WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nebraska's top two youth volunteers of 2013, Alexandra Baxter, 18, of Omaha and My'Kah Knowlin, 12, of Lincoln, were honored in the nation’s capital last night for their outstanding volunteer service during the 18th annual presentation of The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Alexandra and My'Kah – along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country – each received $1,000 awards and personal congratulations from Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey and Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix at an award ceremony and gala dinner reception held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), named Alexandra and My'Kah Nebraska's top high school and middle level youth volunteers in February. In addition to their cash awards, they each received an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip with a parent to Washington, D.C., for four days of recognition events.
Alexandra, a senior at Millard North High School, started the “Red Kettle 5K Run” in 2010, a fall charity event that has collected more than 80,000 cans of food to stock Salvation Army pantries for the high-demand holiday season. Since she was a little girl, Alexandra has volunteered with her local Salvation Army as a bell ringer in front of the charity’s signature red kettle. But when she was a freshman, she decided she wanted to do more. An avid runner, she and her mother were jogging one day when the idea of a 5K run came to her. “I decided to combine something that I liked – running – with something that I knew was an issue in Omaha – hunger during the holidays,” Alexandra said.
She drafted a proposal and approached Salvation Army officials with her idea. After getting approval, she began planning her event, recruiting volunteers, organizing meetings, designing materials, and negotiating with sponsors. Since its inception three years ago, Alexandra’s run has more than doubled in size: the first event drew 400 runners and brought in 16,000 cans of food, while this past October nearly 900 runners participated and 44,000 food items were donated to help ensure that families in need were well-stocked for the holidays. Moreover, Alexandra has interested six other cities including Chicago and St. Louis in her Red Kettle Run. She has provided them with “start-up kits” and is acting as a consultant for many of these upcoming races. “While each city will have a different situation, they can use my blueprint to create a Red Kettle Run that fits their needs,” said Alexandra. “That, I think, is the beauty of the idea. The event takes a lot of work and planning, but the basic idea is simple and the structure is effective.”
My'Kah, a sixth-grader at Lux Middle School, provided more than 300 “Boxes of Love” filled with toys, snacks and other items to children in Joplin, Mo., after that city was hit by devastating tornadoes, and then began working on additional projects to serve others. My’Kah is no stranger to volunteering. When she was 5 years old, she started asking for books instead of gifts for her birthday, which she then donated to children in need. As a result, over the past six years, she has given 1,200 books to schools in low-income areas of her community. But “hearing about the tornadoes in Joplin was my call to action,” said My’Kah. “I felt it was important to help the children, since they can’t help themselves.”
She started by traveling around Nebraska, asking local businesses to donate items that could comfort young children. She then asked shoe stores to donate boxes to hold the items, and recruited friends to help fill the boxes. My’Kah, along with her mother and a few friends, traveled to Joplin to distribute their boxes, stopping at that community’s Ronald McDonald House, a Boys and Girls Club and a home for children displaced by the tornadoes. “It was devastating,” she said. “I witnessed children left homeless, living in tents without the security of their favorite toy or blanket.” The Joplin experience, My’Kah said, made her realize the large number of people living without daily necessities and the need to reach out. She recently shipped seven boxes filled with puzzles, socks and gloves to soldiers in Afghanistan, and planned a big Christmas party for children in need.
“We commend these honorees not only for the impact of their service and their spirit of giving, but also for inspiring others to consider that they can make a difference, too,” said John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “We congratulate this extraordinary group of youth volunteers.”
“These students are fine examples of what is possible when young people roll up their sleeves and commit themselves to helping others,” said Denise Greene-Wilkinson, president of NASSP. “They have learned early that their contributions can make a real difference, and there is no limit to the great things they can achieve.”
Youth volunteers were invited to apply for 2013 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the HandsOn Network. More than 28,000 middle level and high school students nationwide participated in this year’s program.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program was created in 1995 to identify and recognize young people for outstanding volunteer service – and, in so doing, inspire others to volunteer as well. In the past 18 years, the program has honored more than 100,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.
More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees can be found at http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
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 38 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.
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]
