ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kunal Mohindra,
16, of Yorktown Heights and
Victoria Holmes, 13, of Corning today were named New York's top two youth volunteers of 2020 by
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program
honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As
State Honorees, Kunal and Victoria 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 2020.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its
25th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in
partnership with the National Association of Secondary School
Principals (NASSP).
These are New York's top youth
volunteers of 2020:
High School State Honoree: Kunal
Mohindra
Nominated by Yorktown High
School
Kunal, a junior at Yorktown High School, has drawn from his own
experience with autism to become an accomplished teacher and mentor
who helps children with autism and other young people acquire
computer coding and robotics skills. As a child, Kunal's autism
made it very difficult for him to communicate with his family. But
one day his older sisters taught him how to use computer
programming to create games, and his whole world changed. "I found
this new mode of communication to be very liberating and
empowering," he said. Having an outlet for self-expression and
creativity eventually enabled him to overcome many of his
challenges, and instilled a desire "to share my love of coding with
other students with disabilities who may be facing similar
struggles," he said.
Two years ago, Kunal founded a nonprofit called
"CodeConnect4All" to teach coding and robotics to kids with autism
and other disabilities, and connect them to their neurotypical
peers. Through his organization, Kunal teaches classes in robotics
and video game design at local libraries, and conducts interactive
workshops at after-school enrichment programs. He also teaches kids
with autism and students from underserved communities at week-long
summer camps, giving them hands-on experience in building their own
robots and writing code for their own video games. As an Eagle
Scout, Kunal helps fellow scouts earn badges in robotics,
programming and engineering. He also works with Girl Scouts in
hopes of kindling their interest in computer science. In addition,
Kunal mentors middle level students as they prepare for science
fairs, and even sponsored an award at the Dutchess County Science
Fair.
Middle Level State Honoree: Victoria
Holmes
Nominated by The Alternative School for
Math & Science
Victoria, an eighth-grader at The Alternative School for Math
& Science, began making fleece blankets for families dealing
with serious illness after remembering what it was like when her
mother had to spend months in the hospital being treated for
leukemia. During that time, Victoria and her siblings had to stay
with relatives hundreds of miles away. "One night I was very
upset," she recalled. "I really missed mom." Her aunt wrapped her
up in a blanket to comfort her, and the memory of that night stayed
with her. "The blanket represented the love of my family," said
Victoria. Years later, she decided she wanted to give others in
similar situations the same kind of comfort by making blankets for
them.
Last summer, Victoria performed chores and small jobs to raise
money for her project. She also asked friends and family members
for help. By the end of the summer, she had enough money to buy
$500 worth of fleece. A generous
donation and discounts from a fabric store enabled her to buy three
times as much as she expected. She then appealed to her church
congregation for donations, and asked friends to talk about her
project on social media. A friend from school helped Victoria
measure and cut material for her blankets, and contacts in two
other states are also helping to produce them. Victoria's intent is
to provide two blankets per family, one for a child and one for the
parents, so "they can snuggle the same blanket while they are
apart," she
said.
Distinguished Finalists
The program judges also
recognized eight other New York students as Distinguished
Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each
will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are New York's Distinguished
Finalists for 2020:
Gillian Duffalo, 17, of
Scarsdale, New York, a senior
at Edgemont Junior-Senior High School, runs "Nutrition 101: Live to
101," a project through which she has taught more than 30 boys from
the Children's Village about wellness and healthy eating through
regular cooking classes. Gillian also completed a project about
emergency preparedness, helping spread safety awareness and
teaching people in her community how to make first aid kits, go
bags and car kits.
Eliza Fogel, 16, of
Rye, New York, a junior at Rye
Country Day School, is helping improve childhood literacy with her
project "Our Books Your Books," through which she has held more
than 10 free book fairs at community centers serving people in
need; her efforts include spreading awareness of her project,
collaborating with community partners, sorting donations and
hosting the fairs. Eliza, who is passionate about reading, has
collected and redistributed more than 4,000 books.
Viraj Jayam, 16, of
Roslyn Heights, New York, a
junior at The Wheatley School, founded "Helping Hands Long Island,"
through which he uses 3-D printing to create tailored prosthetics
for people in need; he learned how to operate the technology and
partnered with another prosthetics charity organization to provide
prosthetics to people in India,
Nepal and Mexico. Viraj was inspired to start this
project after his childhood friend from India lost an arm in a factory accident.
Michael Keschner, 15, of
Lloyd Harbor, New York, a
sophomore at Cold Spring Harbor Junior/Senior High School, founded
and runs "Veggies For Veterans," through which he has provided more
than 4,000 pounds of fresh produce to veterans in his community by
harvesting his own vegetables and soliciting donations from local
grocery stores. Michael was inspired to start this project after
learning about the lack of produce available at his local food
banks.
Anna Lampman, 13, of
Middle Village, New York, an
eighth-grader at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy of Glendale, runs
"Bedtime Bags," through which she has donated 200 drawstring
backpacks to children in need, each filled with a blanket, stuffed
animal, toothbrush, toothpaste and a book. Her efforts include
promoting her project at her school and community churches,
collecting and sorting donations and delivering the bags to two
charity organizations.
Kayla Minutillo, 17, of
Manhasset, New York, a senior
at Manhasset Secondary School, co-founded "PINK," a project through
which she and a friend sell handmade bracelets, hair accessories
and a cookbook to benefit the Manhasset Women's Coalition Against
Breast Cancer; they have raised more than $60,000 so far. Kayla also partnered with a local
company that employs young adults with autism to design and sell
T-shirts and pajama pants to benefit the PINK cause.
Jahin Rahman, 16, of New York
City, New York, a
junior at Academy of American Studies, founded "Efforts in Youth
Development of Bangladesh (EYDB),"
an organization run by students in New
York City and Dhaka,
Bangladesh; her group has built a library and computer lab,
established a literary program, and donated clothing to benefit
children from underserved communities in Bangladesh. Through EYBD, Jahin is currently
working to establish a drug rehabilitation center in the
Dhaka area.
Abigail Wu, 14, of
Syosset, New York, a freshman
at Syosset High School, founded "Vision Competition," through which
she held two student music competitions in her community, raising
more than $10,000 to benefit the
music therapy program at the NYU Winthrop Cancer Center for Kids.
Abigail's efforts for her project included securing a venue,
recruiting volunteers, holding auditions and creating posters to
advertise her competition.
"In our 25th year of honoring young volunteers,
we are as inspired as ever by the work students are doing to
address the needs of a changing world," said Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential
Financial, Inc. "We hope that their resolve, their initiative and
their perspectives on society's challenges move others to consider
how they can make a difference, too."
"Middle level and high school students are doing remarkable
things to shape the future of their communities through volunteer
service. They inspire all students and schools to drive learning
with real-world challenges," said JoAnn
Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP.
"Congratulations to each of the 2020 honorees – it's an honor
to celebrate your commitment to creating positive change."
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 Points of Light Global Network members, 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 4, 10 of the State
Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will
be named America's top youth volunteers of 2020. These National
Honorees will receive additional $5,000 scholarships, gold medallions, crystal
trophies and $5,000 grants from
Prudential for nonprofit charitable organizations of their
choice.
Since the program began in 1995, more than 130,000 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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