SALEM, Ore., Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Shayla
Montgomery, 17, of Milwaukie and Jasmine White, 13, of
Beaverton today were named Oregon'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, Shayla and Jasmine 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 Oregon's top youth volunteers of 2019:
High School State Honoree: Shayla Montgomery
Nominated by Clackamas Middle College
Shayla, a junior at Clackamas Middle College, uses social media and speaking engagements to spread awareness of bullying,
imploring both teens and adults to come together to find ways to stop this all-too-common destructive behavior. "I was severely
bullied and as a result struggled with self-acceptance and depression," said Shayla. Luckily, a family member finally noticed
something was wrong and confronted her. As she began to feel better about herself, Shayla wanted to help others who were going
through the same torment, but she couldn't find an organization that was speaking to boys and girls directly. So almost two years
ago, after spending hours researching and brainstorming, she decided to launch her own initiative, calling it "#Standup."
Recognizing the power of social media, Shayla began inviting people affected by bullying to post photos of themselves online
holding a #Standup sign, and to describe how they had experienced bullying, how they had stopped it or had stood up to a bully,
and how they think it could be prevented in the future. Then she started going to school and community groups to speak to
children and adults about bullying and the lifelong effects it can have, and to brainstorm about ways communities can come
together to solve the problem. "Too many people are committing suicide as a result of bullying," said Shayla. "Together we can
make a difference and end bullying!"
Middle Level State Honoree: Jasmine White
Nominated by Washington County 4-H
Jasmine, an eighth-grader at International School of Beaverton, conducted 14 training
sessions in her community to teach more than 360 pet owners how to make toys for their animals with recycled materials. As a Girl
Scout, Jasmine had volunteered with her troop at a clinic that provides free veterinarian care for homeless people's pets, and
came away from the experience wanting to do more to help animals. She attended a pet ambassador workshop conducted by
Oregon 4-H Youth Development, and then decided she wanted to teach people "the importance of
playing with their pets to keep them happy and healthy," she said.
Jasmine began soliciting donations of used T-shirts and tennis balls to use in making pet toys by advertising on social media,
placing a collection bin at her school and approaching a local tennis center. She eventually collected more than 1,000 shirts and
balls. Then she planned her toy training sessions and advertised them with fliers around town, articles in Girl Scout and 4-H
newsletters, and school presentations. Enough interest was generated for Jasmine to hold 14 training sessions at a local barn, a
night market, a pet store, a library, two schools and Girl Scout meetings. To keep her project going after her sessions
were over, she created three starter kits with enough materials to make 260 pet toys, along with a video demonstrating the
process, then donated them to county 4-H offices for scout troops, camps, students and transitional living facilities to
borrow.
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 2019:
Marin Gray, 14, of Roseburg, Ore., a freshman at
Roseburg High School, is the founder of "Building Respect and Values for Everyone" (BRAVE), an anti-bullying group that has
organized informational campaigns, cultural fairs and an essay contest honoring veterans; to date, she's spoken to more than 800
students about respectful behavior and bullying prevention. After the library system in Marin's community closed, BRAVE also
fundraised for and donated Kindle e-readers to local schools.
Sebastian Marin-Quiros, 18, of Lake Oswego,
Ore., a senior at Lakeridge High School, is the founder of "Somos Makers," an organization that delivers STEM
education opportunities to elementary and high school students in Chile. Sebastian's initiative
draws from his personal experience with both Chilean and American STEM education; along with running a weeklong course for 45
Chilean students, he is developing a webinar-based curriculum to increase the program's impact.
Quinn McElroy-Fuchs, 17, of Portland, Ore., a
member of Girl Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington and a senior
at Lincoln High School, started "Operation Tooth Fairy," which has distributed oral hygiene products and multi-lingual
educational materials to more than 1,200 low-income children in her community. Originally starting Operation Tooth Fairy as her
Girl Scout Gold Award project, Quinn is currently mentoring younger scouts so they can continue the program's efforts when she
leaves for college.
Justin Thach, 18, of Salem, Ore., a senior at West
Salem High School, founded "Young Asian Leaders of America" (YALA), an organization dedicated to connecting the Asian-American
community through service, education, identity exploration and empowerment. Justin started YALA after noticing a lack of
Asian-American representation in mainstream culture, and has expanded the organization to include chapters across the U.S.
"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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