NEW YORK -- Major League baseball players will award $1,500 college scholarships to 27 outstanding high school students in recognition of their dedication to community service and tireless efforts to encourage others to get involved with causes they believe in, it was announced today by the Major League Baseball Players Trust. Each scholarship recipient is a member of the Action Team® national youth volunteer program created and administered by the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Volunteers of America.

Scholarship awards are based on the volunteer activities, academic achievements and leadership skills of high school students serving as Action Team Captains -- those students responsible for planning and organizing Action Team-related volunteer activities and encouraging their peers to heed the call to get involved. This school year, more than 50 Major Leaguers and 250 Action Team Captains in 146 high schools across the country are working together to inspire and train the next generation of volunteers.

“On behalf of all Major Leaguers, it’s an honor to recognize the dedication and passion for community service that Action Team Captains demonstrate throughout the school year,” said Colorado Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs, an Action Team player and member of the scholarship review committee. “Having worked closely with Action Team Captains in Denver, I’m amazed at how committed these young people are to helping people in need. They prove that you don’t have to be a celebrity to make a difference in the lives of others, and their actions are leading hundreds of their peers to support causes they believe in.”

The Action Team has expanded its reach every year since its launch in 2003. To date, Action Teams of high school students and Major Leaguers have inspired more than 25,000 students to serve over 100,000 people in need. There are Action Teams in 30 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, and each month the Action Team Captains participate in a conference call hosted by legendary broadcaster George Grande that features a Major Leaguer and an “Action Team High School of the Month.”

An Action Team, school-based curriculum developed by the Players Trust, in partnership with The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition, carries the message of volunteerism and teaches valuable community service skills to 700,000 high school students in more than 5,000 classrooms across the United States.

Action Team applications and additional information can be received by sending a request to ActionTeam@mlbpa.org. To view a brief Action Team video, please visit the Players Trust channel on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/MLBPlayersTrust

Receiving scholarships from the Major League Baseball Players Trust are:
Fabiola Arroyo, Sultan, Wash., Sultan High School
Takirah Carter, Kansas City, Kan., J.C. Harmon High School
Carlos Collado, Jackson Heights, N.Y., H.S. for Arts & Business
Nancy DeGott, Bloomfield, Ind., Bloomfield Junior/Senior High School
Michelle Diemer, Kansas City, Kan., J.C. Harmon High School
Joseph Engleman, Chicago, Jones College Prep
Luke Fesko, Lakewood, Ohio, Lakewood High School
Nic Gregg, Sultan, Wash., Sultan High School
Jacob Guenette, Sabattus, Maine, Oak Hill High School
Neil Kirschling, West Deptford, N.J., West Deptford High School
Alison Krzesniak, Loogootee, Ind., Bloomfield Junior/Senior High School
Nykole Mitchell, Mill Creek, Wash., Mariner High School
Michela Moe, Kihei, Hawaii, St. Anthony Junior/Senior High School
J. Andrew Morgan, Hingham, Mass., Boston College High School
Jessica Munoz, Hayward, Calif., Mt. Eden High School
Lesley Pace, Aurora, Colo., Cherokee Trail High School
Charlene Pacubas, Kahului, Hawaii, St. Anthony Junior/Senior High School
Sarah Ritter, Cincinnati, Seton High School
Elizabeth Shmidt, Plant City, Fla., Plant City High School
Alimpon Sinha, Cheswick, Pa., Fox Chapel Area High School
Esteban Soler, Long Island City, N.Y., Queens Vocational & Technical H. S.
Christopher Sullivan, Plant City, Fla., Plant City High School
Rachel Toon, Bloomfield, Ind., Bloomfield Junior/Senior High School
Trinh Tran, Hayward, Calif., Mt. Eden High School
Devon Walsh, Lakewood, Ohio, Lakewood High School
Paulichia Woody, Dallas, School of Ed. and Social Services
Eduardo Zapata, Houston, YES Prep Public Schools North Central

Through the Players Trust, Major Leaguers contribute their time, money and celebrity to call attention to important causes affecting the needy and to help encourage others to get involved in their own communities. In partnership with Volunteers of America, the national human service organization, the Players Trust created and helps administer the Action Team, a national youth volunteer initiative currently inspiring the next generation of volunteers in cities throughout the United States. For more information on the Major League Baseball Players Trust, please visit www.MLBPLAYERS.com.