Massachusetts' Top Youth Volunteers Of 2018 Selected By National Program

BOSTON, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kira Andreucci, 17, of Fitchburg and Harrison (Harry) Bennett, 12, of Malden today were named Massachusetts' top two youth volunteers of 2018 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Kira and Harry each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in late April 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 2018.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 23^rd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

These are Massachusetts' top youth volunteers of 2018:

High School State Honoree: Kira Andreucci
Nominated by Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in Fitchburg

Kira, a junior at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, provides backpacks filled with food to more than 225 children every Friday during the school year to keep them from going hungry over the weekend. When Kira was in the fifth grade, she saw a child taking food out of a recycling bin at her school. This touched something deep in Kira, who was adopted from China by her American family when she was 17 months old and who, her parents believe, often went hungry during the early months of her life. She and her father did some research and learned that one in five children go to bed hungry. "I wanted to do something to help children who are less fortunate than me," said Kira.

She first met with her principal and presented her idea of providing a backpack full of nutritious, nonperishable food on Fridays to 10 children the school deemed most in need. After the principal agreed, she asked her family for money instead of gifts for her birthday, then bought food items and began filling and delivering her "kidpacks." That was over seven years ago; Kira's program now has expanded to all four of her town's elementary schools plus children enrolled in a local Head Start program. To raise money for her food packs, Kira solicits donations through a blog and Facebook page, organizes fundraisers and applies for grants. To stretch her donations, Kira clips coupons and buys in bulk. Then she and a team of 10 volunteers pack the kidpacks and deliver them to schools for distribution on Fridays. Her group also collects Christmas gifts and Easter baskets for the children, and provides food to some of their families over the summer.       

Middle Level State Honoree: Harry Bennett
Nominated by St. Joseph School in Medford

Harry, a seventh-grader at St. Joseph School, created a nonprofit organization with his younger brother to produce a line of all-natural lip and body balm products that they sell to support Hodgkin's lymphoma research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. When Harry's friend Timmy was diagnosed with Hodgkin's in May of 2016, Harry "couldn't believe that someone so young, active and healthy could have cancer." He immediately wanted to do something to raise money, but also help his friend feel better during his arduous chemotherapy treatments. "I had heard that cancer patients' lips and skin can get very dry from treatments, so I thought making a lip balm would be a great idea," Harry said.

So, with the help of their family, the Bennett brothers began researching ingredients, testing recipes and hand-producing all-natural, vegan and chemical-free lip and body balm products. A family friend, who is a graphic designer, created a logo for their brand, called "Bennett Brothers Balm." Then they designed labels and packaging, and their parents helped them set up a website and social media accounts. Next, Harry and his brother were ready to start marketing. Most of their sales are made at craft shows and special events, such as 5K races and cancer fundraisers; the products are also available at a local salon, a yoga studio and on Etsy. So far, Bennett Brothers Balm has raised more than $4,200 to help find a cure for Hodgkin's lymphoma. "We felt this work was important because friends help friends," said Harry. "It's just what you do."          

Distinguished Finalists

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

These are Massachusetts' Distinguished Finalists for 2018:

Olivia Colombo, 16, of Kingston, Mass., a senior at Sacred Heart High School, is a national and school leader with the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots & Shoots program, and leads a wide variety of projects in service of people, animals and the environment. Olivia speaks to thousands of students around the country every year about the importance of finding solutions to the world's problems; she also secured a provisional patent for her renewable energy project, supported orphans overseas, coordinated beach cleanups, and more.

Mackenzie Evans, 17, of Andover, Mass., a senior at Andover High School, has been volunteering since the fall of 2015 as a mentor with a choir for people with special needs, attending weekly rehearsals to provide a safe, supportive environment where participants can build confidence and social skills. Mackenzie works with a small group of kids every week, doing vocal warm-ups and singing songs in preparation for three to four performances a year.

Andrew Kerble, 18, of Stow, Mass., a senior at Nashoba Regional High School, led a class of first graders in a two-week project to collect books from their personal libraries, then donate them to children living in a homeless shelter. After guiding discussions about the importance of books and how some kids might not have access to them, Andrew helped the children write letters to their parents explaining what they wanted to do; students ended up donating 150 books, which Andrew delivered to the shelter Abby's House.

Elana Sargent, 17, of Lakeville, Mass., a senior at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School, was motivated by her late father's glioblastoma diagnosis to start "Beading for Brain Cancer," a bracelet-selling initiative that's raised more than $8,000 since 2009 toward brain cancer research. Elana has led efforts to create more than 1,600 bracelets so far; she also recently set up a website for the project to expand its reach outside her community.

Sydney Soloway, 17, of Weston, Mass., a senior at Dana Hall School, is the founder of "SquashCares," an initiative that since 2014 has collected more than 250 pieces of squash equipment for players in need, and collected more than 10,000 old squash balls to be sewn into "ball blankets" – weighted blankets for people with disorders that make it hard to control their bodies. The gear collection drive has fully outfitted more than 100 young players with rackets and shoes, and 50 blankets have been created with the help of more than 300 volunteers.

Landon Tucker, 17, of Fitchburg, Mass., a senior at Fitchburg High School, launched a community service initiative called "The Current Events Club" this past school year that, over the course of two months, mobilized students to collect more than $250 towards Hurricane Maria relief efforts and more than 600 articles of clothing for homeless teens. Motivated to create the kind of service opportunity he'd always hoped to find, Landon has inspired other schools to consider club chapters of their own.

"Prudential is proud to recognize these remarkable young people for using their energy, creativity and compassion to bring meaningful change to their communities," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope their stories inspire others to consider how they can do the same."

"These middle level and high school students have not only improved the lives of the people and communities they've served – they also set an important example for their peers," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "These honorees prove that you're never too young to 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 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 April 30, 10 of the State Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2018. 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 120,000 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, Brazil and Poland. 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 Student Council. 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

SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.

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