Utah's Top Youth Volunteers Of 2018 Selected By National Program

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tabitha Bell, 17 and Abigail Slama-Catron, 12, both of Sandy, today were named Utah's 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, Tabitha and Abigail 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 Utah's top youth volunteers of 2018:

High School State Honoree: Tabitha Bell
Nominated by Waterford School in Sandy

Tabitha, a senior at Waterford School, has raised more than $75,000 through her nonprofit, "Pawsitive Pawsibilities," to provide six 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 six 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.     

Middle Level State Honoree: Abigail Slama-Catron
Nominated by Salt Lake County 4-H in Salt Lake City

Abigail, 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 school 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.     

Distinguished Finalists

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

These are Utah's Distinguished Finalists for 2018:

Liggera Edmonds-Allen, 17, of Pleasant View, Utah, a senior at Davinci Academy, played a key role in creating a series of virtual theater workshops for transgender teenagers, reaching more than 18 young participants with interactive videos to teach them about the profession and create a sense of community and hope. Liggera worked with a New York-based LGBTQ group to plan the weekly workshops and make them accessible to teens facing roadblocks at home.

Keerthana Ramalingam, 17, of Sandy, Utah, a senior at American Preparatory Academy, has worked in a number of ways to support students with learning disorders, and developed an app with customizable text functions to improve the web browsing experience for people with dyslexia. Keerthana tutored children at a school in Bangalore and, after moving to the U.S. in 2016, began volunteering with a Leonardo Museum peer support group for young people with disabilities.

Tiana Smart, 17, of Salt Lake City, Utah, a senior at Skyline High School, has led and supported several initiatives to fight hunger, including serving as a Souper Bowl of Caring national youth advisory board member; as a child, she also started a youth drive that donated 49,500 pounds of turkeys to the Utah Food Bank. Tiana has also served more than 450 volunteer hours as a leader with her city's National Charity League chapter, worked weekly with student refugees, and participated in a service year program.

Kylee Wunder, 14, of Cedar Hills, Utah, a freshman at Mountain Ridge Junior High, worked with her mom to organize and host two soccer camps for area kids with autism, soliciting local sponsors and training more than 100 volunteers each year to bring their idea to life. Kylee, whose twin brothers have autism, wanted to provide kids with autism the soccer experiences she's enjoyed growing up.

"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.