Julia Bruss of Brookline Wins Maine Philanthropy Award at Colby College

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Julia Bruss, left, and John Perkins after winning their philanthropy award

WATERVILLE, ME (04/13/2011)(readMedia)-- Julia Bruss and John Perkins, both seniors at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, won the 2011 Maine Philanthropy Award presented at Colby April 6.

The Maine Philanthropy Awards recognize exceptional individuals who made great contributions through volunteerism that showed a sense of caring and responsibility for others. Winners are individuals who selflessly contributed in extraordinary ways in addition to meeting everyday responsibilities in their careers or as students.

Bruss, of Brookline, Mass., will graduate from Colby in May with a double major in psychology and English and a minor in human development. She and Perkins are co-directors of the Colby Volunteer Center, where they manage 13 volunteer programs, organize volunteer events, and direct service activities at Colby. Bruss began volunteering during high school with Samaritans, a suicide hotline in Boston. She also worked at a Boston domestic abuse shelter and the in-patient psychiatry unit at Children's Hospital Boston. At Colby Bruss volunteered at two local preschools, at the nonprofit Hardy Girls Healthy Women, and led a team-building after-school program. She worked with an AmeriCorps VISTA member to create a 5K run to benefit Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

Perkins, of Edina, Minn., will graduate in May from Colby, where he majors in anthropology with an emphasis on international development and human rights. His resume includes service as an Emergency Medical Technician providing emergency health services on campus. He also worked at the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter, Waterville Humane Society, Maine General Medical Center, and Barrels Community Market and coached a fourth-grade Waterville Youth Soccer Association team.

The Maine Philanthropy Awards were begun in 2008. They are presented under the auspices of Colby's Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement and are presented each year in the spring.