DOVER, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Krysta Pritchett, 17, of Millsboro and Kyle Spillane, 13, of Harrington today were named Delaware'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. Krysta was nominated by Sussex Technical High School in Georgetown, and Kyle was nominated by the Kent County 4-H in Dover. 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).
Krysta, a senior at Sussex Technical High School, formed a youth service group that has partnered with community residents and organizations to gather supplies for a homeless shelter, collect food for a local food bank, and provide scholarships to Native American youth. After seeing television reports and commercials about homeless and hungry people, “I began to wonder how these issues affect my local community,” she said. With a little investigation, she learned that there were, indeed, people struggling in her small town. Krysta’s response was to organize a youth volunteer group called “Teens ROC! (Teens Reaching Our Community).”
With help from her mother, Krysta first conducted a community drive to collect toiletries and other needed items for approximately 25 residents of a local homeless shelter. The following year, she launched a food drive that yielded more than 500 pounds of food for the Food Bank of Delaware. Krysta also initiated an annual motorcycle “Ride to the Beach,” which raised more than $2,000 for a Nanticoke Indian scholarship fund. With more than 500 teens and local citizens participating in her projects, Krysta also has done much to raise awareness in her community of the needs of those less fortunate.
Kyle, a seventh-grader at W.T. Chipman Middle School, has participated in volunteer activities that have raised money for fire protection, educated the public about wildlife and the environment, and supported the Delaware Department of Natural Resources. “I was inspired to do my volunteer work by watching my mother help in the community and seeing the enjoyment of helping others,” said Kyle. “I went with her as a young child and eventually became involved.”
A love of animals and an interest in environmental issues have guided much of Kyle’s volunteer effort. For the past three years, he has led visitor tours and conducted educational nature activities for school groups at the DuPont Nature Center, and helped feed and care for the animals there. At the Delaware State Fair, he has served as a host in the Department of Natural Resources building, answering questions from visitors, and he also helped paint the building in 100-degree heat over the summer. Kyle also enjoys assisting with a petting zoo and other community activities sponsored by his 4-H club. And he supported his local firehouse by working at a fundraising dinner. Volunteering, said Kyle, “has made me a better person, knowing that I can be of help to my community.”
As State Honorees, Krysta and Kyle 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 two other Delaware students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are Delaware's Distinguished Finalists for 2013:
Emily Ciuffetelli, 17, of New Castle, Del., a senior at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, created “If Hands Could Talk,” a theater program for students at the Delaware School for the Deaf. Emily, who initiated the project when she heard that the school had never had a theater program, developed theater lesson plans, taught the program twice weekly for seven weeks, and worked with 16 of the students to perform a two-act play at the end of the program.
Daniel Iammatteo, 17, of Rehoboth Beach, Del., a senior at Cape Henlopen High School, founded “Club Green,” an environmental club at his school that created a school-wide recycling program responsible for more than 4,000 kilograms of recycled school waste. Daniel, who has recruited 28 students to join the club, also initiated several recycling awareness campaigns and has influenced his school cafeteria to use paper instead of Styrofoam trays.
“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