NEWARK, N.J., May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Katie Chai, 18,
of Charlotte, and Michael Chen, 13, of Raleigh, were named as two of America's top 10
youth volunteers of 2021 on Sunday evening by The Prudential Spirit
of Community Awards during the program's 26th annual, and second
fully virtual, national recognition celebration. Selected from a
field of more than 21,000 youth volunteers from across the country,
Katie and Michael have each earned the title of National Honoree;
they will each receive a scholarship of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal
trophy for their schools, and a $5,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation for a
nonprofit organization of their choice.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by
Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association
of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), honors students in grades
5-12 for making meaningful contributions to their communities
through volunteer service.
Katie, a senior at Charlotte Latin School, helped start a
grassroots effort to address the shortage of personal protective
equipment (PPE) in her city by using 3D printers and laser cutters
to make more than 100,000 face shields, which were ultimately
distributed to health care workers across North Carolina and in 12 other states. As the
daughter of two doctors, Katie was really worried about her
parents' safety when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March of 2020.
"Our quarantine dinner conversations mainly revolved around our
communal and nationwide shortage of PPE," she said. But one night
her father showed her an article about engineers in Italy who were 3D printing parts for their
respirators. Having taken engineering classes at school, Katie
wondered whether face shields could be made with her school's 3D
printer.
She immediately called her engineering teacher, who agreed to
help. Within three days, they had printed and laser-cut their first
face shield in the school's engineering lab. Five days later, they
delivered 40 shields to a local hospital. To ramp up production,
Katie sought donations through GoFundMe and media interviews, drove
around town to buy supplies, and began assembling shields with her
family every night. As word of her project spread, more than 400
volunteers offered to help with the assemblies, and other high
schools, universities, businesses and local engineers began
producing shields with their own 3D printers. In a little over a
month, Katie's initiative raised more than $114,000 and delivered more than 106,000 face
shields to protect healthcare workers.
Michael, a seventh-grader at Triangle Math and Science Academy,
has made more than 580 mask "buckles" with his 3D printer to lessen
the discomfort that wearing face masks for extended periods can
cause behind the ears. In March of 2020, Michael and his family had
many conversations about COVID-19. "My mother showed us images of
healthcare workers with sores on their faces left by the masks they
needed to wear for long hours," Michael said. "But what wasn't
visible were the sore marks behind the ears. This can be very
painful for the mask-wearer." He wondered if there was a way he
could use the 3D printer he had purchased earlier to solve that
problem. Could he make something that could keep the mask's elastic
ties from touching the area behind the ears and still keep the mask
on tight?
After some research, Michael discovered mask buckles, a piece of
plastic worn on the back of the head that allows a mask wearer to
anchor the ear elastic strings there instead of behind the ears.
With a design that would fit different head sizes and hairstyles,
Michael began making his buckles for healthcare workers in his
community and for a cardiologist friend who was working on the
frontlines in New York. As news of
his project spread, he began getting requests for mask buckles from
other area hospitals and physicians. The most difficult part,
Michael said, was filling a request for 250 buckles just as his
printer broke down. Luckily, he had two neighbors who offered to
use their own 3D printers to help fill the order, often printing
all through the night, he said.
"After 26 years of honoring young volunteers, we know that
students across America do great things in service to their
communities, and we're especially inspired by this year's honorees
for doing so in the face of unprecedented challenges," said
Charles Lowrey, Prudential's
chairman and CEO. "Prudential is proud to shine a spotlight on
these remarkable young people and their stories of service."
"These young volunteers are great examples of the resilience and
commitment to social progress that so many students demonstrated
over the past year," said Ronn
Nozoe, chief executive officer, NASSP. "NASSP
congratulates these students on a well-deserved honor, and thanks
them for providing us all with role models for turning adversity
into action."
These are the other National Honorees:
- Ruby Kate Chitsey, 13, of
Harrison, Arkansas, who has
raised more than $300,000 to grant
wishes for over 8,000 nursing home residents across the country who
cannot afford day-to-day expenses such as pet food, haircuts or
clothes that fit properly.
- Cash Daniels, 11, of Chattanooga,
Tennessee, who has organized cleanup outings that have
removed more than 11,000 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River,
recycled over 1,000 pounds of aluminum cans to raise money for
river conservation, and installed fishing-line recycling
receptacles along the river.
- Orion Jean, 10, of
Fort Worth, Texas, who has
collected more than 600 toys for kids at a children's hospital, and
provided more than 40,000 meals for people in need, after winning a
national speech contest in which he encouraged people to "Race to
Kindness."
- Thomas Kim, 17, of
McLean, Virginia, who has
piloted more than 20 flights to deliver over 70,000 personal
protective equipment (PPE) items and ventilator supplies to rural
hospitals in four states since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
- Suraj Kulkarni, 18, of
Corvallis, Oregon, who created
a website where young people of diverse backgrounds can share their
experiences, perspectives and culture with one another, along with
online conferences that have involved young people from more than
13 countries.
- Gitanjali Rao, 15, of
Lone Tree, Colorado, who has
reached more than 30,000 students around the world, encouraging
younger generations to think creatively about confronting the
world's big challenges by leading online workshops where she shares
the unique problem-solving methodology she created.
- Samantha Vance, 12, of
Fort Wayne, Indiana, who
launched an initiative to provide "buddy benches" for shy, lonely
or bullied kids at more than 150 schools across the country.
- Ellie Zimmerman, 18, of
Purchase, New York, who is the
founder and CEO of an organization that has recruited thousands of
high school students across the country to provide technology
assistance to more than 180 nonprofit organizations, as well as to
teachers, parents and students struggling with remote
learning.
National Honorees were announced Sunday, culminating a three-day
weekend of events celebrating Spirit of Community's 102 State
Honorees – the top middle level and high school volunteer of 2021
from each state and the District of
Columbia. In addition to remarks from guest speaker
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the State
Honorees connected with each other through small-group
project-sharing sessions and learned about service and advocacy
from accomplished Spirit of Community alumni. They were also
congratulated by special guests including Lowrey from Prudential
and Nozoe from NASSP.
To read the names and stories of this year's State Honorees,
visit http://spirit.prudential.com.
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
http://news.prudential.com.
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
http://nassp.org.
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