HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Grace Beal, 17,
of New Castle and Corbin Edge, 15, of Evans City today were named Pennsylvania's top two youth volunteers of
2019 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide
program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism.
As State Honorees, Grace and Corbin 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 four days of national recognition
events. During the trip, 10 students will be named
America's top youth volunteers of 2019.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its
24th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in
partnership with the National Association of Secondary School
Principals (NASSP).
These are Pennsylvania's top
youth volunteers of 2019:
High School State Honoree: Grace Beal
Nominated by Neshannock
Senior High School
Grace, a junior at Neshannock Senior High School, organized an
annual basketball-based fundraising event that has raised more than
$100,000 since 2014 for Children's
Hospital of Pittsburgh, where her
sister was treated before she died of congenital heart failure.
"Lucy was the sweetest baby, even though she had a lot of medical
issues that meant she would spend long periods in the hospital,"
Grace said. "My family had its world turned upside down when she
was sick, and when she died, I knew I wanted to help other kids and
their families." While still in elementary school, Grace began
doing that by conducting service projects in her sister's honor.
She collected books for the hospital's library, swam laps to
attract donations, and gathered blankets for babies at a children's
home.
In seventh grade, she asked her basketball coaches if her team
could shoot layups after practice to raise money for Children's
Hospital. She ended up with almost $6,000. "I was so excited by that outcome that I
decided to plan for something even bigger the next year," she said.
Grace has hosted "Layups for Lucy" every October since, around the
time of Lucy's birthday. In the early spring, she meets with
several dozen students to plan the event's activities, concessions
and entertainment. Last year, there was an elementary basketball
clinic, a free throw contest, a student vs. faculty basketball
game, a DJ and a magician, a dance line, cheerleader performances,
face painting, food and raffle baskets. Grace approaches local and
national businesses for sponsorships, oversees all aspects of the
event, and meets with officials at the hospital to identify ways
her donation can have the most impact. So far, Layups for Lucy has
funded family outings at the zoo and ballpark, purchased Xboxes and
iPads for young patients, and helped support a summer bereavement
camp for
siblings.
Middle Level State Honoree: Corbin Edge
Nominated by Ryan
Gloyer Middle School
Corbin, an eighth-grader at Ryan Gloyer Middle School, raised
more than $10,000 for diabetes
patients and research last September by assembling and raffling off
75 gift baskets at his town's Oktoberfest celebration. Corbin has
been living with Type 1 diabetes since he was 18 months old. "Being
so young, I didn't realize what was going on or how things were
going to change for me," said Corbin. "I learned as I got older how
it has affected my life, and I didn't want other children to have
to go through what I have." After attending a camp for young
diabetics, Corbin was inspired to raise money for the cause. He
started out small, forming a team for a diabetes walk and just
asking family and friends for donations. "That was successful for a
while," he said, "but I wanted to go bigger!"
After attending an event at his school and seeing how eager
people were to buy raffle tickets for a chance to win a gift
basket, Corbin decided to organize an "American Diabetes Basket
Raffle" in his community. He drafted a letter about himself and his
struggles with diabetes and took it to local businesses to solicit
donations. The response was "overwhelming," he said. Once he had
collected or purchased items for his raffle, his family helped him
organize them into 75 themed baskets. He set up tables to display
the baskets and sell tickets, and two days later, he announced the
winners, distributed the baskets, and counted his proceeds. "I had
set the goal at $10,000," said
Corbin, "and when I reached that number, I screamed in excitement!"
The money will be used to send young diabetics to a diabetes camp,
and to pay for research into a cure, which is what Corbin wants
most. "A life of no more shots or finger pricks," he said
hopefully.
Distinguished Finalists
The program judges also recognized eight other Pennsylvania
students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community
service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze
medallion.
These are Pennsylvania's
Distinguished Finalists for 2019:
Jonathan Berman, 18, of
Merion Station, Pa., a
senior at Lower Merion High School, is the founder of "Power of
One," a fundraising initiative that has raised $19,500 for cure-focused research at the Diabetes
Research Institute, in addition to more than $4,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation's Eastern Pennsylvania
chapter and more than $5,000 for the
organization Beyond Type 1. Jonathan was inspired to start
fundraising by his own experiences living with Type 1 diabetes.
Alysse Danyi, 18, of
Nazareth, Pa., a senior
at Nazareth Area High School, has collected and donated more than
28,000 books over the past seven years for Cops 'N' Kids, an
organization that distributes books to children in need. Alysse
made her first donation at age 10 after asking for book donations
in lieu of birthday gifts, and has since has organized an annual
book drive in her community and raised awareness of her efforts
through public speaking.
Tyler Funk, 17, of
North Huntingdon, Pa., a
senior at Norwin High School, has helped raise $35,000 for cancer research through the community
group he started, "The Purple Fighters." Inspired by his
great-grandmother, who died from the disease, Tyler also volunteers
with his local Relay for Life every year, and gathered donations
and made 150 "Hope Bags" for cancer patients.
Sarah Laible, 17, of
Lehighton, Pa., a member
of the American Red Cross of Eastern
Pennsylvania and a senior at Laible Homeschool Academy, is
the founder of "Kids Gone M.A.D.," an organization that helps
teenagers get involved in their local community through
volunteering. Completing more than 1,800 volunteer hours in the
past six years, Sarah has organized three 5K fundraising races and nine blood drives, and
has helped distribute Operation Christmas Child boxes to children
in Madagascar.
Everitt Meer, 16, of
Pittsburgh, Pa., a
sophomore at Mt. Lebanon High School, started the "Treasure Our
Veterans" project, which has raised enough money to host more than
25 veterans breakfast clubs – community breakfast events focused on
celebrating veterans and sharing their stories. Everitt's volunteer
efforts for the project include designing and selling T-shirts and
lapel pins, creating informational flyers, giving speeches and
designing thank-you cards for participating veterans.
Nina Sampogne, 16, of
Dalton, Pa., a junior at
Abington Heights High School, has volunteered hundreds of hours
advocating for children who have experienced abuse, from educating
students about the signs of child abuse and how to report it to
collecting donations for the Children's Advocacy Center of
Northeastern Pennsylvania. Nina
has planted 9,000 garden pinwheels and sold or displayed a total of
1,200 blue ribbons in her community to promote child abuse
awareness.
Casey Schaeffer, 15, of
Yardley, Pa., a freshman
at Pennsbury High School-West, has organized three "Full Heart Kids
Carnival" events, raising thousands of dollars in support of A
Soldier's Hands, which collects and sends skincare products to
soldiers serving overseas. Casey helped organize everything from
securing local business sponsorships to advertising the events, and
hopes to send even more skincare kits after her next carnival.
Leah Stoogenke, 17, of
Newtown, Pa., a senior at
Pennsbury High School-West, spent two months writing, editing and
helping to illustrate Maggie's Box, a children's book encouraging
female creativity and empowerment—efforts that raised nearly
$900 for The Campaign for Female
Education. The money donated from the book's sales funded the
tuition, books, uniforms and other expenses for four female high
school students in Africa.
"These young volunteers learned and demonstrated that they
can make meaningful contributions to individuals and
communities through their service," said Prudential CEO
Charles Lowrey. "It's an honor to
recognize their great work, and we hope that shining a spotlight on
their service inspires others to consider how they might make a
difference."
"Each of these honorees is proof that students have the energy,
creativity and unique perspectives to create positive change," said
JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director
of NASSP. "We commend each of the 2019 honorees for their
outstanding volunteer service, and for the invaluable example
they've set for their peers."
About The Prudential Spirit of Community
Awards
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents
the United States' largest youth
recognition program based solely on volunteer service. 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 Points of Light's HandsOn
Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local
Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were
then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State
Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including
personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth.
While in Washington, D.C., the
102 State Honorees – one middle level and one high school
student from each state and the District
of Columbia – will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top
youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala
awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural
History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol
Hill. On May 6, 10 of the State
Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will
be named America's top youth volunteers of 2019. These National
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.
Since the program began in 1995, more than 125,000 young
volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national
level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China
and Brazil. In addition to
granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to
qualifying Local Honorees.
For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of
Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit
http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
About NASSP
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)
is the leading organization of and voice for principals and other
school leaders across the United
States. NASSP seeks to transform education through school
leadership, recognizing that the fulfillment of each student's
potential relies on great leaders in every school committed to the
success of each student. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to
student leadership development, NASSP administers the National
Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National
Elementary Honor Society, and National Student Council. Learn
more at www.nassp.org.
About Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services
leader, has operations in the United
States, Asia, Europe, and Latin
America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are
committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow
and protect their wealth through a variety of products and
services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related
services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S.,
Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability,
expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more
information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.
For Spirit of Community Awards
program logo and medallion
graphics, please visit
https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media
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