Texas teens recognized by national award for heroic service activity

DALLAS (KDAF) — The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes annually honors 25 outstanding young leaders, fifteen winners and ten runners-up, who have made a significant positive impact on people, their communities, and the environment. The fifteen top winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education. This year marks the 25^th anniversary of the Barron Prize.

Vivian Liu, age 16, has been named a winner of the 2025 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. Vivian is from Katy, Texas and attends the Texas Academy of Math and Science in Denton, Texas.

Vivian founded Origami For Good, a global nonprofit that has inspired more than 7,000 volunteers to create over 825,000 pieces of origami for people in hospitals, nursing homes, and children’s centers around the world. Vivian has seen countless times how these small, carefully crafted gifts can bring comfort, spread joy, and foster a sense of connection. She has grown her project to 200 chapters across 50 countries including Japan, India, and the U.S. She has also built partnerships with corporations such as Krispy Kreme and Panda Express to cover shipping costs and new chapter activities. In her recent TEDxThirdWard talk in Houston, Vivian spoke passionately about the power of something as small as origami to create far-reaching ripple effects.

Her passion for origami began in childhood, sitting at her grandmother’s kitchen table, watching as she turned a piece of paper into something beautiful and full of life—a crane, a butterfly, or a flower. When Vivian began volunteering in nursing homes and saw how many elderly residents spent their days alone, she began folding cranes and giving them as gifts. Seeing the joy they brought, she asked a few friends to join her at school for folding sessions—and Origami For Good was born. Today, volunteers in chapters across the globe gather weekly or monthly to fold paper into beautiful gestures of kindness and deliver them to more than 150 facilities.

“I used to think that making a difference required lots of money or massive action,” says Vivian. “But Origami For Good started with just some paper and a desire to make a difference. I’ve learned that impact isn’t about size—it’s about the lives you touch.” 

Daniel Thomas, age 17, of Colleyville, Texas, has been named a runner-up of the 2025 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. Daniel founded LitterScout to combat plastic pollution through cleanups, education, and innovative tools. He has mobilized thousands of volunteers in removing more than 42,000 pounds of litter across dozens of cities. An Eagle Scout, he first rallied fellow Scouts in cleaning up local spaces and then created the free LitterScout app to help people elsewhere organize cleanups. Daniel’s work is rooted in his childhood along the Trinity River near Dallas, where he kayaked as a kid. When he began experiencing asthma at age 12, he learned the river is full of microplastics that contaminate the water and air. In response, he launched LitterScout and since then, has developed innovative tools to tackle environmental problems. His ClearWTR invention is an affordable, solar-powered method for cleaning water. He recently introduced Mwalimu (“teacher” in Swahili), a low-cost portable WiFi server to bring environmental education lessons and other online materials to rural and underserved areas. Daniel has also published three children’s books on conservation and has assembled over 50 environmental videos on his LitterScout YouTube channel.

“Age is not a barrier to leadership,” says Daniel. “I’ve learned that change starts when you see a problem, believe you can do something about it, and bring others with you.”

For more information, visit www.barronprize.org.