At New York's Cipriani restaurant on 42nd Street, Volvo presented its sixth annual Volvo for Life Awards and named Marilyn Adams the Grand Award Winner in the Safety category. The panel of judges -- including Hank Aaron, Sen. Bill Bradley, Maya Lin, Dr. Sally Ride, Dr. Mae Jemison, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and Edsel B. Ford II -- selected Marilyn because of her Farm Safety 4 Just Kids organization that teaches, as you guessed, farm safety for the young'ins'.

Two decades ago Adams' 11-year-old son was killed in a gravity flow wagon on the first day of the harvest. Inspired by her loss, and by the realization that kids between the ages of 5 and 14 were 66-percent more likely to be injured in a farm accident than adults aged 45 to 64, she started the non-profit Farm Safety Just 4 Kids. The organization has thousands of volunteers across America and Canada teaching rural kids how to stay safe and healthy. For her efforts, Adams's organization gets a $100,000 contribution from Volvo, and Adams will receive a new Volvo every three years for the rest of her life.

The other top category winners in Environment and Quality of Life, Matthew Sanford and Lorraine Kerwood, each get $100,000 donated to their work. Volvo also named ten-year-old Zach Bonner of Valrico, Fla., the winner of the Alexandra Scott Butterfly Award and presented him with $25,000 for a charity of his choice.

[Source: Volvo]