Wisconsin's Top Youth Volunteers Of 2020 Selected By National Program

MADISON, Wis., Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Shruti Parthasarathy, 17, of Middleton and Elsa Witkiewicz, 13, of Trevor today were named Wisconsin's 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, Shruti and Elsa 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 Wisconsin's top youth volunteers of 2020:

High School State Honoree: Shruti Parthasarathy

Nominated by Middleton High School

Shruti, a senior at Middleton High School, has taught workshops on Bharathanatyam, a classical Indian dance, to more than 400 students in her school district as a way to both relieve stress and promote understanding of her native country's cultural traditions. When she was 5 years old, Shruti's family left India and settled in Wisconsin. Fearful of losing her Indian roots, she took up Bharathanatyam, a 2,000-year-old dance form that depicts mythological tales of gods and goddesses through movement and music. "Growing up in Wisconsin, I would often get ridiculed for pursuing an ominous art form," she said. "For years I tried to hide my Indian heritage. As a result, I carried an unhealthy amount of anxiety." After stressful days, Shruti would retreat to her basement and dance. It always made her feel better, she said.

In October of 2018, she found clinical studies showing that the footwork, hand gestures and facial expressions of Bharathanatyam had, in fact, been proven to reduce stress levels. So she created "Calm with Kalaa," an initiative that teaches both the history and culture of this ancient dance form and the movements themselves. After reaching out to health teachers throughout her school district, she began conducting one-hour workshops at a middle school. Then she began leading workshops at her high school, which ended up integrating the teachings into a required health curriculum. Shruti also has led workshops for her district's staff on personal development days, and for university students and faculty at Yale, Princeton and Northwestern Universities.

Middle Level State Honoree: Elsa Witkiewicz

Nominated by Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast

Elsa, an eighth-grader at Trevor-Wilmot Consolidated Grade School District, helped organize a donation drive to assemble more than 160 bags stuffed with makeup and toiletries for teenage girls in foster care and young women at a local women's shelter. When Elsa was younger, her mother took her to distribute duffle bags to the homeless, an experience that crystallized her desire to help others. Years later, when she and fellow Girl Scouts were volunteering at a food pantry, she decided she wanted to do something to help girls in need feel better about themselves. "I knew having makeup, perfume, and special pampering items were things most foster girls probably didn't have because they are expensive," Elsa said.

So in December of 2018, Elsa and another Girl Scout began a three-month project to make these girls feel special. They sat down with the board of the county foster care system, which wholeheartedly supported the project. Then they asked 10 local businesses for permission to place donation bins on their premises; contacted a printing company for help with brochures, cards, and bags; and arranged two media interviews to spread the word. Donations soon rolled in from individuals and even the local Target store, which donated face wash and lotion. Every two weeks, the girls picked up donated items from the bins and stored them in Elsa's basement. In the end, the girls easily surpassed their goal by delivering 168 bags, each stuffed with 50 to 60 items, including makeup, toiletries, sanitary items, writing utensils, snacks, a confidence-building brochure and a hand-written card.     

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 2020:

Dylan Bradley, 18, of Mequon, Wisconsin, a senior at Homestead High School, has held two "Smash Hunger!" fundraising events that featured a scrimmage game between the girls' and boys' volleyball teams at his high school; his efforts included collaborating with his school administration, designing flyers and spreading awareness of the event. Through Smash Hunger!, Dylan raised and donated more than $500 to Ozaukee Family Sharing, a food pantry in his community.

James Cullen, 17, of Kewaunee, Wisconsin, a senior at Kewaunee High School, runs an annual "Weather Warm-Ups" drive, through which he has collected more than 400 jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, hats and mittens for people in need; his efforts include advertising his drive, setting up collection boxes at schools, churches and local businesses, and sorting, storing and distributing the donations. James, who also volunteers at a food pantry, started his clothing drive after seeing people inadequately dressed for winter.

Kylie Ganther, 18, of Chili, Wisconsin, a senior at Granton High School, regularly volunteers her time with the nonprofit Clark County Cultural Art Center (CART); she helped renovate an abandoned church into an art center and helps host events, teach youth enrichment classes and complete community art projects. CART features art exhibits and offers classes to adults and children in a variety of artistic mediums including painting, drawing and sculpting.

Bethany Harman, 17, of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, a senior at Dodgeville High School, has volunteered hundreds of hours of her time to "Feeding Friends," a project that provides a free hot dinner to more than 100 people on a weekly basis at her church; her efforts include preparing and serving food and drinks, cleaning up and packaging extra food for participants to take home. Bethany first started volunteering with Feeding Friends in 2014 with her mother, who helped start the project.

Erin Marshall, 18, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a senior at Oak Creek High School, founded and runs a robotics program for more than 100 elementary school students in her community; her efforts included securing grant funding from a local company, mentoring groups, recruiting and training volunteers and organizing a robotics expo. Erin also ran the first STEAM fair in her school district, which included 30 project submissions and 70 student participants.

Aime Rabadan, 18, of North Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, a senior at Horace Mann High School, helps run "Latinos Unidos en Fond du Lac" a community outreach group for Latinos and allies; her efforts include designing a logo for the organization, spreading information about the group via social media and organizing fundraising events. Latinos Unidos en Fond du Lac also holds seminars and hosts guest speakers, including representatives from the Mexican Consulate and legal professionals.

"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.

Related Links

http://www.news.prudential.com