Nebraska's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 15th Annual National Awards Program

LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Jordan Somer, 16, of Papillion and Jaden Moore, 13, of Norfolk today were named Nebraska's top two youth volunteers for 2010 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 15th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Jordan was nominated by Central High School in Omaha, and Jaden was nominated by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension 4-H program in Norfolk. As State Honorees, 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 several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2010 at that time.

Jordan, a junior at Central High School, founded an annual “Miss Amazing Pageant” for disabled girls and women, and has donated more than $15,000 from ticket and auction sales to charities over the past three years. “There are no pageants for girls and women with disabilities,” explained Jordan, who was Nebraska’s Junior Teen Queen in the National American Miss pageant in 2007, and has been an active volunteer with Special Olympics. “They aspire to be queens just like any other girl.”

Jordan secured a venue, contacted organizations that work with the disabled to find contestants, and obtained donated trophies and medals for prizes. She created a program, wrote a script for the show, coordinated a silent auction, planned a reception and luncheon, and supervised details such as flowers, tickets, and crowns. Jordan recruited classmates and other teens in her community to assist at the event. The revenue raised has gone to Ronald McDonald House, The Salvation Army, and local charities. In addition, more than 500 pounds of canned food – collected as pageant entry fees – have been donated to feed the hungry. “I continue to be touched by the participants each year,” said Jordan. “I am so proud of what they accomplish.”

Jaden, a seventh-grader at Norfolk Middle School, has made hundreds of colorful pillowcases over the past two years for sick and abused children. Jaden was introduced to the pillowcase idea when the local extension office asked 4-H families to make kid-friendly pillowcases. She helped deliver them to the hospital and was touched by the children’s response. “It made me feel wonderful to see how happy they were when they picked one out,” she said.

Realizing that the supply of pillowcases would eventually run out, Jaden decided she wanted to continue the project. She appealed for fabric and monetary donations in a newspaper and on the radio, through 4-H and hospital newsletters, and with a poster at the county fair. Then with the help of some fellow 4-H members, she spent countless hours cutting fabric to size, pinning, sewing, and folding new pillowcases, which she delivered to the hospital’s pediatric ward and to the child advocacy center of Faith Regional Health Services for distribution to children in dire need of some cheer. “When they receive their pillowcases, they know that people care about them and want them to feel better soon,” said Jaden. “Even the smallest things can make a huge difference.”

In addition, the program judges recognized two other Nebraska students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

Sydney Swanson, 18, of Alliance, a member of the Box Butte County 4-H and a senior at Alliance High School, organized the first “Coats for Kids” drive in her town, and expanded it to three additional cities the following year, collecting a total of 875 coats for children in need. Sydney also created a website with instructions for teens to start “Coats for Kids” drives in their own communities.

Mercedes Thomas, 18, of Beaver City, a senior at Southern Valley High School in Oxford, filled 225 Christmas stockings with personal hygiene products and distributed them to homeless people, through her “Wade’s Christmas Stockings” project. Mercedes, who raised $1,500 to support the project, initiated it in memory of her Uncle Wade, who died while homeless.

“People as caring and committed as these young students are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nation,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “By recognizing these honorees, we hope to encourage other young people – our future leaders – and all Americans to think more about the value and importance of volunteering in their communities.”

“The young people recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need,” said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “NASSP is proud to honor these student leaders because they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation’s schools today.”

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 HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. Nearly 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital’s landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them – five middle level and five high school students – will be named National Honorees on May 3 by a prestigious national selection committee. These 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.

Serving on the national selection committee will be Strangfeld of Prudential; Steven Pophal, president of NASSP; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light Institute & Hands On Network; Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the America’s Promise Alliance; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Pamela Farr, the American Red Cross’ national chair of volunteers; Elson Nash, associate director for project management at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; and two 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shardy Camargo of Orlando, Fla., and Colin Leslie of Rye, N.Y.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will distribute President’s Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President Obama. The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. Since the program began in 1995, more than 90,000 young volunteers nationwide have been honored at the local, state or national level. Many prominent public figures have assisted in saluting these honorees over the years, including President Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and Laura Bush. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Ireland.

For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit spirit.prudential.com.

In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP’s mission is to promote excellence in school leadership. The National Honor Society ®, National Junior Honor Society ®, National Elementary Honor Society™, and National Association of Student Councils ® are all NASSP programs. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, Va., visit www.principals.org or call 703-860-0200.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) is a financial services leader with operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. In the United States, the company’s Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.

Editors: Graphics depicting the award program’s logo and medallions may be downloaded from spirit.prudential.com.