University of Houston electrical engineering student Russell Crake III will be honored June 17-19 in Washington, D.C. by the American Institute for Public Service. He will receive the 2002 Jefferson Award for public service from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and will be honored at the White House.
KPRC-TV nominated Crake for the Jefferson Award after hearing of his work organizing his Hispanic fraternity's participation in a project that delivered 157 boxes of school supplies and dozens of textbooks to Acuna, Mexico, last summer. Most of the residents of Acuna live in abject poverty. Many of them live in houses made of plywood, cardboard, tires and concrete blocks.
Two other UH engineering students, Emerson Juarez and Luis Martinez (2002 BSChE) also participated on the project. All three were members of the Omega Delta Phi fraternity at UH. The project, dubbed Operation Education, was managed by the organization "Children Without Borders" and also included several students from San Jacinto Junior College.
"We collected school supplies from a number of different high schools, mainly in the Clear Lake area, and also at Bellaire High School," says Crake, who was a member of the National Honor Society while attending high school in Bellaire.
After packing the supplies in a rented truck, Crake and 10 other volunteers made the trip to Acuna, near the U.S.-Mexico border, where educational resources are scarce and children must attend class in shifts because of a severe shortage of teachers.
"Because we had so many boxes of supplies, we had to be escorted across the border by the mayor's wife, for customs purposes," Crake says. Once they arrived, Crake and his crew were greeted by a gathering of grateful students, who performed dances, recited poetry and sang songs for their visitors.
The American Institute for Public Service was founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sen. Robert Taft and Sam Beard to rebuild public trust and encourage community involvement by saluting the "Best of America" -- today's heroes. The group will honor 56 winners this year.