Newsmaker: Megan Schreck Yunn

Noteworthy: Schreck Yunn is one of 10 people in the United States selected to receive a $2,500 prize to help start a nonprofit organization that will "improve the quality of life for those in need, particularly children," according to organizers of the third annual Be Big in Your Community contest sponsored by Scholastic Media. Winners were chosen from among more than 1,000 entries submitted nationwide. Schreck Yunn's project, called "Beverly's Birthdays," will provide birthday celebrations for local low-income and homeless children.

Age: 26

Residence: North Huntingdon

Occupation: Schreck Yunn is the director of volunteer programs at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, a position she has held for the past 14 months.

Education: Schreck Yunn is a 2002 graduate of Bethel Park High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts in organizational communications in 2006 from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. She earned a master's degree in business administration in 2007 from Point Park University, Downtown.

Quote: "I got the idea for 'Beverly's Birthdays' while helping a fifth-grader named Beverly with her homework at an after-school program where I volunteered. When I learned that Beverly never had a birthday party, my heart just broke."