ASTEP wins 2009 Youth Thrive Award

ASTEP would like to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in helping us win a 2009 Youth Thrive Award. ASTEP now holds the title of 'Best Medium Sized Non-Profit in the Northeast' and it is all thanks to those who took the time to submit wonderful reviews about the organization.

Below is the official press release published by GreatNonProfits about this year's awards:

October 9, 2009 -- With tens of thousands of nonprofits serving youth in this country, organizations focused on mentoring and outdoor recreation were rated at the top by members of the public. GreatNonprofits has released the results of the 2009 Youth Thrive Awards that gathered reviews of nonprofits serving youth across the USA. The contest, held in partnership with VolunteerMatch, DoSomething.org, and Guidestar, ended on October 7th.

"As a new organization," says Lisa McFadden, President of Volunteer USA Foundation, which was the top-rated nonprofit serving youth in the South region with a budget of over $1M, "we hope winning the Youth Thrive Award will help bring greater attention to today's youth, whether they are mentoring young readers or learning to help save lives and property during a disaster situation. We are proud to be a part of this movement that's making a real difference."

"We are most grateful that GreatNonprofits exists, and does all this work to help nonprofits," says Marilyn Price, Executive Director of Trips for Kids, the West regional winner with a budget of $250K to $1M. "We are most fortunate, given the reach that the Internet has today, that we have won this Award and word of our work is getting out there."

The contest, held during August and September, asked people to submit reviews and ratings about nonprofits serving youth. The contest was sponsored by GreatNonprofits and Guidestar, the premier web site for philanthropic research. The results show the growing concern as well as the large amount of work being done for youth mentoring as well as children's access to outdoor recreation. This is the first ever list providing reviews of nonprofits serving youth by those who have actually experienced their work. These unique results will be helpful to donors and supporters looking to get involved with this area.

"There are so many great nonprofits that don't have an advertising budget and are not household names," says Perla Ni, CEO and founder of GreatNonprofits. "Through this first-ever list of top-rated nonprofits serving youth, you can see how some of these nonprofits are changing lives. Donors and volunteers who are interested in helping kids and youth now see which nonprofits are really making a difference."--

If you've loved volunteering for ASTEP, if you've ever enjoyed one of our concerts, maybe you referred a friend or you just have the burning desire to tell the world why you love ASTEP it is never too late! You can still post a review of your experience with ASTEP on GreatNonprofits.org and continue to help ASTEP make even more of a difference for youth around the world. The more people who provide us with invaluable feedback the more interest we can generate to reach out and create positive change for these young people in need. It's easy and only takes a few minutes!

To read more about what people are saying about ASTEP go to
GreatNonProfits.com NOW!