Kansas' Top Youth Volunteers Of 2020 Selected By National Program

TOPEKA, Kan., Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Audrey Stanton, 16, of Rose Hill and Isabella Lindsay, 14, of Haysville today were named Kansas' top two youth volunteers of 2020 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Audrey and Isabella 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 2020. 

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 25^th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

These are Kansas' top youth volunteers of 2020:

High School State Honoree: Audrey Stanton
Nominated by Rose Hill High School 

Audrey, a junior at Rose Hill High School, worked with a friend to raise more than $50,000 last year in the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's "Student of the Year" fundraising campaign. When Audrey was in preschool, she became best friends with a little girl named Reese, who shortly afterwards was diagnosed with leukemia. In 2016, Reese died after nine years of living with cancer. "That was the day I knew I needed to help find a cure," said Audrey. That opportunity came two years later when Reese's mother nominated Audrey and her friend Isabella for LLS's Student of the Year fundraiser.

Although the seven-week fundraising campaign didn't formally begin until January, the girls started laying the groundwork for their participation months before, collecting items for auction, explaining their mission to local businesses and booking venues for fundraising events. They created their own website to share the story of their friendship and display pictures of Audrey, Reese and Isabella over the years. Once the campaign officially kicked off, they sent letters to family and friends asking for donations and hosted several fundraising events, including paint parties, T-shirt sales and a raffle. They surpassed their initial goal by $20,000. After the campaign, Audrey was asked by the Wichita LLS staff to be part of its leadership team for the 2020 Student of the Year campaign. Calling it "the best experience I've ever had," Audrey said: "Although Reese is no longer with us, I feel like during this campaign I grew closer to her."

Middle Level State Honoree: Isabella Lindsay
Nominated by Haysville Middle School

Isabella, an eighth-grader at Haysville Middle School, established a local chapter of "Curvy Girls," an international peer support group for girls with scoliosis, and has provided more than 90 care packages for young scoliosis patients who have undergone spinal fusion surgery. Last year, Isabella had surgery to correct her scoliosis. "This surgery is very difficult and the recovery time is long (one year)," said Isabella. "I had to relearn to walk, sit, and do just about everything again." The bright spot during her hospitalization was getting gifts from friends and family when they visited, but she noticed that some kids had no visitors. She returned home eager to provide a gift for every child undergoing spinal fusion surgery at Wesley Children's Hospital in Wichita, and to share her experience with others dealing with scoliosis.

Isabella had heard about Curvy Girls, but was disappointed to learn there wasn't a chapter in her area. So she volunteered to start and lead one. She organizes a monthly chapter meeting where 10 or more teen members and their mothers share their stories, talk about the problems they face, and take comfort in the fact that they are not alone. She also began holding fundraisers to make her spinal fusion care packages, which include blankets, adult coloring books, colored pencils, grippy socks and personal care items. Isabella wrote a blog for a scoliosis website about what to expect after spinal fusion surgery, and has connected through Instagram and video chats with more than 500 people around the world who need support from someone who knows what they're going through.   

Distinguished Finalists

The program judges also recognized four other Kansas students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.

These are Kansas' Distinguished Finalists for 2020:

Caroline Barber, 17, of Wichita, Kansas, a senior at Eisenhower High School, participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Student of the Year" fundraising competition, through which she secured corporate sponsorships and personal donations and hosted six fundraising events. Caroline, who ultimately raised more than $40,000 for her cause in seven weeks, was inspired to participate in this project by two young people in her community who had cancer.

Meagan Miller, 17, of Augusta, Kansas, a junior at Augusta High School, created and runs "Passes for Classes," which provides free bus passes to students in her community; for the project, she sold raffle tickets, secured a grant and sold shaved ice. Meagan, who worked with school social workers to help identify people who could benefit from the unlimited bus passes, was inspired to start her project after learning about students in her area who missed class due to lack of transportation.

Emily Nitz, 14, of Olathe, Kansas, a freshman at Olathe South High School, held a workshop at her local middle school to show students how to make sleeping mats out of recycled plastic bags; this project benefitted people experiencing homelessness while reducing the amount of plastic that could potentially pollute the ocean and harm wildlife. Emily also travelled to Costa Rica and Panama to help the sea turtle population by loosening sand around nests and patrolling for hatching or beached turtles.

Hannah Soderstrom, 17, of Wichita, Kansas, nominated by the American Red Cross of South Central and Southeast Kansas and a junior at Maize High School, regularly donates her time as an advocate for blood donation; she speaks at events including the Red Cross Missing Types campaign, and has hosted five blood drives that collected more than 250 units of blood. Hannah is passionate about this cause because of her experience receiving transfusions after her 2016 leukemia diagnosis.

"In our 25^th year of honoring young volunteers, we are as inspired as ever by the work students are doing to address the needs of a changing world," said Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. "We hope that their resolve, their initiative and their perspectives on society's challenges move others to consider how they can make a difference, too."

"Middle level and high school students are doing remarkable things to shape the future of their communities through volunteer service. They inspire all students and schools to drive learning with real-world challenges," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to each of the 2020 honorees – it's an honor to celebrate your commitment to creating positive change."

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 Points of Light Global Network members, 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 4, 10 of the State Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2020. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 scholarships, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from Prudential for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice.  

Since the program began in 1995, more than 130,000 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

SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.

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