Each member of the winning team will receive a laptop computer.

View 2009 Winners
View 2009 Finalists
View 2008 Finalists


We are proud to introduce our 2009 Cheetah Award Finalists. We had many great projects submitted. We have decided to name 12 finalists. We allowed you to have a vote for the winner. The winners will be voted on by a panel of 7 judges and the online vote will be the eighth vote. Last year the voting between the top three projects was so close that the eighth vote could have changed the outcome. The online voting closed on April 15th at 10pm.

Project: Glimpse of Hope Whitney Sebo, Kelsey Matthews, Regan Huff Spiro High School in Spiro, OK Spiro First Assembly of God Total Votes: 7,656 (3%) (First Place)

Our team, Glimpse of Hope, not only raised a grand total of $600 to spend on a local family in need, but we also helped a family with money to overcome obstacles, take their minds off their problems and share in God’s joy. The family has three children, daughter age 12, son age 2, and son age 3 months; their 2 year old son has leukemia and the family has to take him to Tulsa two times a week for treatments. Glimpse of Hope had the privilege of taking the 12 year old daughter shopping and just hanging out with her for the day and she told us that she had only been to the mall three other times in her life. On Sunday, December 21, we took the presents to the family’s home for the kids to open. The two year old son especially loved his “Cars” shoes and the twelve year old daughter, of course, loved her clothes, shoes, coat, jewelry and all the “girly” stuff we bought her. The Lord showed us it is truly better to give than to receive.
Project: Benefit Dinner Honoring Veterans Courtney Hankins, Morgan Myers, Ashley Ellis Moore and Westmoore High Schools in Moore, OK Local Veterans, Autism Society, and Down’s Syndrome Society Total Votes: 90,401 (36%)
After attending Chad Cargill’s Test Prep and Character Building Workshop we were inspired to complete a project that would honor United States veterans as well as raise money for the Oklahoma chapters for both The American Association of Down’s Syndrome and the Autism Society. In order to prepare for the dinner, we secured the use of First Baptist Church of Moore’s atrium and kitchen to prepare and serve the dinner to at least 200 people; we immediately set up the name of our organization as Made 4 Veterans, and solicited money and food for a dinner. Additionally, we borrowed a play from a teacher at Moore High School, directed junior students to play the characters, painted the back drop, designed the set, and recruited Winding Creek Elementary students to write letters of gratitude to the veterans and their families which became part of the centerpieces that we also created. We received the names of local veterans from the Veterans of Foreign Wars office, sent out the 100 invitations that we had created, listened to the National Anthem performed by a Westmoore High School student, and rejoiced as the WHS Key Club members served 75 veterans. We collected enough money and food products to completely pay for dinner, order benefit t-shirts we designed for the kids in the play as well as for ourselves, and then send $125 to each of the two charities we targeted.
Project: Dream Big Dreams Day Sabrina Burns, Hannah Kirkland, Brooke LeCrone McAlester High School in McAlester, OK McAlester Elementary Schools Emerson and Edmond Doyle Total Votes: 82,911 (33%)
We organized two days where high schoolers from 18 organizations went to an elementary school and had 15 minutes with three elementary students. We made name tags with each student’s name and three numbers on it. We assigned a number to each organization and then assigned each student three numbers, one for each rotation. The ratio of elementary students to high school students was one to one. Everybody, especially the elementary students absolutely loved it and had a blast learning about all the things they could do.
Project: “You’re Invited to a Princess Party!” Shelby Hirt, Kelsey Willberg, Jessica Waits Wall High School in Wall, TX West Texas Rehabilitation Center Total Votes: 20,587 (8.2%)
After a total of 15 hours of preparation, we began our Princess Party; we mentored 10 disabled girls from ages 4 to 11 that attend the local West Texas Rehabilitation Center. Our activities began with crown making and followed with games. The girls had the option of receiving a manicure and they created their very own picture frame. To fill the frame we took the girls’ pictures, and while a team member had them developed we entertained the girls with some princess style coloring. Through uplifting comments, praises, and activities we built up their self-esteem and instilled inner beauty and confidence.
Project: “Age to Age Ministry” Quaitsey Carter, Rebecca Farr, Leslie Allred Skiatook High School, Skiatook, OK Skiatook Nursing Home Total Votes: 20,149 (8%)
We received donations from 14 local businesses for a silent auction. We raised over $400 at our silent auction to purchase Christmas gift bags for the 40 residents of the Skiatook Nursing Home. After assembling the gift bags we enjoyed fellowship with the residents as we delivered their gifts. Our goal in creating this ministry was to bless those who came before us that blessed us in the past.
Project: “Volunteering Hearts” Kristen Carlin, Ashley Hackler, Megan Frechette McAlester HS in McAlester OK Hillcrest Burn Center & St. Francis Children's Hospital Total Votes: 16,591 (6.6%)
“Volunteering Hearts” volunteered at Alexander Hillcrest Burn center on February 14, 2009 and donated items to patients at Saint Francis Children’s hospital. “We know the importance of having love and support in hard times. We spent hours talking to patients, listening to their stories, and getting to know each other. We brought with us candy, cards, balloons, flowers, teddy bears and other various gifts donated from our local town. So many of the patients touched our hearts and us theirs.”
Project: Lakota Relief Mission Kelli James, Vincent Baptiste, Bryce Wall Ardmore High School in Ardmore, OK Ardmore High School Native American Club Total Votes: 5,474 (2.2%)
We were notified by e-mail that a couple of reservations from South Dakota (Pine Ridge and Rosebud) were in definite need of heaters and blankets. We wanted to help as soon as possible! We started out as a small group of three and were able to get everyone involved such as, our church, a couple of Indian tribes, some businessmen groups, and several caring Ardmoreites. In one month we collected as much donations as possible. We were very fortunate to be able to send off 12 cast iron wood burning stoves, 40 electric heaters, numerous handmade blankets/quilts, sleeping bags, clothes, scarves, coats, gloves, socks, etc. We were able to send off a truck and a driver to deliver all of the items to South Dakota.

[Native American Club Sponsor Deana Craighead says, “They made visits and phone calls that day to get everything going. They were the leaders on every meeting, every decision, and every hands-on manual labor part of it. There is another trip being planned for the summer. They are working on getting a medical team, carpentry team, and a VBS team together and go back to South Dakota for a couple of weeks. They have met with a group of businessmen in Ardmore, who have all but adopted Kelli, Vincent, and Bryce, and can make all of this a reality."]
Project: “Heart to Heart” John Bedell, Tufica Bell, Sarah Bedell Yukon High School, Yukon, OK Canadian Valley Integris Hospital Total Votes: 3,085 (1.2%)
From the personal experience of one of our team member’s long term hospitalization, we recognized that boredom and loneliness can be the most frequent visitor for hospitalized children. We discovered that we were making an impact on three different groups of people. The first group were the hospitalized children, we were told “the toys give so much comfort to our patients and allow them to just be a kid while they are in the hospital." The second group was our community. We learned that so many people want to be “givers” and that they just need a little direction and encouragement. We were the third group. We felt empowered that regardless of our age we could accomplish something that was bigger than us, and we could truly make a difference.
Project: Guy’s Night Out Nathan Honas, Zachary Richert, Bryant Theis Medicine Lodge High School in Medicine Lodge, KS National Honor Society Total Votes: 1,923 (0.8%)
We organized a “Guy’s Night Out” involving pizza and bingo for three young men who are mentally and physically challenged. We created this evening of fun and excitement after noticing that these young men come to several of our sporting events to support us; however, we have never taken advantage of the opportunity to support them. The compassion and empathy demonstrated by all three of us will never be forgotten, but most of all, the smiles and giggles shared by our three guests will be etched in our hearts, souls, and minds forever. We plan to continue to organize and implement a “Guy’s Night Out” each month in order to see young men experience happiness in their lives that we so often take for granted.
Project: Wii Tournament for The Children’s Center Taryn Halferty, Sutton Halferty, Holly Grandstaff Harrah High School in Harrah, OK The Children’s Center in Bethany, OK Total Votes: 1,427 (0.6%)
Our project was a Wii tournament. We held the tournament at the Harrah First Baptist Church Family Life Center. We spoke to the middle school students at an assembly and made posters and flyers for promotion. We set up brackets and made arrangements for Wii consoles and televisions. We had two Thunder girls from our NBA basketball team the Oklahoma City Thunder come to the event. We also ran a concession stand at the tournament to raise extra money. We raised a total of $572 to buy a Wii system, controllers, and games for The Children’s Center in Bethany, OK. We took the equipment to The Children’s Center and played Wii games with the kids. The children were vey excited about the new Wii. We brightened their day and made an impact on them.
Project: Christmas Angels – Emergency Shelter’s Day Out Nicole Meyer, Elizabeth Killough, Taylor Young Arapaho Butler High School in Arapaho, OK Multi-County Youth Children’s Center Total Votes: 707 (0.3%)
We asked four Clinton businesses to donate money to take out the children from Multi-County Youth Shelter for Christmas because they seldom get to leave the house. We raised $300 through those donations and were able to take the four girls to see a movie (including drinks and popcorn), go out to eat at Montana Mike’s Steakhouse, and go bowling at Miracle Lanes Bowling Alley. We gave the girls the left over donation money, which came out to be $20 each. Robin, the house mom, said, “All of the girls had a great time. They rarely ever get to go out like that.” Giving to those that go forgotten at this time of year represents our mission as “Christmas Angles.”
Project: “The Electronic Donation Initiative” Jake Wedel, Travis Boese, and Aaron Allen Cordell High School, Cordell, OK Integris Burn Center (Oklahoma City, OK) and Multi-County Youth Shelter (Clinton, OK) Total Votes: 237 (0.1%)
The three of us petitioned 6 local banks asking for $1,000. We received all $1,000. We then went to a local Wal-Mart and purchased a new television, 2 playstations and over a dozen games. Our group delivered and installed one of the playstations and gave half of the games to the Integris Burn Center. Afterwards, we traveled to Clinton, OK and delivered the other television, playstation, and remaining games. These items will benefit burn victims, along with their families, and children who have been removed from their homes.