Athens, Georgia – September 23, 2011 – Katie Shannon, a junior Business Management major at the University of Georgia and Harrison High School alumna, has been named the UGA HEROs Committee Member of the Week for the week of September 19 through September 23, 2011. She is a member of the WOW Committee led by Ronna Rowland. “Katie is an extremely hard working individual, who has devoted a tremendous amount of time and effort into making UGA HEROs the best organization possible. She is always on top of her game and stays one step ahead of everything I ask of her. She is an inspiration to everyone in our organization,” said Rowland. Katie is the daughter of Tom and Carla Shannon of Kennesaw.

After going through a competitive application and interview process in January, Shannon was selected to be a part of the UGA HEROs WOW Committee. She later applied and was chosen as both an Upperclassman Team Leader and Freshman Council Team Leader. Katie says she joined HERO because she wanted to meet new people, but soon felt compelled to become more involved once she attended the UGA HEROs Olympics in December 2010. “What we do for these children is amazing. I am extremely proud to be a part of an organization that works so hard to give children affected by HIV/AIDS a life that they may have never had,” she said. Shannon, along with her committee, recently helped plan WOW Week, UGA HEROs’ recruitment week where they recruited over 1,000 new student philanthropists.

UGA HEROs strives to improve the quality of life for the 12,000 children in Georgia infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS by raising money to support the programs offered by H.E.R.O. (Hearts Everywhere Reaching Out) for Children, Inc. With over 2,500 student members, it is one of the largest philanthropies at the University of Georgia. Since it was founded in 2003, UGA HEROs has raised over $1.5 million. UGA HEROs works closely with the UGA football team, Athletic Association, and both Head Football Coach Mark Richt and Georgia Legend Vince Dooley (who are both H.E.R.O. Board members) to help rally students and raise money for children with HIV/AIDS in Georgia.
To learn more or donate to UGA HEROs, please go to www.ugaheros.org/donate.