Georgia youth recognized in first-ever Prudential Emerging Visionaries program

NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chris Matthews, 14, of McDonough, and Arnav Tripathi, 17, of Cumming, today were each named a 2022 Prudential Emerging Visionary for bringing powerful vision and meaningful change to their communities.

As two of 25 young people from across the country selected in this year's inaugural class, Chris and Arnav will each receive $5,000 in funding as well as an invitation to participate in an awards summit from April 23-26, 2022. The summit will include a lively agenda packed with skills development workshops, coaching sessions, networking opportunities and special recognition events. Select winners will also have an opportunity to participate in a pitch-off where a grand prize winner will receive an additional $10,000 in funding. What's more, Prudential employees will vote to name an Employees' Choice Award winner, who will receive an additional $5,000.

Prudential Emerging Visionaries recognizes young people ages 14-18 whose fresh perspectives and innovative solutions address the pressing financial and societal challenges in their communities. It is a collaboration between Prudential Financial and Ashoka, a leading social impact organization, with advisory support from the Financial Health Network, an authority on financial health and longtime partner of The Prudential Foundation. The program is an evolution of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, the country's largest youth recognition program, which for 26 years honored more than 150,000 outstanding youth volunteers.

"Emerging Visionaries is another way Prudential is demonstrating its commitment to our purpose: to make lives better by solving the financial challenges of our changing world," said Chairman and CEO Charles Lowrey. "The students we're honoring have a sense of possibility that drives them to look beyond themselves. Their vision and dedication are key to creating fully inclusive communities, and we are humbled and inspired by their work."

That work includes addressing needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic, combating economic inequality, advocating for inclusion and closing the digital divide. This inaugural group of young leaders was selected based on four main criteria: their solution is innovative; it can create meaningful impact in the future and can scale to a wider community; it demonstrates a deep understanding of the issue; and it inspires the visionary to lead or take action and motivates others to do the same.

Here are Georgia's Prudential Emerging Visionaries for 2022:

Chris Matthews, 14, of McDonough, Georgia, is the creator of the "Blanket Box Project," a social enterprise that aims to provide free blankets to children dealing with challenging situations and empower young changemakers to share these blankets with others facing hard times.

When Chris was 5, his mother tragically lost his baby sister during pregnancy. Chris decided to redirect his grief to give back and spread positivity. He came up with this initiative to offer children comfort and security through blankets. "Donating blankets helped me cope with my baby sister's loss and has become a lifestyle for my family and me. Through this work, I found purpose, and now I want to help other kids experience the power of generosity," he said. The project offers starter kits filled with materials to make two blankets and empowers other young people to take part in making, donating and selling these blankets.

Arnav Tripathi, 17, of Cumming, Georgia, founded the "Georgia Homework Help Hotline," an organization that supports individuals in obtaining their GEDs through its free website, where they can live chat with a tutor, submit a problem for help or sign up for weekly tutoring.

Arnav was inspired to start the hotline after realizing how important a GED is for accessing employment and a well-paying salary, leading to an approximate 25% increase in salary opportunities for GED graduates on average. Homework Help Hotline aims to tackle the educational and economic barriers that prevent people from getting their GED. Arnav is partnering with local nonprofit organizations to spread awareness of the initiative and is looking to expand nationally in the near future.

To read the names and stories of all of this year's Prudential Emerging Visionaries, visit prudential.com/emergingvisionaries.

About Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial wellness leader and premier active global investment manager, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees help to make lives better by creating financial opportunity for more people. Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit news.prudential.com.

About Ashoka
Ashoka is the largest global network of leading social entrepreneurs — individuals with new ideas to systemically address the world's biggest challenges and the entrepreneurial skill to transform those ideas into national, regional and global social impact. Over 40 years, Ashoka has supported more than 3,600 social entrepreneurs in 90 countries with solutions addressing society's most pressing issues. Ashoka's vision is a world in which Everyone Is a Changemaker — a society that responds quickly and effectively to challenges, and where every individual has the freedom, confidence and societal support to address any social problem. For more information, visit ashoka.org.

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