 Each year global kids inspires and changes the lives of more than 13,000 students and educators and their online programs reach millions more. Their goal of transforming lives while charting new life pathways for students from New York City and Washington DC is truly remarkable and worthy of our respect. It is therefore my great privilege on behalf of the many fine associates of First National Bank of Omaha and standing proudly alongside the NEA Foundation to present this year's award for outstanding service to public education and a $5,000 donation to an organization that embodies the vision of working together to create a better world. Joining us to accept this award on behalf of Global Kids is Executive Director, Evie Hensonopoulos, accompanied by a special guest, Maya Fason. Thank you. Thank you so much for this wonderful award. Thank you NEA Foundation and First National Bank of Omaha. It's a privilege to be here in a room filled with educational leaders who are so committed to and know so much about public education. Thank you for all you do. Global Kids builds global competency and youth leadership, and I'm going to give you a quick example of what that looks like. To some, a chocolate bar is a chocolate bar, but to a global kid they see something different. When they see a chocolate bar, they think about globalization and fair trade versus free trade. They learn that child labor and child slavery is widespread on the cocoa farms. They write letters to the largest chocolate companies in the world and get executives from those companies to come meet with them and talk about the issue. This is true. Then they launch a peer education campaign in their school around Valentine's Day to raise awareness, and they learn all these things about chocolate and then connect it to children's rights in their own community. But global competency is more than a curriculum. Earlier today I did a Facebook post about the gala saying I got my gown. It was kind of working on my hair, but I needed some help with my speech. And of course my friends were like, don't worry, you got this. Congratulations. But very soon I got a private message from one of our alumni who was undocumented when we first met her many, many years ago. And I want to share with you what she wrote to me. She wrote, maybe you should consider sharing stories of GK youth and alumni who are on the front lines of transforming the U.S. right now and who embody the sense of opportunity and humankind that the U.S. stands for. Right now, they might be at a rally on a strategy call, hosting a community gathering, working together to create the spaces for people to embrace their power and walk the talk by showing up for each other. At Global Kids, we show up for each other no matter who we are or what we look like. Tell them that for most of our communities, one of the first safe havens for us is at school and with their teachers. It's so important that we provide neutral spaces for our work and we have discussions about current events, even if they are uncomfortable, unpredictable or not in the curriculum. We must give our youth the practice they need for when they go out into the world as well as let them be among the many voices that need to be heard right now. And so with that, I'd like to hand it over to Maya who's going to speak a little bit. Have you ever seen a group of people put everything that they have into their job every day with a smile on their face? Or people who will drop everything to talk to you about struggling in school or boys or our impending doom if we don't address climate change? Or people who will take you around the world to attend conferences where you can discuss global issues because what you have to say matters. Or people who will house you after a hurricane in your time of need? I have. I saw those people every time I went into Global Kids. The trainers I have had taught me it's okay to be myself. I joined Global Kids my first year in high school at 13 years old. I was in at least one after school program every year until I graduated. It's difficult for me to express the impact that Global Kids has had on my life, but I like to put it this way. For most people the happiest place on earth is Disneyland, but for me it's Global Kids. Regardless of the office that I walk into, whether it's in a school or it's the main one in Manhattan, as soon as I walk in I feel loved and I know that I will be treated with respect. The trainers create a space that allows us to grow as leaders and they listen to us. They trust in our abilities and allow us to plan and execute workshops and actions. Prior to joining Global Kids I felt everything very deeply. I would watch the news with my grandmother and be saddened by people in poverty or people without access to clean water, but that's all I knew how to do. All I knew how to do was be sad. Global Kids taught me that no matter how young I am I have something to say and that it matters. I realized that what I have to say can make a difference. While I was in Global Kids I was a climate change activist. I was able to teach my peers about climate change and why it's important to respect our planet. I use those same skills today as a senior in college, but this time I'm fighting for social justice and racial equality. I realized that I have a responsibility as a human being to look out for others. Global Kids led me to my anthropology major. I realized that my love of people and cultures could be a career. I no longer bite my tongue or turn the other cheek. Global Kids has changed my life and I intend to pay it forward by always empowering youth and always doing what's right.