This month, we celebrated and honored exceptional people, organizations and animals who have showed continued dedication and commitment to the improvement of animal welfare at our annual Humane Awards Luncheon.

One of the awards given annually is the ASPCA Tommy P. Monahan Kid of the Year Award, an award that is named after and dedicated to a nine-year-old Staten Island boy who sadly perished in a 2007 house fire while trying to save his beloved pet. This award celebrates a deep commitment to animal safety and welfare by children and teens who work year-round to find new ways to help the animals in their communities. This year, we proudly honored seven-year-old Roman McConn for his compassion for vulnerable animals and his commitment to advocating for them well beyond his years.

Roman’s love for animals spans throughout most of his young life. For his fourth birthday, he asked friends and family to make donations to a Texas-based animal rescue instead of giving him gifts. 

Now, Roman makes heartfelt and compelling videos with homeless dogs in his community to help them get adopted. These videos have gone viral, elevating Roman’s presence and his impact. When not producing videos, Roman can also be found volunteering with Project Freedom Ride, a relocation network community founded by his mother, Jennifer McConn, which assists in helping relocate vulnerable homeless dogs and cats to areas where their chances of adoption are improved.

For dedicating his time, energy, and himself to helping at-risk animals find safe and loving homes, and for helping to defeat life-threatening stereotypes about shelter animals, Roman McConn is beyond deserving of this year’s ASPCA Kid of the Year award. Congratulations to Roman! We hope that his dedication to animals in need continues and his work inspires more youth to get involved.