Tabitha Bell of Sandy, Utah named one of America's top 10 youth volunteers of 2018

Also honored this week in Washington, D.C., was Abigail Slama-Catron, 13, of Sandy. Tabitha and Abigail were named Utah's top youth volunteers in February, and were officially recognized last night at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History along with the top two youth volunteers in each other state and the District of Columbia. At that event, each of the 102 State Honorees for 2018 received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn. The honorees each also received engraved silver medallions and all-expense-paid trips with a parent to Washington, D.C., for this week's recognition events.

Tabitha, a senior at Waterford School, has raised more than $115,000 through her nonprofit, "Pawsitive Pawsibilities," to provide nine service dogs to people who otherwise could not afford one. Born severely premature in Siberia, Tabitha was adopted by her parents when she was a baby and later diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. As her ability to walk independently declined, she got a German Shepherd to help her with mobility and balance. She and Sunny became a cohesive team, and with him by her side, Tabitha was able to walk, step on and off curbs and even climb steps. During a conversation with her surgeon, Tabitha learned that many of his patients wanted a service dog but couldn't afford one. "An idea sprang into my heart and head and I pledged to raise money to buy a dog for at least one more person like me," she said.

Tabitha and a friend incorporated Pawsitive Pawsibilities, created a website, and launched a class competition at school to raise money. Subsequently, they funded their venture by selling bracelets, developing a coloring book about service animals, organizing a 5K event and a benefit concert, and opening a GoFundMe account. To expand her efforts, Tabitha has recruited team members at other high schools, and developed a "Puppy Paws" program to help younger children raise money for the cause with bake sales and lemonade stands. Tabitha also promotes her mission by speaking at camps, schools, events, and civic-group gatherings. Since its inception, her organization has selected, purchased, and trained nine dogs that have changed the lives of several young people with debilitating illnesses, a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, a teenage gunshot victim and young woman with diabetes.

Abigail, a member of Salt Lake County 4-H and a seventh-grader at Midvale Middle School, helped invent a "bionic scarecrow" to keep birds away from airplanes as they take off and land at airports, a device that is currently being used at Salt Lake City International Airport. In the fall of 2016, Abigail's robotics team wanted to enter a competition calling for projects that improve animal/human interactions. Having heard about the US Airways jet that sustained numerous bird strikes and was landed on the Hudson River by Captain "Sully" Sullenberger in 2009, Abigail said "it made me wonder if Utah's airport had similar problems with birds flying into engines." She began to research the subject and was shocked to learn that her local airport had 216 bird strikes the previous year.

Her team sprang into action. They met with the airport's wildlife staff many times to learn about the problem of birds that congregate on airport property, and discovered through research that random motion appears to scare birds away. Then they began to build a device to address the problem. After several prototypes, they ended up with an environmentally-friendly apparatus housed in a toolbox that uses a car battery and marine fan to power a windsock sewn out of nylon. The wildlife staff at the airport tested it and it worked. Salt Lake City now has three at its airport, and several other airports in the U.S. and abroad have expressed interest in their Bionic Scarecrow, Abigail said. She and her teammates also have been invited to demonstrate their patent-pending invention to scientists at several conferences. Abigail has continued to raise awareness about her project by making a film called "Strike Out," which has been featured by her school district and the Colorado Environmental Film Festival.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is a national youth recognition program sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

"These honorees exemplify something we've known for a long time – that young volunteers have the power to bring meaningful change to their communities," said John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. "These students have shown leadership and determination well beyond their years, and it's a privilege to celebrate their service."

"Through their acts of service, these honorees drive home a powerful lesson for their peers: that one student really can make a difference," said Daniel P. Kelley, president of NASSP. "We are honored to shine a spotlight on the compassion, drive and ingenuity of each of these young volunteers."

In addition to Tabitha, these are the other 2018 National Honorees:

Rosie Colucci, 13, of Palatine, Ill., an eighth-grader at Plum Grove Junior High School, has collected more than 60,000 toys, books, stuffed animals, games and other donations for hospitalized kids, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fund research for a cure for childhood cancer.

Grayson Phillips, 18, of Gardendale, Ala., a senior at Essential Church School, organized a fishing tournament and a fundraising dinner/auction, and collected donations at outdoor expos, to provide seven children and young adults with disabilities with all-terrain power wheelchairs that allow them to safely navigate the great outdoors with their peers.

Michelle Qin, 17, of Santa Barbara, Calif., a junior at Dos Pueblos High School, is the founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization comprised of more than 100 students in California, New Jersey and British Columbia who work to empower girls and women around the world, focused on education, poverty and health.

Paloma Rambana, 12, of Tallahassee, Fla., a seventh-grader at Maclay School, lobbied legislators, led rallies, gave speeches, created a website and generated media publicity to help secure $1.25 million in state funding for visually impaired children between the ages of 6 and 13.

Hailey Richman, 10, of Long Island City, N.Y., a fifth-grader at Public School 78, has placed more than 10,000 jigsaw puzzles in nursing homes and other senior living facilities over the past three years, and created an online support group for kids around the world who have loved ones suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Madison Strempek, 13, of Crofton, Md., a seventh-grader at Crofton Middle School, wrote and self-published a 46-page book, Everyone Makes Mistakes, to reassure and comfort children, like her, who have an incarcerated parent.

Brandon Warren, 18, of Indianapolis, Ind., a senior at Warren Central High School, organized a citywide peace march and community day in Indianapolis to stand against youth violence, following the murder of a friend and fellow football player.

William Winslow, 12, of Raleigh, N.C., a sixth-grader at Daniels Magnet Middle School, fights childhood hunger in his community by holding food drives to fill backpacks with weekend food for children who otherwise might go hungry, and by helping to build school gardens in neighborhoods where access to fresh food is limited.

Helena Zimmerman, 16, of Purchase, N.Y., a junior at Rye Country Day School, co-founded a nonprofit organization three years ago that is currently giving more than 3,000 teens in 40 states the opportunity to experience meaningful volunteer work by teaching and tutoring kids in underserved communities.

The distinguished selection committee that chose the National Honorees was chaired by Strangfeld and included Kelley of NASSP; Andrea Bastiani Archibald, chief girl and family engagement officer for Girl Scouts of the USA; Anna Drenning, a national headquarters volunteer recruiter with the American Red Cross; Natalye Paquin, chief executive officer of Points of Light; Kirsten Perry, a school counselor at Lawndale Community Academy in Chicago, Ill. and the American School Counselor Association's 2018 School Counselor of the Year; Frederick J. Riley, national director of urban and youth development at YMCA of the USA; Tony Shivers, a member of the National PTA Board of Directors; Rhonda Taylor, director of partnerships and program engagement for the Corporation for National and Community Service; Will Waidelich, executive director of the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE); and two 2017 National Honorees: Amal Bhatnagar, a freshman at University of California-Berkeley, and Katie Eder, a senior at Shorewood High School in Shorewood, Wis.  

Youth volunteers in grades 5-12 were invited to apply for 2018 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of Points of Light's HandsOn Network.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program was created in 1995 to identify and recognize young people for outstanding volunteer service – and, in so doing, inspire others to volunteer, too. In the past 23 years, the program has honored more than 120,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.

For more information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year's honorees, 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.

Editors: For pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions, visit  https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media

For B-roll of Utah's honorees at the 2018 national recognition events, contact Prudential's Harold Banks at (973) 216-4833 or [email protected].

SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.

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