SACRAMENTO, Calif.,
Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- Ethan Auyeung, 15, of Los
Gatos and Hannah Karanick,
13, of Anaheim today were named
California'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, Ethan and Hannah 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 California's top
youth volunteers of 2019:
High School State Honoree: Ethan Auyeung
Nominated by Los
Gatos High School
Ethan, a sophomore at Los Gatos High School, has provided more
than 3,000 care packages for homeless and at-risk kids over the
past few years, organized numerous activities for them, and worked
to raise public awareness of the problem of youth homelessness. He
vividly remembers the winter afternoon when he saw a boy emerge
from a tent along a street. "I couldn't help but notice that he was
wearing worn-out clothes and his toes were poking from his tattered
sneakers," said Ethan. "His eyes were filled with hopelessness."
That disturbing image prompted Ethan to look into the issue of
homelessness. "I was shocked to learn the magnitude of the problem
among children and youth," he said.
His reaction was to launch a multidimensional initiative aimed
at ultimately ending the cycle of poverty and homelessness in his
generation. He set about raising nearly $40,000 and recruiting 300 volunteers to assemble
care packages containing hygiene and clothing items, school
supplies and snacks. He then set up several pantries to distribute
them. Ethan also has designed inspirational craft activities for
at-risk kids, hosted an essay contest, taught more than 50 computer
coding classes, published newsletters, and delivered dozens of
speeches to motivate young people in need and educate his community
about homelessness. "My mission is not simply to provide care
packages, but also to be the voice of children and youth in
underserved communities," said
Ethan.
Middle Level State Honoree: Hannah Karanick
Nominated by
Orangeview Junior High School
Hannah, an eighth-grader at Orangeview Junior High School,
established a "closet" at her former elementary school that
provides new clothing, laundry products, toiletries, quilts and
school supplies to students there whose families can't afford to
buy such necessities. Her project was sparked by a boy at her
school who never had a backpack and wore the same clothes every
day. "He was funny and smart, but he was often teased for his
hygiene and his clothes, and I saw his eyes fill up with tears many
times," said Hannah. When the boy and several other students ended
up living with Hannah's family as foster kids, "I watched their
grades soar and their attitudes turn around," she said.
Since her family couldn't take every child in need into their
home, Hannah had to find another way to help. After meeting with
the principal of her old school and sending an opinion poll to its
staff members, she decided to create a "closet" at the school where
students could discreetly obtain basic necessities. She asked
friends and family members to help her buy supplies, and then began
obtaining items from the congregation of a local church. Nearly 50
children benefited from "Hannah's Helpful Hands" closet in its
first three months. "I am disappointed that I can't help more kids
at this point," said Hannah, "but I am committed to expanding the
program!"
Distinguished Finalists
The program judges also recognized nine other California students as Distinguished Finalists
for their impressive community service activities. Each will
receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are California's
Distinguished Finalists for 2019:
Hollis Belger, 14, of
Larkspur, Calif., a freshman
at Redwood High School, founded "Juggling For Jude" to raise funds
for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and in the past five
years has donated more than $230,000,
been named a U.S. Soccer "SheBelieves Hero," and inspired countless
people to help sick children. In addition, Hollis blogs, holds
soccer clinics and gives speeches nationwide to seek donations and
raise awareness about pediatric cancer and how St. Jude is making
an impact.
Ashley Bussell, 17, of
Ladera Ranch, Calif., a senior
at Tesoro High School, turned her wish to offset medical travel
expenses for a friend into the "Gas4Katie Cancer Foundation," which
has raised more than $75,000 to
support families affected by pediatric cancer. Ashley built her
initiative from a project that kept money in a pretzel jar to a
foundation with an employee and an annual golf ball drop event with
community partners.
Chloe Dahan, 17, of
La Jolla, Calif., a senior at
Torah High Schools of San Diego,
created and manages "Shooting Stars," a program that provides a
creative outlet for children and adults with special needs to help
them build confidence and nurture friendships. Each "Shooting
Stars" event consists of dance, stage makeup, art, music and
theater activities, and Chloe coordinates functions from
programming to fundraising.
Jordan Krestul, 17, of
Canyon Country, Calif., a
senior at Canyon High School, is on a mission to donate new
recreational books for elementary school children in low-income
communities through "Code Read," the nonprofit his sister founded
to increase literacy and foster a lifetime love of reading. Through
his leadership hosting fundraisers, recruiting volunteers, managing
book supplies, hosting assemblies, and running book fairs, Jordan
has provided roughly 5,000 children with free books.
Sebastian Kuhr, 17, of
Hermosa Beach, Calif., a
senior at Loyola High School, launched the skateboard fundraiser
"SK8 for the Schools" when he was 5 years old, an initiative that
has since generated more than $50,000
to save music, physical education and library programs at
Hermosa Beach schools and raised
awareness about concerns around public school funding. Sebastian
also serves with Leadership Hermosa, collaborating with city
council and others to improve the community.
Jason Lin, 16, of Los Altos, Calif., a sophomore at The
Harker School, organized and emceed a benefit concert for the
Tahirih Justice Center, raising $31,000 to help 300 asylum seekers escape
gender-based violence and expanding awareness of the plight of
these women and girls. Jason led an entirely student-based team of
volunteers to produce the sold-out event, including a violinist
from Juilliard and a communication team that produced a website,
video and brochure.
Megan Loh, 16, of Placentia, Calif., a member of Girl Scouts
of Orange County and a junior at
Troy High School, formed the nonprofit "GEARup4Youth" to spark
girls' imaginations through fun, girls-only LEGO robotics
programming classes held at more than 200 organizations in the U.S.
and Malaysia; she also wrote the
book Easy STEM Activities You Can Do at Home. With the help of 130
volunteers from 25 schools, she has raised $40,000 and reached 6,500 girls.
Katherine McPhie, 16, of
Irvine, Calif., a junior at
University High School, leveraged her project "OPEN SESAME: Coding
for Kids" to provide more than 500 hours of programming instruction
to children living in shelters, and raised nearly $25,000 to provide the children with Chromebooks
and school supplies. She and her partner have exhibited their work
at the annual meeting of the National Center for the Education of
Homeless Children and Youth.
Avika Patel, 16, of
Irvine, Calif., a junior at
Woodbridge High School, founded the student-run nonprofit
initiative "#innovate," hosting workshops and outreach activities
to help underserved students learn computer science skills and
solve civic problems. She has taught 1,500 hours to 600 girls, in
addition to publishing two books, creating a curriculum for schools
in India, running an online
student newsletter and speaking at conferences.
"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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