A friend of Shannon Hickey described her this way: "She's not a young woman you say 'no' to."

That's putting it mildly.

The Lancaster Catholic High School senior's talent for rallying people to a good cause earned her the Lancaster Sertoma Club's Service to Mankind Award, which she received Friday during a luncheon at the Media Heights Golf Club.

The Landisville teen will be entered into the national Sertoma Club competition, which is followed by an international contest.

Hickey, 17, had no idea she would be receiving the honor, thanks to her family, who plotted with friends to conceal the news.

"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," Hickey's mother, Kelly Lynch, said on Thursday. "Shannon's preoccupied about a lot of things now, like the winter formal dance and future projects."

Hickey choked back tears when presented the award.

With it, she received a letter from former first lady Barbara Bush, who wrote in part, "Your future is bright. We wish you continued success."

Six years ago, Hickey founded Mychal's Message, an organization committed to aiding the homeless through donations of clothing and other supplies.

She named the charity in honor of a family friend, the Rev. Mychal Judge, who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Judge was chaplain to New York City's Engine Company One/Ladder Company 24, which was across the street from his friary, St. Francis of Assisi. He was killed when he removed his helmet to give last rites to a firefighter and a piece of debris struck his head. He was the first recorded Sept. 11 fatality.

When she was 7 months old Hickey was diagnosed with, biliary atresia, a rare liver disorder. She soon underwent a liver transplant, with her mother as the donor. Judge helped the family through that difficult time.

As she grew up, Hickey would have a party each year on the anniversary of her transplant. In 2002, with Sept. 11 and Judge's death only a few months in the past, the then 11-year-old girl decided instead to ask for socks to give to the homeless, whom Judge had helped throughout his ministry. Mychal's Message evolved from that initial impulse.

Coincidentally, the timing of Hickey's Sertoma award was significant.

"The anniversary of Shannon's transplant is Jan. 25," Lynch. "So we're emotional around this time of the year to begin with.

"I was 23, with a sick baby, but God had great plans for her. She's going to have a beautiful life, and it's just beginning," she said.

Hickey now makes four trips a year to New York City with her family to deliver donations to people at St. Francis.

In 2006, Mychal's Message collected collected 3,000 new pairs of underwear, 1,000 undershirts and 2,000 pairs of socks for the homeless. That Thanksgiving, Hickey was featured on NBC's "Today" show as part of the Macy's department store "Parade on Parade" promotion, which recognizes young people who have have made special contributions to their family or community.

Since Mychal's Message was established in 2002, the organization has collected and distributed more than 135,000 new items to the homeless and poor, gaining international recognition.

Several of Hickey's classmates and fellow do-gooders also received praise Friday for their own charitable work. They included Katie Smith, who helped raise $3,000 for Relay For Life, and Flick Youth Humanitarian Award winners Maria Ozman and Josh Graupera.

Hickey thanked everyone who helped her achieve her goals and talked about some of the homeless people she has met.

"There was John, who carried his life's belongings in five grocery bags as he wandered New York City's streets," she said. "And David, who used an empty violin case he found in an effort to be respected as he walked alone, homeless and poor.

"I thank them for this incredible walk in their shoes," Hickey said. "Because of them, I have received so much more than I have given."

Sertoma Club International, based in Kansas City, Mo., boasts about 20,000 members in more than 650 clubs. The local club is best known for its restoration of Long's Park, where it holds an annual chicken barbecue certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest.

For more information about Mychal's Message, visit www.mychalsmessage.org.

E-mail: cdifonzo@lnpnews.com