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

MADISON, Wis., Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Evan Arnold, 17, of Neenah and Cole Stoffel, 13, of Appleton today were named Wisconsin'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, Evan and Cole 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 Wisconsin's top youth volunteers of 2018:

High School State Honoree: Evan Arnold
Nominated by Neenah High School in Neenah

Evan, a senior at Neenah High School, started a foundation in 2009 that has delivered more than $50,000 worth of baseball equipment to children in need in 38 countries, and organized one-day baseball clinics for orphans and the children of incarcerated parents in Arizona. Evan has always loved baseball. "My parents have told me the first word I ever spoke was 'ball' and when I was a toddler, I would sit on my dad's lap and watch baseball games on TV," he said. As he grew older, Evan learned that children around the world shared his love of the game, but many cannot afford proper equipment, so they have to use things like tree branches, metal poles and rolled-up cloth to play baseball.

Evan's response was to create "Step Up To The Plate," a foundation dedicated to providing new or gently-used baseball gloves, bats, balls, shoes and uniforms to children in need. To start, Evan created branding and marketing materials, and established a presence on social media. He then reached out to sporting goods stores, minor league baseball teams, parks and recreation departments and youth baseball organizations for donations of new and gently-used equipment. Lacking the funds to ship crates of supplies overseas, Evan persuaded organizations and individuals already traveling abroad to carry his donated equipment with them. In addition to this activity and his baseball clinics in Arizona, Evan was elected last year as president of "Peace is The Goal, Inc.," a nonprofit that provides soccer equipment to children in need.

Middle Level State Honoree: Cole Stoffel
Nominated by James Madison Middle School in Appleton

Cole, an eighth-grader at James Madison Middle School, has raised more than $22,000 for pediatric cancer research and scholarships for cancer patients and survivors by running in an annual half-marathon and then creating his own fundraising obstacle race. While in elementary school, Cole lost his teacher to brain cancer. "Mr. Maufort was a great teacher who always encouraged us to get involved in our community and to give back," he said. To alleviate his grief and follow his teacher's advice, Cole connected with the Snowdrop Foundation of Wisconsin and began participating in its annual run to raise money and awareness for young cancer patients.

"After my third half-marathon, I realized we needed a kids-only event, and it seemed fitting to add obstacles, which represent the obstacles that children go through when battling cancer," said Cole. So, on his birthday, he held his first "Cole's Cancer Crusade," a fun kids obstacle-course run at a local high school, benefitting the Snowdrop Foundation. With help from his family, Cole publicized his event through speeches, fliers and social media, sought sponsorships from businesses, and built the obstacle course. Over the past two years, his event has drawn more than 500 participants, and his combined fundraising total has reached $22,500. "I know Mr. Maufort is looking down at each event I am at, and I just want to keep fulfilling what he always told us to do: get involved and give back!" said Cole.     

Distinguished Finalists

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

These are Wisconsin's Distinguished Finalists for 2018:

Maia Beirne, 18, of Oregon, Wis., a senior at Oregon High School, started a school club called "Panthers vs. Cancer" three years ago that has engaged more than 50 students in activities to support families affected by cancer and the organizations that serve them. In addition to coordinating fundraisers at local schools, Maia's club has made tie blankets for children at Madison Children's Hospital, and provided families affected by cancer with gift cards, care packages and meals.

Ian Bormett, 17, of Stoughton, Wis., a senior at Stoughton High School, worked for two months to design and build a 3D-printed prosthetic arm, benefiting a young boy in his community who was born without a hand and won't be fitted for a long-term prosthetic until he's done growing. Ian worked with the boy to custom design the arm; he also interned at a research institute over the summer where he helped with a program that prints prosthetic arms for other children and adults.

Hannah Burns, 17, of Hudson, Wis., a junior at Hudson High School, led an effort to create a local wellness park with five workout stations, an effort that involved raising more than $38,000 and working with city officials, contractors and fitness experts to bring her vision to life. The park is now home to free exercise programs, tag technology that connects visitors to instructional videos, and other amenities designed to promote fitness in the local community.

Kayla Kaczorowski, 18, of Fountain City, Wis., a senior at Cochrane-Fountain City High School, played a lead role in establishing a backpack program that has provided more than 5,600 meals to students in need in her rural school district. Kayla, who developed the program last school year and persuaded a local church to serve as its sponsor, is now responsible for ordering food, planning meals, publicity and fundraising.

Caragan Olles, 15, of De Pere, Wis., a sophomore at Notre Dame De La Baie Academy, is the co-founder and president of "Bright Young Dyslexics," a nonprofit that has raised more than $80,000 to provide tutoring to other K-12 students with dyslexia. Caragan also leads a youth advisory board of more than 30 middle and high school students who help with fundraising and awareness events, and has established dyslexia resource centers at three public library systems.

Dawt Par, 19, of Milwaukee, Wis., a senior at South Division High School, has dedicated hundreds of hours to supporting the Burmese community in the U.S. and Burma since coming to America as a refugee three years ago, participating in a variety of charitable initiatives as a youth leader with her church. Dawt's youth group has led fundraisers to support scholarship funds, orphanages and other initiatives run by Burmese churches; they also cleaned houses in exchange for donations after a major flood in the city of Hakha.

"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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