Merrimack teen receives award

Published: Wednesday, October 21, 2009

From left, Judith Lonergan, Norah Sutton, Susan Meuse and Nancy Evans celebrate Sutton's achievement.

From left, Judith Lonergan, Norah Sutton, Susan Meuse and Nancy Evans celebrate Sutton's achievement.

MERRIMACK – Paige Kalika, of Merrimack, was a recipient of the 2009 Champions Among Children award.

Champions Among Children are chosen each year by the Council for Children and Adolescents with Chronic Health Conditions, a New Hampshire organization that advocates and supports children with chronic health conditions.

The awards were presented during a ceremony honoring Gov.John Lynch’s declaration that Sept. 20-26 is Childhood Chronic Health Conditions Awareness Week in New Hampshire at the Upham Walker House in Concord.

In recognition of her tireless work in raising awareness of the state’s chronic health conditions epidemic, CCACHC presented Kalika with a $500 scholarship.

Kalika, 19, contends with cancer. She is involved with the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation’s Young Adults with Neuroblastoma, a program designed to meet the unique needs of those young adults affected by neuroblastoma. She also served as chair of the Youth Advisory Board for the Childhood Cancer Lifeline of New Hampshire, an organization that matched CCACHC’s $500 scholarship with one of its own.