COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Olivia Baddley, 18, of Simpsonville and Emma McDaniel, 14, of Inman today were named South Carolina'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. Olivia was nominated by YMCA Camp Greenville in Greenville, and Emma was nominated by the York County 4-H in York. 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).
Olivia, a senior at Mauldin High School, organized a three-day camp in the mountains of North Carolina for foster children and their parents last November to give the kids an experience designed to help them succeed in life. After participating in a local leadership program and taking a college course on leadership and community service, Olivia realized that she was not too young to take on a challenging volunteer project. She focused on the problem of homelessness in her community and discovered, she said, that “homelessness often starts with children who are neglected or abused,” and that “25 percent of foster children will end up homeless” because “they do not get the attention needed to become productive community members.”
Having a “passion for nature” and a love of outdoor activities, Olivia felt that introducing foster children to the great outdoors could help them gain confidence, build self-esteem and develop an active lifestyle. So she partnered with a local church, a YMCA, a state social services agency and a foster parents association to host three days of outdoor activities for 40 participants. To generate interest, she developed promotional materials and spoke to foster parent groups, and then recruited volunteers, negotiated a discount rate to use YMCA camp facilities and secured donations of money, T-shirts, banners and snacks. Activities at the camp included physical recreation such as hiking, bouldering, archery, fort-building, riding a zipline and kickball -- plus arts and crafts, wildlife observation and campfire camaraderie. Olivia also recruited an expert to lead educational sessions for the parents on building self-esteem in foster children. The event, she said, hopefully gave its young campers “unforgettable experiences, a lifetime of memories, and a passion for the outdoors, while increasing their sense of self-worth.”
Emma, a home-schooled eighth-grader, uses her couponing skills to acquire food and hygiene items for those in need, hosts an annual fashion show to raise money for children, and gives speeches on using coupons to help others. Years ago, Emma started noticing people using coupons in stores, and decided that she could collect them, too. “I learned to coupon because I wanted to save money for my family,” she said. But then, “I quickly realized this method of buying could be used to help people in need.”
Each week, Emma peruses up to 15 newspapers to stockpile coupons and uses them to get free or heavily-discounted nonperishable food items and hygiene products. She then places the items in bags and distributes them to children’s shelters and other local charities. Since she began, she has donated goods worth thousands of dollars to these organizations. A year ago, these efforts led to Emma’s partnership with a local foundation to stage a “What Not to Spend” fashion show and auction featuring clothing from thrift and consignment shops. The event raised more than $8,000 for children’s shelters. Because of her couponing skills, Emma has been a guest lecturer at Converse College’s economics department, and has spoken at churches and civic organizations about using coupons to give back. She also has hosted a “makeover” day at a home for girls and a back-to-school swim party for a children’s shelter.
As State Honorees, Olivia and Emma 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 four other South Carolina students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are South Carolina's Distinguished Finalists for 2013:
Rachel Bryson, 17, of Lyman, S.C., a member of the YMCA of Greenville-Eastside and a home-schooled senior, earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by creating a half-mile walking track for the Southeastern Children’s Home, a foster care group home for teenagers with special needs. Rachel secured donations of mulch, ground cover, a swing and benches, organized a group of volunteers to help plant and spread the mulch, and received $3,000 in donations for the home’s annual benefit auction.
Olivia Grace Cox, 13, of Conway, S.C., an eighth-grader at Aynor Middle School, has raised $1,100 and material donations to support the purchase of wigs for women undergoing cancer treatment, toys for children at Palmetto Children’s Hospital, and Christmas gifts for five children who are disadvantaged. Olivia Grace, who started her program “Giving Grace” in 2011, has raised the funds by hosting salon events, yard sales, jewelry and candy sales, and coordinating toy drives.
Kelsey Foster, 17, of Lexington, S.C., a senior at Lexington High School, has become a major advocate for tolerance and inclusion as leader of Project Unify for South Carolina’s Youth Activation Council (a branch of the Special Olympics) and president of her school’s Be A Fan Club, where she conducts activities for children with special needs and helps educate others about inclusion. Kelsey plans and coordinates statewide events, speaks in front of thousands of people, organizes Special Olympics events and has helped participation grow to 70,000 people and 87 schools.
Marvin Goodly, 17, of Orangeburg, S.C., a senior at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, coordinated the “Safe Sex Awareness Walk” in conjunction with the Orangeburg National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Youth Council, for which he is currently president. Marvin partnered with local businesses, churches, organizations and schools, and coordinated all the details of the walk, including inviting a local person with AIDS to speak about safe sex.
“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