Massachusetts' Top Youth Volunteers Of 2020 Selected By National Program

BOSTON, Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kylee McCumber, 18, of Leominster and Jenna Khayal, 13, of North Andover today were named Massachusetts' 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, Kylee and Jenna 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 Massachusetts' top youth volunteers of 2020:

High School State Honoree: Kylee McCumber
Nominated by The Winchendon School

Kylee, a senior at The Winchendon School, provides weekend meal kits for nearly 500 children in her town and in four nearby towns who otherwise might go hungry when school is not in session, a situation that Kylee herself has experienced. When she was 10, she noticed one morning several children eating breakfast at school, and asked her grandmother why they didn't eat at home. Her grandmother told her they were food insecure. Kylee had never told anyone that she, too, had also once gone hungry. "When I was younger, my mother had a drug addiction and she often fed that instead of feeding me," Kylee said. Determined to help other kids experiencing food insecurity, Kylee and her grandmother founded "Kylee's Kare Kits for Kidz," a nonprofit organization dedicated to feeding children who might not get enough to eat on weekends, when they're not getting meals at school.

Initially, Kylee held two yard sales to raise money to provide food for eight children. She and her grandma installed shelves in their basement to store food, shopped for groceries, packed the kits and delivered them to the school every Friday. But each week, the number of children in need grew, so they recruited volunteers to help and stepped up their fundraising efforts to include online appeals, food drives, "fill-a-truck" events and corporate sponsorships. Today, Kylee's program feeds children in need at all of her district's nine schools, as well as at schools in four surrounding towns. "My goal is to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry," she said. She also has conducted collection drives to provide kids with new backpacks stuffed with school supplies, and with holiday gifts at Christmastime.

Middle Level State Honoree: Jenna Khayal
Nominated by The Islamic Academy for Peace

Jenna, an eighth-grader at The Islamic Academy for Peace, raised money to sponsor three orphans in the Middle East and collected clothing donations that benefitted nearly a thousand people in Syria. As an officer of her student council, Jenna believes she should lead by example. "Student council motivated me to do my volunteer work," Jenna said. "Not everybody gets to live in heated homes with clean water and plenty of food. There are so many people who are struggling to obtain the most basic needs that we forget to even acknowledge what we have as a great privilege."

Wanting to sponsor a child in need in Syria, Jenna began raising money by soliciting donations from fellow students, conducting bake sales at her school, asking parents to contribute, and organizing a "jeans day" at school where, for a $2 donation, students could exchange their school uniforms for informal clothing. After she had raised enough to fulfill her original goal of sponsoring one child through a humanitarian relief organization, "I felt like it wasn't enough," she said. So she redoubled her efforts. So far, Jenna has been able to support two Syrian girls and a Yemeni boy. She also worked with the relief agency to collect clothing including jackets and shoes for people in war-ravaged Syria. She said she would like to sponsor even more children in the future and, as the current president of the student council, wants to explore more ways that she and her fellow students can help make the world a better place.      

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 2020:

Ethan Chandler, 17, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a senior at Fitchburg High School, founded and runs "Karate For Kids," a nonprofit that gives free karate lessons to students in need in his community; his organization has raised more than $7,000 by holding fundraisers and has awarded three scholarships to participants. Through Karate For Kids, Ethan also donated to a local Thanksgiving food drive and helped deliver holiday food baskets to families in his community.

Zev Dickstein, 17, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a senior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, developed a mobile app, "Turnout," to help young people become more civically active in their communities; the app includes news, information about upcoming political events, and resources to help users contact legislators and write press releases. Zev has raised more than $60,000 for his initiative and runs a team that includes 15 other young people.

Carson Domey, 15, of Bellingham, Massachusetts, a sophomore at Saint John's High School, regularly volunteers his time to benefit Crohn's disease research; along with speaking at events about his experience with Crohn's, he has helped raise more than $150,000 by leading a team at Boston Children's Hospital's Walk for Kids. Also an advocate for suicide prevention, Carson campaigned to have the suicide hotline number printed on student IDs at his school, and is working to implement this initiative at schools across the U.S.

Anthony Nardelli, 17, of Brockton, Massachusetts, a senior at Cardinal Spellman High School, serves as an alumni mentor for Project 351, a nonprofit youth leadership organization; he helps pack thousands of care packages for troops serving overseas and has participated in an annual spring clothing drive for the past five years. Anthony has also completed service trips to Jamaica, where he volunteered in an orphanage, and to West Virginia, where he helped complete home repairs in underserved communities.

Emma Radford, 18, of South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, a senior at Barnstable High School, is a participating member and secretary of the Best Buddies program at her school, which "buddies up" students with and without special needs; she has secured food donations from local businesses for meetings, helps match pairs of students and plans activities for the club. Emma was inspired to join Best Buddies by a cousin who has autism.

Bipasha Ray, 16, of Andover, Massachusetts, a junior at Andover High School, helped establish "Healthy Heart Initiative," which promotes cardiovascular health awareness in underserved communities; she has travelled to more than 50 schools to reach thousands of students, helps plan fundraisers, and has designed informational brochures, booklets and a website. Healthy Heart Initiative also provides echocardiograms to participants whose survey answers indicate high risk for cardiovascular disease.

"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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