Christopher Younkins, 18, of Portland and Kaylee Graham, 14, of Florence
today were named Oregon's top two youth volunteers of 2014 by The
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring
young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Christopher was
nominated by Westview High School in Portland, and Kaylee was nominated
by Siuslaw Middle School in Florence. The Prudential Spirit of Community
Awards, now in its 19th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in
partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals
(NASSP).
Christopher, a senior at Westview High School, created a weekly
after-school science enrichment program that is helping kids at six
elementary schools develop the basic science inquiry skills to be
successful in high school. While volunteering in his high school’s
tutoring center, Christopher saw “a huge number” of students struggling
in their science courses. “In addition to receiving poor grades in
science, these students all hated the subject,” he said. “After
personally having such amazing science teachers, this seemed
unfathomable to me.” Christopher began tutoring at his former elementary
school, and when he realized he had the ability to get children excited
about science, he knew he needed to expand his reach.
Working with a school district science specialist, Christopher spent
many months developing a curriculum of after-school science lessons for
elementary students, along with a plan to introduce it into numerous
schools. He then began pitching his plan to elementary school
principals. “This was by far the most challenging part of the project
for me, as I was turned down by several principals before I was even
given my first chance to present my idea,” said Christopher. He
persevered, and ended up persuading six schools to participate. He then
recruited and trained a group of fellow high school students to teach in
his after-school program. So far, Christopher’s “Science Stars” program
has given approximately 250 grade-school children what they need to
become enthusiastic, successful science students.
Kaylee, an eighth-grader at Siuslaw Middle School, initiated an annual
citywide day of service in her town that has motivated more than 3,000
residents to work on community improvement projects, raise money for
charity, donate food, and take part in other volunteer activities over
the past three years. Kaylee grew up volunteering with her family, but
when she was 10, she wanted to do something on her own. So she held a
garage sale and raised almost $2,000 to stuff 150 backpacks with
blankets, toys and other items for children in foster care. “The feeling
I had after completing my own successful project was like nothing I have
experienced before,” said Kaylee. “I wanted to share that feeling with
others.”
She told her mother she wanted to host a weeklong volunteer camp at her
house. Her mother said that was too much, but if it was just one day,
Kaylee could invite as many people as she wanted. So Kaylee decided to
invite her entire community. She presented her idea to the city council,
which eventually proclaimed the third Saturday in July as the “Power of
Florence Day.” To prepare for the event each year, Kaylee issues press
releases, publishes information on her website and Facebook pages, makes
videos, shows up at community events, and gives speeches to encourage
churches, civic groups and nonprofit organizations to participate. She
also sells T-shirts, applies for grant money, and organizes
brainstorming meetings. On the actual day of service, Kaylee monitors
volunteers and visits each project. To date, Power of Florence Day has
sparked nearly 40 service projects, raised more than $25,000 for
community causes, and collected over 7,500 pounds of food for a food
bank and the Humane Society. “I learned the size of a person doesn’t
truly matter,” said Kaylee. “It’s the size of their heart that does.”
As State Honorees, Christopher and Kaylee 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 2014.
Distinguished Finalists
The program judges also recognized four other Oregon students as
Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service
activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are Oregon's Distinguished Finalists for 2014:
Isabella Head, 13, of Ashland, Ore., an eighth-grader at Ashland
Middle School, was actively involved with her youth group’s project to
build 10 garden beds and a greenhouse for the Ashland Emergency Food
Bank. Along with her youth group members, Isabella helped raise money,
plant, weed, and harvest the garden, and prepare the fruit and
vegetables for distribution to those in need.
Levi Losli, 16, of Molalla, Ore., a junior at Country Christian
School, created and implemented the “K.I.D. (Know, Inspire, Do)”
program, a leadership development program for children in grades 2-8
that has been presented to nearly 250 students since the first session
in 2012. Levi earned a $5,000 grant to fund the purchase of supplies for
the program, designed the curriculum, trained a group of volunteers,
printed training manuals, and promoted the free program.
Victoria Pence, 17, of Beaverton, Ore., a member of the Girl
Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington and a senior at Sunset High
School, instituted a knitting program in 2011 at Monika’s House, a
domestic violence shelter. Victoria, who earned her Girl Scout Gold
Award for this project, hosted a collection drive for excess yarn and
knitting supplies, and visits the shelter every Saturday to teach the
residents how to knit.
Abby Williams, 17, of Portland, Ore., a senior at Grant High
School, founded her school’s CHAP Club (Children’s Healing Art Project),
a junior program of the larger nonprofit organization that uses art
therapy to help children during their hospitalizations. Abby, who
recruited 81 student members to join the club, has helped to raise more
than $6,000 through grants and fundraising activities that will be put
towards the hiring of art therapists to work with the children.
“We applaud each of these young people for their exemplary volunteer
service,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. “They use
their time and talents to make a meaningful difference in their
communities, and we hope their example inspires others to do the same.”
“By going above and beyond in their volunteer service, these students
have brought positive change to communities across the country,” said
JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. “Congratulations to each
and every one of them on this well-deserved honor.”
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 HandsOn Network affiliates, 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 5, 10 of the State Honorees –
five middle level and five high school students – will be named
America’s top youth volunteers of 2014. 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 100,000 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 and China. 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 on
behalf of President Barack Obama.
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 national voice for middle level and high
school principals, assistant principals, and all school leaders from
across the United States and more than 36 countries around the world.
The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy,
research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of
all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens
school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high
quality professional learning experiences. 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
Association of Student Councils. For more information about
NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit 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.
Editors: For full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards
program logo and medallions, click here: http://bit.ly/Xi4oFW
Copyright Business Wire 2014