticut,
established an innovative website --
www.StudentVolunteerLINK.com -- as a
free resource and internal portal that
connects student volunteers to community
service opportunities.
'Grey' was born in Toronto,
Ontario finally settling in Branford,
CT. he is a high honor roll student,
captain of the varsity soccer team, a
lacrosse team member, and an editor of
my high school yearbook. His hobbies
include web design, computer building,
scuba diving and volunteering. Launching
and running his web-based non-profit
organization, with the help of his
brothers Lyle and Kade, for the past
four years has encouraged him to pursue
an undergraduate engineering degree with
a business minor at Lehigh University.
He aspires to collaborate with
engineering and business professionals
to innovate and address national and
global issues.
A
Special Award will be made
to Children Helping
Children, a nonprofit
founded by Jourdan Urbach of
Roslyn Heights, New York,
in 1999 when he was
seven years old. As a
prodigy violinist, for many
years Jourdan been cited for
his efforts to raise money
for national medical
organizations, surgery
scholarship funds for the
disenfranchised, and home
healthcare for those with
advanced form of
neurological disease.
.
Jourdan Urbach is a sixteen year old junior at
Roslyn High School, NY and The
Juilliard School Pre-College. He
is a nationally acclaimed
concert violinist who has
garnered rave reviews from
critics for his performances.
Jourdan is the founder and
director of the international
musical charity, Children
Helping Children, through which
he fundraises for hospitals,
cutting edge research and
national medical organizations
targeting neurological disease
by performing Benefit Concerts
for a Cure. Teen People Magazine
as one of the "Twenty Teens Who
Will Change the World." Jourdan
plans to pursue a career in
neurology and neuroscience and
to spread the concept that
medicine and music should be
inextricable partners. He hopes
to inspire a new generation of
young musicians to use their
artistic gifts to help fund
medical research because it
takes the ideals and energy of
the young in tandem with the
wisdom and experience of the old
to raze the diseases of our
time.
Top of Page 
Ashley was born and raised in Illinois.
She attends Culver Girls
Academy in a college
preparatory program.
Ashley is looking at a
couple of east coast
schools where she plans
to major in journalism
or pediatric medicine.
Her work with the
American Cancer Society
has driven her interest
in activities that bring
positive cultural change
to those around her. In
her spare time she rides
horses on the equestrian
team at school. She also
enjoys photography and
writing and has won many
awards for her articles,
stories, and essays.
When Ashley is home, she
her friends take over
the kitchen the creating
a wide range of culinary
experiments. Her
favorite pastry is the
beignet.
Riley was born and
raised in Denver, Colorado, where he
has lived in the same home for
sixteen years. As a student at
Littleton High School, he is
involved in Student Council and Jazz
band. and runs cross country,
and plays baseball. Other general
hobbies include playing the guitar,
mountain climbing and camping, rock
climbing, and writing. He has
many goals in his life, some of
which include obtaining a college
degree and a masters degree,
climbing all 54 mountains above
14,000 feet in Colorado, traveling
the world extensively and becoming
fluent in Spanish. Overall, although
it is difficult to be specific at
16, his life goal is to live outside
the safe and comfortable boundaries
of society, and love unconditionally
as a disciple of Jesus, the Christ.
Sarasi Jayaratne was born in
Virginia, and raised in the
neighboring suburban town Potomac
Falls. Now as a senior in high
school, Sarasi spends her days with
close family and friends, reads
classic novels, and participates in
service projects after school. Some
of her hobbies include playing the
piano, soccer, painting, and
photography. In the fall, Sarasi
will be attending Cornell University
and is planning to major in
Biological Sciences. As a life goal,
Sarasi hopes to become a
pediatrician and treat children in
underdeveloped countries that are in
dire need of help. 
'Grey' was born in Toronto,
Ontario finally settling in Branford,
CT. he is a high honor roll student,
captain of the varsity soccer team, a
lacrosse team member, and an editor of
my high school yearbook. His hobbies
include web design, computer building,
scuba diving and volunteering. Launching
and running his web-based non-profit
organization, with the help of his
brothers Lyle and Kade, for the past
four years has encouraged him to pursue
an undergraduate engineering degree with
a business minor at Lehigh University.
He aspires to collaborate with
engineering and business professionals
to innovate and address national and
global issues.
Jourdan Urbach is a sixteen year old junior at
Roslyn High School, NY and The
Juilliard School Pre-College. He
is a nationally acclaimed
concert violinist who has
garnered rave reviews from
critics for his performances.
Jourdan is the founder and
director of the international
musical charity, Children
Helping Children, through which
he fundraises for hospitals,
cutting edge research and
national medical organizations
targeting neurological disease
by performing Benefit Concerts
for a Cure. Teen People Magazine
as one of the "Twenty Teens Who
Will Change the World." Jourdan
plans to pursue a career in
neurology and neuroscience and
to spread the concept that
medicine and music should be
inextricable partners. He hopes
to inspire a new generation of
young musicians to use their
artistic gifts to help fund
medical research because it
takes the ideals and energy of
the young in tandem with the
wisdom and experience of the old
to raze the diseases of our
time.