FRANKFORT, Ky., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Anna-Maria Beck, 17 and Andrew Dunn, 13, both of Louisville, today were named Kentucky's top two youth volunteers of 2017 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide
program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Anna-Maria and Andrew 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 2017.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 22nd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in
partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
These are Kentucky's top youth volunteers of 2017:
High School State Honoree: Anna-Maria Beck
Nominated by Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville
Anna-Maria, a senior at Sacred Heart Academy, has responded to a fierce struggle with brain cancer by raising money and
awareness for the benefit of other young cancer patients. When Anna-Maria was 7 years old, she was diagnosed with a brain
tumor that necessitated eight rounds of chemotherapy and more than a dozen surgeries. While sitting for hours in the chemo clinic
during treatment, Anna-Maria said she began thinking about how she could make a positive difference for the other patients she
saw there. "Sitting as a patient in a hard, uncomfortable chair, my emotions and ideas overwhelmed and prompted me to take
action," she said.
Since she loved baking and sweets, Anna-Maria decided to hold a bake sale at her school. Joined by friends, schoolmates and
family members, she spent a whole week baking and raised $8,000 in a single day for a pediatric
oncology clinic. Subsequent sales more than doubled that amount. In 2014, she shared her story at the Kosair Children's
Hospital's annual fundraising dinner, which raised nearly $400,000 for the hospital. Recently,
Anna-Maria traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress on behalf of young cancer patients,
and has recruited a third of her school's student body to participate in a dance marathon that will raise money for clinic needs
and research.
Middle Level State Honoree: Andrew Dunn
Nominated by Barret Traditional Middle School in Louisville
Andrew, an eighth-grader at Barret Traditional Middle School, started a citywide campaign to mobilize students and other
community members to perform random acts of kindness throughout the year. Andrew got the idea four years ago when his parents set
up an Advent calendar that challenged him to do something nice for someone every day in December. He came up with ideas such as
anonymously leaving donuts for neighbors. "This got me thinking about the impact we could have if I could get all my friends
involved," Andrew said.
Calling his campaign RAK Louisville ("Random Acts of Kindness"), he set up a website offering ideas on how to make a positive
difference in someone's day, and talked to friends, classmates, neighbors and his soccer team about his project. It really took
off when Louisville's mayor proclaimed December 23 as Random Acts
of Kindness Louisville Day, and two TV stations interviewed Andrew. Today, he and the RAK Club at his school identify
student-friendly service opportunities throughout the year and mobilize individuals and teams to work on a variety of projects,
many of which benefit organizations serving homeless and other people in need. One of their bigger projects was organizing a
Thanksgiving dinner for 168 homeless people. Andrew said he hopes RAK will expand beyond
Louisville's borders. "People want to serve but they just don't know how to start," he said.
Distinguished Finalists
The program judges also recognized four other Kentucky students as Distinguished Finalists
for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are Kentucky's Distinguished Finalists for 2017:
Gavin Howard, 11, of Hawesville, Ky., a sixth-grader at
Mary Carrico Catholic School, has raised about $20,000 for St. Jude Children's Hospital in
Memphis over the past several years by selling T-shirts he helped design, soliciting donations
and collecting his birthday money. Inspired to act by a St. Jude radiothon he heard when he was 7 years old, Gavin now sells
shirts and talks on the radio as part of the event, and aspires to volunteer directly with the hospital's young patients once he
turns 16.
Jillian Morrison, 17, of Goshen, Ky., a senior at St.
Francis School, volunteered on behalf of her 74-year-old aunt for a program that provided hearing aids in exchange for 200 hours
of service, offering relief for her aunt's advanced hearing loss as a way to thank her for the support she'd provided to the
family when Jillian's sister was being treated for cancer. Jillian, a junior board member for an organization that helps kids and
adults with hearing loss, has also helped to raise money for children's cochlear implants.
Kennedy Sabharwal, 17, of Lexington, Ky., a senior at
Sayre School, has delivered more than 4,000 books and movies to hospitals across Kentucky
through "Project Redlight," a nonprofit she created to provide entertainment to hospitalized kids. Inspired by a friend with
cancer who talked about how boring his hospitalizations could be, Kennedy has worked with friends and family and hosted donation
drives at church and at school – efforts that now stock six rolling book carts at six different hospitals.
Holly Zoeller, 18, of Louisville, Ky., a senior at Assumption High School,
founded Kentucky's first chapter of Operation Smile at her high school, recruiting more than 200
members and leading efforts that raised enough money to fund almost 70 cleft lip and palate surgeries. Holly, a participant with
Operation Smile's National Leadership Council, has also participated in the charity's International Student Leadership Conference
and worked directly with its beneficiaries during a medical mission trip.
"Prudential is honored to recognize these young volunteers for their exemplary service," said Prudential Chairman and CEO
John Strangfeld. "We hope that their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can
volunteer their time and talents to improve their communities."
"These service-minded young people have brought meaningful change to communities at home and abroad, and it's a privilege to
celebrate their work," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to an
exceptional group of middle level and high school students."
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 8, 10 of the State
Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2017. 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 115,000 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 middle level and
high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States.
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.
For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media
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