The District of Columbia’s Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 15th Annual National Awards Program

Washington Students Earn $1,000 Awards and Engraved Medallions

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Erwin Sweetwine, 17, and Chasity Barbett, 13, today were named the District of Columbia'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).

Erwin and Chasity will each receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an invitation to the program’s national recognition events in early May in Washington, where they will join the top two honorees from each of the 50 states for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2010 at that time.

Erwin, a senior at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, raised money to provide food and school supplies for the poor village of Thembeletu, South Africa, by selling handcrafted bead jewelry made by Thembeletu villagers. As vice president of Keystone, a Boys & Girls Club service group, Erwin was searching for an international volunteer project when he came across Thembeletu and instinctively knew it needed his club’s help. “When we contacted the village, the people there were elated to hear that someone in America even knew or cared about their well-being,” he said.

Craftsmen in Thembeletu sent 200 beaded pins in the shape of an AIDS ribbon, which Erwin and fellow club members sold at a major AIDS/HIV fund-raising walk in Washington. Every pin was accompanied by a brochure explaining the origin of the jewelry and asking for monetary donations. The project generated $2,000, which provided three months of food for villagers plus school supplies for village children. “This service project demonstrates the value of being a global citizen: you get to see people that are less privileged smile,” said Erwin. “What more can anyone ask for?”

Chasity, an eighth-grader at Kramer Middle School, volunteered full-time last summer as a counselor at a camp for disadvantaged children funded by the Metropolitan Police Department. Chasity was recommended for the position based on her sense of responsibility, and decided it would be a fun and meaningful way to spend the summer. “I felt that it was important that I volunteer so that I would be a better person in life,” she said. In addition, she said, “I wanted to help kids with things such as discipline, self-awareness and academic growth.”

Chasity worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday at the camp, guiding and organizing a group of 6-year-olds in educational, social, and leisure activities, including field trips to amusement parks and museums. She made sure that the kids were safe and orderly at all times, and that they ate all of their breakfasts and lunches each day. She also taught them manners, self-respect, and academic skills. “The most difficult part of this job was to have to keep taking these kids back and forth to the bathroom,” said Chasity. “These kids always had to use the bathroom!”

In addition, the program judges recognized two other the District of Columbia students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

Briana McRae, 17, a senior at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, volunteers twice a week at a local dental practice. With support and training from the dentist and her staff, Briana cleans and restocks treatment rooms, files papers, sterilizes instruments, greets patients, makes phone calls to confirm appointments, sends thank you cards, and helps wherever she can.

Jeanifer Uwaechie, 17, a senior at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, volunteered at Howard University Hospital, where she worked as a translator for non-English speaking patients, helped transport patients to treatment locations, and assisted with a variety of tasks in the Payroll Department.

“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
973-802-8974 (office)
973-216-4833 (cell)
harold.banks@prudential.com

Source: Prudential Financial