Two Alaska students, Ariel Lyon, 17, of Juneau and Noelle
Schmitter-Schrier, 14, of Soldotna were honored in the nation’s
capital last night for their outstanding volunteer work during the
presentation of The 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two
young people – along with 100 other top youth
volunteers from across the country – received
$1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from Sarah Ferguson,
the Duchess of York, at the 13th annual award
ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of Natural History.
Ariel and Noelle were named the top high school and middle level youth
volunteers in Alaska last February. In addition to their cash awards,
they received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip
with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week’s
recognition events.
Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary
School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
were created 13 years ago by Prudential Financial, Inc. to encourage
youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since
then, the program has honored more than 80,000 young volunteers at the
local, state and national level.
“Ariel and Noelle are inspiring examples of
young Americans who care deeply about the needs of others and who have
taken the initiative to help meet those needs,”
said Prudential Chairman Arthur F. Ryan. “By
honoring them, we hope not only to give them the recognition they so
richly deserve, but also to inspire others to follow their example.”
Ariel, a senior at Juneau-Douglas High School and a member of the
Tongass Alaska Girl Scout Council, created a comprehensive resource
guide to help local teenagers find fun things to do, as well as places
to go for help. Ariel realized there was a desperate need for such a
guide after seeing friends run away from home, drop out of school,
become sexually active, and turn to drugs and alcohol. Despite the
perception that there was little for teens in Juneau, Ariel realized
that resources were available – but that not
enough kids knew about them.
So, with help from a fellow Girl Scout, an adult adviser and her mother,
Ariel researched every local organization of potential interest or use
to teens, and conducted an assessment of young people’s
needs. She then compiled a directory of more than 100 services and
activities in the Juneau area, detailing where to go for help with
health, school and family problems; eating disorders; sexual issues; job
searches; transportation needs; as well as where to find fun things to
do and places to hang out. Ariel posted her “Juneau
Teen Resource Guide” on the Internet at www.JuneauTeen.com
and packaged it into a booklet for distribution around town. Ariel hopes
the guide “will make a lasting impact on the
lives of youth for years to come,” she said.
Noelle, an eighth-grader with the Connections Homeschool Program, spent
five months last year teaching English to children and teens in a small
mountain village in El Salvador. Noelle, a 4-H member, had been an avid
volunteer for many years, so when her family traveled to El Salvador in
September 2006, she wanted to make a difference there, as well. “I
had never seen such extreme conditions,”
Noelle said, referring to the desperate poverty and unsanitary living
conditions she witnessed. She was surprised, however, to find that what
the people there needed most was to learn English. “If
they know English, it improves their chances of getting a job that pays
more than $2 a day,” Noelle explained.
Noelle and her family spent many hours designing lessons and creative
activities, and preparing for the classes. Then Noelle and her younger
sister taught 200 students basic English skills in 45-minute sessions
for four months. They also taught 50 students in an advanced English
class for another month. “One of the most
difficult things for me was teaching students who were the same age as
me or older, to obtain confidence in front of them,”
she said. By the time the classes concluded, Noelle’s
students were able to carry on basic conversations and read simple
books. “For me, the 4-H pledge to serve my
world really came alive during our time in Central America,”
said Noelle.
Applications for the 2008 awards program were submitted last fall
through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American
Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers affiliated with the
Points of Light & Hands On Network. The top middle level and high school
applicants in each state and the District of Columbia were announced in
February. These 102 State Honorees are in Washington this week with
their parents for four days of special recognition events.
Ten of the 102 were named America’s top ten
youth volunteers for 2008 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters
today. These National Honorees received additional $5,000 awards, gold
medallions, crystal trophies for the schools that nominated them, and
$5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for charities of their
choice. [The ceremony can be viewed
at www.prudential.com/spirit.]
The ten National Honorees are:
Kristen Allcorn, 18, of Sedalia, Mo., who founded a soup kitchen
that provides a hot evening meal five days a week, serving needy
residents at tables as if they were eating in a restaurant. Called The
Community Café, Kristen’s
kitchen has served more than 12,000 meals since December 2006.
Kristin Brandt, 17, of Lock Haven, Pa., who rallied her school
and community to help her build a two-bedroom modular home on her school
grounds. After 16 months of fund-raising and construction, the house was
hauled 1,200 miles to Mississippi, where it was presented to an
80-year-old woman who had lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.
Bria Brown, 13, of Miami Gardens, Fla., a five-year cancer
survivor who recruited friends, classmates and her Girl Scout troop to
help her conduct a drive in her community to collect teddy bears, which
she personalizes and delivers to other young cancer patients to bring
them hope and encouragement.
Shanna Decker, 17, of Plainview, Minn., who has made more than
600 visits to young cancer patients over the past nine years to give
them hope and inspire them with her own cancer experience, which
resulted in a leg amputation. She also is a frequent speaker at events
across the country, and has participated in activities that have raised
more than $120,000 for sick and disadvantaged kids.
Talia Leman, 13, of Waukee, Iowa, who started an organization
called “RandomKid”
that seeks to educate, motivate and unify young people around the world
to work on a broad spectrum of pressing needs. Her projects have raised
money for hurricane victims, helped build a school in Cambodia, and
provided clean water in Africa.
Jenna Machado, 17, of Boulder, Colo., who founded a nonprofit
organization to increase awareness about depression and suicide
prevention, after a cousin took her own life. Jenna has delivered
community presentations on the warning signs of depression and suicide,
conducted an education program in middle and high schools, and raised
money to provide treatment sessions for at-risk teens.
Riley Miller, 14, of Bowling Green, Ky., who has organized an
annual citywide day of lemonade sales for the past three years to raise
money for childhood cancer research, after losing two little brothers to
leukemia. Last year, Riley managed 200 volunteers and 29 lemonade
stands, collecting more than $19,000 and bringing her three-year total
to $50,000.
Kaylee Marie Radzyminski, 16, of Cleveland, Tenn., who collects
CDs and DVDs and sends them out every week to American soldiers serving
in combat zones. More than 200 organizations across the country have
joined her “Tunes 4 the Troops”
campaign, and over 170,000 discs have been shipped to boost the morale
of U.S. troops overseas.
Mark Rinkel, 12, of Aurora, Colo., who raised more than $16,000
to provide medical service dogs for his little brother and other
children suffering from type I diabetes. To raise the money, he operated
a lemonade stand at community events last summer, and built a Web site
to solicit donations.
Joey Rizzolo, 13, of Paramus, N.J., who organized a “Freedom
Walk” last September that drew more than 450
local residents to join in remembering the lives lost on 9/11, including
many in his own town. Joey’s event also was
dedicated to thanking first responders, U.S. service members and
veterans for saving lives and protecting our freedom.
The national selection committee that chose the ten National Honorees
was co-chaired by U.S. Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Chuck
Hagel of Nebraska, and Arthur Ryan of Prudential. Also serving on the
committee were actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of the America’s
Promise Alliance; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of
Light & Hands On Network; Amy B. Cohen, director of Learn and Serve
America at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Kathy
Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president
and CEO of National 4-H Council; Kathryn Forbes, national chair of
volunteers, American Red Cross; Neil Nicoll, president and CEO of YMCA
of the USA; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; Barry
Stark, president of NASSP; and two 2007 Prudential Spirit of Community
National Honorees: Kelly Davis of West Bath, Me., and Kelydra Welcker of
Parkersburg, W.Va.
NASSP President Barry Stark said: “The young
people in this country are capable of doing some extraordinary things
given the time and the opportunity. The Prudential Spirit of Community
Awards is one of the great showcases of their amazing acts of kindness
and selflessness. We are pleased to once again join Prudential in
honoring them for their accomplishments.”
In addition to the organizations above, The Prudential Spirit of
Community Awards are supported by the American Association of School
Administrators, the National Middle School Association, the National
School Boards Association, the Council of the Great City Schools, the
National School Public Relations Association and many other national
youth and service organizations.
More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and
this year’s honorees can be found at www.prudential.com/spirit
or www.principals.org/prudential.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals –
the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and
high school principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders –
provides its members with the professional resources to serve as
visionary leaders. NASSP promotes the intellectual growth, academic
achievement, character development, leadership development, and physical
well-being of youth through its programs and student leadership
services. NASSP sponsors the National Honor Society™,
the National Junior Honor Society™, the
National Elementary Honor Society™, and the
National Association of Student Councils™.
For more information on NASSP, NHS, NJHS, NEHS or NASC, visit www.principals.org.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with
approximately $631 billion of assets under management as of March 31,
2008, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin
America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management
expertise, Prudential is focused on helping more than 50 million
individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth.
The company’s well-known Rock symbol is an
icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the
test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and
services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related
services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services.
For more information, please visit www.prudential.com.
[Editors: full-color
pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions
are available at www.prudential.com/spirit.]
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