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"I Am Raymondville" by the Mobile Journalists of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Raymondville, Texas) This is the award winning video project in the 2013 CCHD Multimedia Youth Contest. This video won 1st place in its division at the local diocesan competition and 2nd place in its division at the national competition. For more information, please read the article at the Diocese of Brownsville here: http://www.cdob.org/frontpage-news-items/703-national-recognition. To view the other projects, please visit the CDOB YM website: http://www.cdobym.org/youthcontest ============================================ WASHINGTON, D.C. — Five Raymondville youths earned second place in the national Multi-Media Youth Contest, sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), a program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The results were announced by the CCHD on April 29. Ralia Cortinas, Rosa Angelica Barrera, Carla Bocannegra, Jose Trevino and Celyna Vasquez, parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and mobile journalists for the Diocese of Brownsville, won the award with a video project titled, "I am Raymondville." The students explored the topics of homelessness and poverty for the project during which they met Kent Kauten, a homeless man who was often seen near Expressway 77 underpass. The students, who range from sixth to eleventh grade, learned that Kauten was a Vietnam War and Navy veteran. They also realized the man, who they thought, "looked mean," was warm and friendly. Just three days after the interview, Kauten was found dead, and when the students learned that he would be buried as "John Doe" in a pauper's grave, they sought to give him a dignified funeral. Kauten was honored with a Mass of Christian burial at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and buried with full military honors after the students worked with members of the community to confirm his military service and raised money to pay for the funeral. The video project earned first place in the local diocesan contest and advanced to the national competition. The CCHD is the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Bishops. The Multi-Media Youth Contest is a tool to engage young people in grades 7-12 in learning about poverty in the U.S., its root causes, and faith-inspired efforts to address it, according to the program's website. The students were among the first group in the diocese to train and work as mobile journalists when the project began in 2011. This project, funded by a grant from The Kenedy Memorial Foundation, provides youth and young adults with training on basic journalism skills, such as writing articles and shooting photographs and video. "We are so proud of our mobile journalists from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Raymondville," said Brenda Nettles Riojas, director of the diocesan relations office and editor of The Valley Catholic newspaper for the Diocese of Brownsville. "I think it is a blessing that their work has made an impact. They are witnessing firsthand how each person, no matter their age, can truly make a difference in their community." The students additionally have earned accolades for their good deeds from community leaders. U.S. Congressman Filemon Vela honored the mobile journalists in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 26. They were also honored at an event on April 29 at the American Legion Hall in Raymondville by organizations such as the U.S. Navy, the Knights of Columbus, the Raymondville Independent School District, the American Legion and State Rep. Ryan Guillen.