South Carolina’s Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected In 15th Annual National Awards Program

Taylors and Mt. Pleasant students earn $1,000 awards, engraved medallions and trip to nation’s capital

Honors also bestowed on youth volunteers in Greenwood, Hemingway, Summerville, and Anderson

COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Jennifer Pham, 17, of Taylors and Alec Robinovitz, 10, of Mount Pleasant today were named South Carolina's top two youth volunteers for 2010 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 15th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Jennifer was nominated by Wade Hampton High School in Greenville, and Alec was nominated by East Cooper Montessori Charter School in Mount Pleasant. As State Honorees, each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2010 at that time.

Jennifer, a senior at Wade Hampton High School, supervises, entertains, and tutors children at the Greenville Literacy Association (GLA) while their parents attend English or GED classes there. Jennifer’s mother took English classes at the GLA after escaping Vietnam in 1975, so when Jennifer expressed a desire to give back to her community, her mother suggested the GLA. “My being there to watch over the children allows their parents to learn English or get their GED in peace,” said Jennifer, who has volunteered at the facility twice a week for the past two years.

As a family literacy volunteer, Jennifer works with as many as 10 children at a time, helping them with their homework, playing games with them, teaching them how to make things like braids or origami, and keeping them from misbehaving. She arranges quiet activities for the younger children while she assists the older kids with school work. English is not the first language for most of the children, so Jennifer often has to review lessons to help them better understand certain concepts. Once schoolwork is done, Jennifer coordinates age-appropriate games that all the children can play. “I have gained a deep appreciation and respect for their teachers and parents,” said Jennifer. “Being a volunteer has given me a purpose and a sense of well-being in my life.”

Alec, a fifth-grader at East Cooper Montessori Charter School, has collected more than 3,000 new and gently used books over the past two years for children being treated at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital. “I thought of this project after waiting at the emergency room with my sister,” said Alec. “I noticed there were no books to read. Whenever I am frightened, reading books always helps me feel better.” He later learned that many children at the hospital had few books at home, so Alec decided he would collect books, not only to comfort them during their hospital stays, but also to provide them with a book of their own to take home with them.

The first year, Alec e-mailed friends and family members to ask for books, and set up collection boxes at his school, in his neighborhood, and at a school where his grandmother teaches. Nine hundred books arrived. The following year, Alec more than doubled his results by publicizing his campaign in local newspapers and seeking donations from more than 50 publishers. Alec says that each year he will look for ways to increase the number of books he collects, and so now he has recruited his first-grade sister to help. “I guess I learned that one person who tries hard can succeed in making a difference, even when that one person is a kid,” Alec said.

In addition, the program judges recognized four other South Carolina students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

Ashley Ehlers, 18, of Greenwood, a senior at Ninety Six High School in Ninety Six, formed a junior “Relay for Life” team at her school that has raised more than $2,000 to support the American Cancer Society. Ashley also serves as youth chair on her county’s “Relay for Life” committee, and has worked to involve young children in Relay for Life activities by visiting elementary schools.

Claire Legette, 18, of Hemingway, a senior at Carvers Bay High School, is an active volunteer for many organizations, including Camp Burnt Gin, a summer camp program for children with physical disabilities and chronic illnesses. In addition, Claire volunteers as a vacation Bible school teacher for a children’s home and is a volunteer for a children’s basketball camp at her school.

Katie Stagliano, 11, of Summerville, a fifth-grader at Pinewood Preparatory School, has donated to local soup kitchens more than 1,000 pounds of fresh produce from five vegetable gardens that she tends. Katie, who started it all when she grew a 40-pound cabbage that fed 250 people, has recruited friends, family, corporations, and members of the community to support her efforts to feed the hungry.

Hannah Vaughn, 17, of Anderson, a senior at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville, started “Tutus for Tots,” a nonprofit organization that collects professional dance attire for an elementary arts school that has a high poverty rate. Hannah, who started the program when she heard about arts program budget cuts at local schools, worked with other students and dance studios to collect 150 costumes and more than 200 dance accessories.

“People as caring and committed as these young students are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nation,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “By recognizing these honorees, we hope to encourage other young people – our future leaders – and all Americans to think more about the value and importance of volunteering in their communities.”

“The young people recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need,” said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “NASSP is proud to honor these student leaders because they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation’s schools today.”

All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. Nearly 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital’s landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them – five middle level and five high school students – will be named National Honorees on May 3 by a prestigious national selection committee. These honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.

Serving on the national selection committee will be Strangfeld of Prudential; Steven Pophal, president of NASSP; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light Institute & Hands On Network; Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the America’s Promise Alliance; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Pamela Farr, the American Red Cross’ national chair of volunteers; Elson Nash, associate director for project management at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; and two 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shardy Camargo of Orlando, Fla., and Colin Leslie of Rye, N.Y.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will distribute President’s Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President Obama. The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. Since the program began in 1995, more than 90,000 young volunteers nationwide have been honored at the local, state or national level. Many prominent public figures have assisted in saluting these honorees over the years, including President Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and Laura Bush. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Ireland.

For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit spirit.prudential.com.

In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP’s mission is to promote excellence in school leadership. The National Honor Society ®, National Junior Honor Society ®, National Elementary Honor Society™, and National Association of Student Councils ® are all NASSP programs. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, Va., visit www.principals.org or call 703-860-0200.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) is a financial services leader with 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 approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. In the United States, the company’s 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.news.prudential.com.

Editors: Graphics depicting the award program’s logo and medallions may be downloaded from spirit.prudential.com.

Prudential
Harold Banks
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973-216-4833 (cell)
[email protected]

Source: Prudential Financial