Arkansas' Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 17th Annual National Awards Program

Joseph McCollum, 15, of McGehee and Alexandria Hunter, 14, of Arkadelphia today were named Arkansas' top two youth volunteers for 2012 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Joseph was nominated by the Desha County 4-H in McGehee, and Alexandria was nominated by Clark County 4-H in Arkadelphia. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 17th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Joseph, a junior at McGehee High School, played a pivotal role in expanding a Boys and Girls Club meal program that feeds children from poor families in his county. One Monday morning when Joseph was in the fourth grade, he witnessed two young girls gorge themselves on so many honey buns and cartons of milk that they became ill, because they had gone all weekend without food. “This image has always stayed with me,” said Joseph. He began volunteering with a local Boys and Girls Club 50 hours a week every summer “to make sure kids who need meals receive them,” he said.

Recently, Joseph read that only 10 percent of children who qualify for free meals actually receive them, and started thinking about kids who lived too far away to access the Boys and Girls Club's meal program. “I had many sleepless nights thinking about how many other children were like the girls I witnessed,” he said. Finally, he told the club that he would recruit and train volunteers if it would open new meal sites and help secure a funding source. The club agreed, and with Joseph's help, the meal program expanded to four more communities in Desha County, serving an additional 25,000 lunches last summer. Joseph not only spent an average of four hours a day packaging and serving meals, but also traveled more than 50 miles a day to deliver up to 250 meals to distant locations. “The best part of the program was the excitement in the kids when I showed up,” he said.

Alexandria, an eighth-grader at Goza Middle School, packages party supplies into “birthday bags” and distributes them to food pantries and a women and children's shelter so that families with little or no money can still celebrate birthdays. “During these times of financial distress, for many families, having a birthday party is just not in their budgets,” said Alexandria. “I wanted to help families celebrate together.”

Alexandria decided that she would fill her birthday bags with enough supplies for six partygoers, including plates, napkins, candles, drink mix, cake mix, frosting, candy and other treats. She then took $35 in prize money that she had won in a photography contest and went shopping. She enlisted the help of her 4-H club in assembling her first five bags, and then spoke to community groups and her church about her project. As a result, she has received numerous donations of money and supplies, and so far has donated enough bags to ensure that the birthdays of 35 individuals do not pass uncelebrated. “It is amazing how easily even a young person can make a difference,” said Alexandria. “No matter how small my project is, the effect it can have on just one person can be huge.”

As State Honorees, Joseph and Alexandria 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 2012 at that time.

Distinguished Finalists

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

Shawnee Clark, 17, of Pleasant Plains, Ark., a senior at Midland High School, is a passionate volunteer who, as president of the Key Club, has coordinated numerous service projects to benefit UNICEF, Arkansas Children's Hospital and the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Program. In addition, Shawnee is president of her chapter of the Family Career and Community Leaders of America and is the lead student chair for the Environmental and Spatial Technology Lab.

Joshua Shaw, 18, of Strawberry, Ark., a senior at Hillcrest High School, conducted a series of water quality tests in order to identify sources of contamination in the local Reeds Creek Watershed. Joshua, who was solely responsible for the project and the work, spent more than a year collecting and analyzing water samples and will present his results to the local government so proper action can be taken to eliminate contamination.

Raygan Sylvester, 15, of North Little Rock, Ark., a senior at North Little Rock High School, implemented a seatbelt safety program, “Think S.A.F.E. (Seatbelts are for Everyone),” that has reached thousands of elementary school students in a state ranked 46th in seatbelt usage. Raygan, whose brother's life was saved thanks to a seatbelt, worked with the Injury Prevention Unit at the hospital to create the curriculum, personally delivered the presentations, and worked with the mayor to proclaim May “Seatbelt Awareness Month.”

Mattie Thacker, 16, of North Little Rock, Ark., a junior at North Little Rock High School, helped to raise more than $7,000 to purchase new bedding sets, diapers, paper products and hygiene items for the Our House Shelter for the Working Homeless. Mattie, who volunteers with the shelter through the Mayor's Youth Council, spearheaded this fundraising effort which included bake sales, penny drives and individual donations.

“Through their selfless acts of service, these award recipients have greatly improved the lives of others,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. “We hope their stories and their dedication inspire other young people to do the same.”

"We are so pleased to celebrate these student volunteers,” said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. “It's important to highlight them as powerful examples of how young people can make a difference."

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 HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. More than 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, creativity, 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, 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 7. 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.

Since the program began in 1995, more than 100,000 young volunteers nationwide have been honored by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards at the local, state or national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland and India. 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 spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

About NASSP

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 45 countries around the world. The association provides research-based professional development and resources, networking and advocacy to build the capacity of middle level and high school leaders to continually improve student performance. Reflecting its longstanding commitment to student leadership development as well, 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, investment management, and real estate services. 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 http://www.news.prudential.com/.

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