More than 100 people came together at Greening Youth Foundation’s second annual Green Carpet event on November 14 to honor the energy, creativity and culinary talents of the next generation of environmental leaders. Held at Georgia Tech’s Student Success Center, which overlooks the school’s football stadium near downtown Atlanta, the event was a tribute to the impact Greening Youth Foundation has had on hundreds of young lives in just under three years of existence.

GYF Executive Director Angelou Ezeilo told the crowd that she was thrilled and humbled by the growth of the organization.

“So many of the people in this room have been instrumental in the growth of Greening Youth,” she said, fighting back tears as she looked over a room filled with enthusiastic GYF staff members, board members, volunteers, sponsors and supporters.

Students from Benjamin Mays High School in Atlanta

The big winners of the evening were Craig Elementary School of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Benjamin Mays High School of Atlanta, which both received awards for their creative campaigns to combat an environmental challenge in their community. Atlanta Falcons fullback Ovie Mughelli and his Ovie Mughelli Foundation issued an Eco-Challenge to each of the 12 Greening Youth Foundation schools to come up with a campaign. Craig’s entry included a video and Powerpoint presentation, while Mays came up with an inventive campaign to conserve water among teenagers. While Mughelli couldn’t be at the event—the Falcons were about to play the Panthers in North Carolina the following afternoon—he did speak to the crowd and the winners by way of a videotaped message.

Two students from each school were on hand to pick up the trophies, which were lovely crystal sculptures of planet Earth presented by the Ovie Mughelli Foundation’s Executive Director Masika Perkins.

After entering the room by way of an actual “green” carpet, attendees dined on a sumptuous dinner of chicken, fish, rice and vegetables prepared by the talented staff from the Atlanta Job Corps Center’s Culinary Arts Institute. One of the chefs even addressed the crowd and told how the Job Corps Center was making it possible for him to travel to California to train to be a sous chef. One of the GYF’s newest partners, the Atlanta Job Corps will be providing the foundation with a workforce of hundreds of young people to work at GYF schools and National Park Service sites throughout Georgia and the Southeast.

Tony Stennis, Deputy Superintendent of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, another GYF partner, delivered a special address to the audience, recapping his career and path to the MLK site, in addition to pointing out the many jobs for young people available in the National Park Service. The site’s chief ranger Clark Moore also spoke briefly about his career.

Deputy Superintendent Tony Stennis (left) and Chief Ranger Clark Moore of the MLK Historic Site

The event was gracefully hosted by bestselling author Denene Millner, a GYF board member, and Ebo Quainoo, a Green Corps volunteer—and Georgia Tech grad—who injected a dose of humor into the proceedings.

The special night concluded with prizes and basket giveaways generously donated by such companies as Bath and Body Works, Ikea, The Body Shop, Williams Sonoma and The Art of Shaving. Other sponsors included the following:

The Trust for Public Land
Ovie Mughelli Foundation
REI
CERM
Arnold Evans of Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey
A.Anthony Gee & Dr. Jennifer Christie
Keeping it Wild
Voz Visual Designs
Whole Foods
Fynnishing Touch
Shirley-Ann’s Designs
Kroger
United Consulting
SP Recycling
STA Apparel
Earthwise Productions, Inc
Keep DeKalb Beautiful