Seattle CityClub has announced the 2015 Washington State Jefferson Award winners. The winners represent our state’s unsung heroes; those who are making a difference in their community, the nation and the world, through their jobs or volunteer service.

In 1972, the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Senator Robert Taft Jr. founded the Jefferson Awards, the “Nobel Prize” for public service, a unique nationwide effort that recognizes the highest ideals and achievements of individuals in public service in the United States.

The 2015 Washington State Jefferson Award Winner are:

Mr. Jesus Hernandez of Wenatchee, Wash., Mr. Quintard Taylor of Seattle, Mr. Keith Tucker of Federal Way, Wash, Mr. Scott White, of Chehalis, Wash. and Ms. Helen Leuzzi, of Bellevue, Wash.

After successfully working with her local church and other community organizations to establish a woman’s day center to provide services for homeless and low-income women in Bellevue, Ms. Leuzzi  realized that the women she served during the day were left to fend for themselves without shelter in the evenings. Leuzzi felt this was unacceptable in her home town, a modern city of wealth and gleaming high-rise office buildings. She founded The Sophia Way, a non-profit that is not only a shelter for homeless women in Bellevue, but also gives them the opportunity to rebound back to healthy, independent lives.

A public celebration for the winners will be held between 7 and 8:30 p.m. April 13, (Thomas Jefferson’s birthday) at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle. Tickets are available at www.SeattleCityClub.org or by calling 206 682-7395.