2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom

Today they announced the Founder of Citizenship Counts, Gerda Weissmann Klein, as one of the 15 recipients of the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Here is the full list of recipients:


Former President George H. W. Bush
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis
Co-founder of the National Resources Defense Council, John H. Adams
Author and poet Maya Angelou­­
Investor, Industrialist and Philanthropist, Warren Buffett
Artist Jasper Johns
Holocaust survivor, author and founder of Citizenship Counts, Gerda Weissmann Klein
Optometrist, Dr. Tom Little
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma
Civil Rights Activist Sylvia Mendez
Hall of Fame first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, Stan “the Man” Musial
Former Boston Celtics’ Captain, Bill Russell
Founder of VSA—The International Organization on Arts and Disability, Jean Kennedy Smith .
Former President of the ALF-CIO, John J. Sweeney

To have our founder be included in such an incredible list of amazing people really legitimizes the work we do at Citizenship Counts. I hope that this not only gives CC a lot more opportunity to expand our programs, but also allows us to make some powerful connections with these other strong leaders who have given "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Unfortunately by the time Obama holds the awards ceremony, my internship will already be complete with Citizenship Counts, but I'm very excited for what this means for CC in the future!