Joshua Castille named one of eight Louisiana Young Heroes

Submitted by Steve Hallam on Thu, 04/17/2014 - 13:54

Joshua “Josh” Castille, an 18-year-old Ville Platte resident who is a senior at Sacred Heart High School, was one of eight Louisiana young people who received recognition as Louisiana Young Heroes Thursday, April 16, at the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge. The banquet will be the subject of a Louisiana Public Broadcasting program at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17.
This is the 19th year the Young Heroes Awards have been presented to students in grades seven to 12 who have shown courage in overcoming adversity in their lives to excel academically and in service to their communities.
The eight Young Heroes had a full day of activities Thursday, including lunch at the of the Governor’s Mansion and a banquet in the evening.
Louisiana Public Broadcasting and the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge created the awards program. A panel of judges select award recipients based on letters of recognition, newspaper articles, or other information presented with the nominees’ application forms.
Castille was one of this year’s honorees because, according to the award information on the LPB web site, he “battled a long list of ailments since he was born including two different immune deficiencies, infections, jaundice, and anemia to name just some of his past and present health problems. He has hosted an Archery Shoot to help raise money for Dreams Come True.” The next shoot is scheduled for May 3.
Dreams Come True was founded in 1982 in Denham Springs and has expanded to assist children with life-threatening illnesses. Those children have been taken on free shopping sprees, provided with playground equipment, musical instrument, computers, and assisted in other ways.
Other Young Heroes have raised money for charity, like Castille, cared for family members or helped hurricane victims and have saved lives.
Castille’s parents are Jody and Charlotte Castille, and he has two younger brothers, Jacob and Justin. Castille plans to attend Southwest Texas University and study wildlife enterprise management.

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