PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Morgan Beckwith, 18, of Lake Havasu City and Alexandra Cockett, 13, of Litchfield Park today were named Arizona's top two youth volunteers of 2013 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Morgan was nominated by Telesis Center for Learning in Lake Havasu City, and Alexandra was nominated by Trivium Preparatory Academy in Goodyear. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 18th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
Morgan, a senior at Lake Havasu High School, founded a community service club that has undertaken a wide variety of volunteer projects and encouraged people from different schools and organizations to work together to accomplish common goals. Morgan began volunteering in her community when she was a little girl, and eventually noticed that while many groups were working toward the same goal, they weren’t working together. “Why were we divided in our efforts when clearly we needed each other?” she said. “I could not get this thought out of my head. This inspired me to take the initiative.”
Morgan started by founding a girls’ club and recruited several students from each area school to be members. Their first project was selling merchandise at a balloon festival organized by the local Lions Club, which helped to raise $180,000 to benefit food banks, health screening programs, animal shelters and youth programs. As word spread and more students joined Morgan’s team, they developed a recycling program at a local beach, collected aluminum tabs to cover the cost of spaying and neutering animals, and raised money for a variety of other causes. In 2011, Morgan approached the Lions Club leadership about chartering a community-sponsored club, of which she is now president. “Others have begun to realize what I learned very early in life,” said Morgan. “That we can run faster and jump higher if we all work together.”
Alexandra, an eighth-grader at Trivium Preparatory Academy, started a club that teaches young people how to care responsibly for their pets, explores careers in animal-related fields and participates in volunteer projects. For as long as she can remember, Alexandra has wanted to become a veterinarian when she grows up. That made it all the more upsetting when her request to “shadow” a pet therapy team at a local rehabilitation center was denied. “I was sad to learn that many therapy organizations do not welcome kids due to liability concerns,” she said. “It was at that exact moment of ‘no’ that I decided to form my own pet club.”
The young animal lover asked her Girl Scout leader to help her learn pet therapy techniques, and then began volunteering at a local pet hospital to learn more. She then wrote a plan for a club called “Pets and Caring Kids” (PACK) and recruited industry professionals to help set it up. As president, Alexandra chairs meetings, researches discussion topics, invites speakers, arranges field trips and plans community service activities. Her club has supported a foundation that trains service dogs, a wildlife refuge center, a pet therapy group and a horse ranch that works with children with autism. When club members reach high school, they will have the opportunity to raise their own service dogs. Alexandra envisions establishing PACK chapters throughout Arizona. “If animals and kids work together, the world is a much better place,” she said.
As State Honorees, Morgan and Alexandra 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 2013.
Distinguished Finalists
The program judges also recognized six other Arizona students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are Arizona's Distinguished Finalists for 2013:
Naveen Dasari, 15, of Scottsdale, Ariz., a sophomore at Desert Mountain High School, is a founding member and current secretary of “Peace Love Asha, AZ,” a nonprofit youth service organization that provides financial support for children in need in India. Naveen, who helped to start the group in 2009, has helped to raise more than $20,000 to provide living and educational expenses for six children and hearing aids for 25 children in a school for the hearing impaired in Bangalore.
Sarah Heiser, 18, of Tucson, Ariz., a senior at Catalina Foothills High School, coordinated a daylong assembly for the nearly 2,000 students at her school to help raise awareness about bullying and prevention through the national program “Rachel’s Challenge.” In addition to the student program, Sarah organized an evening program for parents and was elected president for the newly formed “Friends of Rachel Club” to continue to spread awareness of bullying.
Henry Ng, 18, of Glendale, Ariz., a senior at Glendale High School, joined a voting advocacy group through the Maricopa Democratic Party and recruited 35 of his peers to participate in a grassroots effort to encourage voter involvement. Henry, who felt strongly that those in his low-income neighborhood deserved a voice in local government, eventually helped to achieve a record high voter turnout during the August primary election.
Aditi Poduval, 17, of Scottsdale, Ariz., a junior at Desert Mountain High School, co-created the “Achieving Confidence in Education (ACE) Foundation,” a student-run nonprofit organization with more than 35 high school students who tutor children in low-income neighborhoods. In one year, Aditi reached out to other motivated students, and today there are 12 ACE clubs in eight states and Canada with more than 400 student tutors helping children in need.
Matthew Safford, 17, of Scottsdale, Ariz., a junior at Desert Mountain High School, co-created the “Achieving Confidence in Education (ACE) Foundation,” a student-run nonprofit organization that sends high school students to tutor children in low-income areas. Matthew and his team registered the organization as a nonprofit, and today there are 12 ACE clubs in eight states and Canada.
Braden Whitaker, 17, of Tucson, Ariz., a junior at Ironwood Ridge High School, is president of his student body and instrumental in various school service projects, most notably a project that raised more than $40,000 through bracelet sales to help support the victims of the January 2011 Tucson shooting. In addition, Braden earned his Eagle Scout Award by refurbishing 3,000 books at three local charter schools.
“Prudential is proud to honor these students for making meaningful contributions to their communities,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. “We hope that shining a spotlight on their initiative, creativity and compassion inspires others to consider how they, too, can make a difference.”
“Through their volunteer service, each of these young people has made his or her mark on at least one person, school or community,” said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. “When you consider the collective impact of each of these individual acts, it’s clear that young people can be a major force for good.”
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 HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Nearly 5,000 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 6, 10 of the State Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2013. 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 100,000 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 and India. 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 on behalf of President Barack Obama.
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
NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Principals) is the leading organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and all school leaders from across the United States and more than 36 countries around the world. The association provides research-based professional development and resources, networking, and advocacy to build the capacity of middle level and high school leaders to continually improve student performance. Reflecting its longstanding commitment to student leadership development as well, NASSP administers the National Honor Society™, National Junior Honor Society®, National Elementary Honor Society®, and National Association of Student Councils®. 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 http://www.news.prudential.com/.
Editors: For full-color pictures of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions, click here: http://bit.ly/Xi4oFW