CARSON CITY, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--John-Henry Lambin, 18, of Gardnerville and Jace Six, 13, of Tonopah today were named Nevada's top two youth volunteers for 2011 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 16th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
John-Henry was nominated by JRJ School in Gardnerville, and Jace was nominated by Tonopah Middle School in Tonopah. As State Honorees, 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 several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2011 at that time.
John-Henry, a senior at JRJ School, organized a volunteer effort that assembles treats and personal items into care packages that are sent to American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. John-Henry has been an active volunteer for most of his life. But last year after attending a conference, he thought about how much our servicemen and women are doing overseas. “I realized how very grateful I am to be a citizen of this amazing country of ours,” said John-Henry. “The risks and sacrifices that these incredible men and women do for us each day is remarkable. I felt that it was important to give back something to them as thanks for letting us attend school, have the freedom to vote, and be in a loving country!” So John-Henry decided to send a care package to a friend who was deployed to Iraq. His friend enjoyed it so much that John-Henry expanded the effort.
He enlisted the help of his sister and her friends to bake batches of cookies and breads. Then he wrote letters to manufacturers of hygiene items, food, music and other products asking for donations of supplies. After he had enough items, he found volunteers to help him assemble the packages, which contain homemade baked goods, playing cards, books, music, socks, and hygiene products such as toothpaste and toothbrushes. A two-page personal letter also is included in each kit, expressing gratitude for the soldier’s sacrifice. John-Henry so far has sent out more than 500 packages and has recruited about 15 volunteers to help in the venture. “I am planning on continuing this project until all our soldiers come home!” he said. “They are defending our country, and we need to continually remember that they are there!”
Jace, an eighth-grader at Tonopah Middle School, tutored and mentored elementary school students who were having trouble in school. Jace became involved when his school counselor asked for his help. “My main motivation was the potential I saw in the younger kids who were struggling,” said Jace. “In sixth grade, I was one of those kids. I didn’t want to see others struggle the way I did.”
In addition to tutoring younger students in school subjects, part of Jace’s task was to be a good role model, to help the students get along with their peers, and to provide incentives for the kids to do well in school and be positive influences in their community. Once a week he would plan games and activities to reward the students for showing improvement. Jace said his most memorable experience was tutoring a third-grader who was in danger of having to repeat the grade. “During my time helping him I helped him raise his math grade to a B and his science and reading grades to A’s,” said Jace. “It was really amazing on the last day of school when he came up to me and said, ‘Jace! Jace! Look at my report card! I made it!’ I would do it over again and again until the day I die.”
In addition, the program judges recognized four other Nevada students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:
Angela Foremaster, 17, of North Las Vegas, a junior at Legacy High School, raised $2,000 with her “Child’s Home Fair,” a family event she coordinated to raise awareness about the need for foster and adoptive homes in Nevada. Angela, who has five siblings adopted through foster care, donated all the proceeds to the Clark County Foster and Adoptive Association, which she worked with to organize the fair.
Skyler Greenman, 17, of Carson City, a senior at Carson City High School, created and managed a weekly mentoring program in which successful community members worked with failing high school freshmen to help improve his school’s low graduation rate. Skyler worked with the Boys & Girls Club to develop the program, recruited mentors, led the meetings, and secured a $4,000 donation to support the program.
Kaylan Poindexter, 18 of Henderson, NV., a senior at College Southern Nevada High School, served as the assistant activities coordinator at Sunrise Assisted Living of Henderson, where she has assisted elderly residents in performing activities such as baking, art projects, gardening, travel and special events. Kaylan, a student ambassador for the 2010 Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk, also raised awareness about the disease by reaching out to students in the Clark County School District.
Seth Roux, 16, of Reno, a junior at Bishop Manogue High School, is an avid community servant who volunteers for a number of organizations including his church, the local food pantry, and Special Olympics. Seth also works with the local Rotary Club to assist with its Polio Eradication project, and with the National Guard on its family projects.
“These award recipients have proven that young people across America are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our nation, and our world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “Each and every one of these honorees deserve our respect and admiration, and we hope by shining a light on them, they will continue to serve as an example for others.”
“The young people recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need,” said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “NASSP is proud to honor these student leaders because they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation’s schools today.”
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 HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. More than 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.
While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital’s landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them – five middle level and five high school students – will be named National Honorees on May 2 by a prestigious national selection committee. These 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.
Serving on the national selection committee will be John Strangfeld of Prudential; Jana Frieler, president of NASSP; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light Institute & Hands On Network; Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the America’s Promise Alliance; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Pamela Farr, the American Red Cross’ national chair of volunteers; Elson Nash, associate director for project management at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; and two 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shannon McNamara of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Benjamin Sater of Plano, Texas.
In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President’s Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President Barack Obama. The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. Since the program began in 1995, more than 95,000 young volunteers nationwide have been honored at the local, state or national level. Many prominent public figures have assisted in saluting these honorees over the years, including Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Laura Bush, and Condoleezza Rice. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland and India.
For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP’s mission is to promote excellence in school leadership. The National Honor Society ®, National Junior Honor Society ®, National Elementary Honor Society™, and National Association of Student Councils ® are all NASSP programs. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, Va., visit www.nassp.org or call 703-860-0200.
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, investment management, and real estate services. 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 http://www.news.prudential.com/
Editors: Graphics depicting the award program’s logo and medallions may be downloaded from spirit.prudential.com.