WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eric Li, 14, of Manvel, Texas, was named one of America’s top 10 youth volunteers of 2015 today by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards during the program’s 20th annual national award ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Selected from a field of more than 33,000 youth volunteers from across the country, Eric has earned the title of National Honoree, along with a personal award of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal trophy for his school, and a $5,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation for a nonprofit charitable organization of his choice.
Also honored this week in Washington, D.C., was Cullen Corr, 17, of Irving. Cullen and Eric were named Texas’s top youth volunteers in February, and were officially recognized last night at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History along with the top two youth volunteers in each other state and the District of Columbia. At that event, each of the 102 State Honorees for 2015 received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts. The honorees each also received engraved silver medallions and all-expense-paid trips with a parent to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events.
Eric, an eighth-grader at Pearland Junior High West, founded a nonprofit organization with his siblings that has collected nearly $200,000 in cash and in-kind donations to help children around the world recover from major disasters. When Eric was 7, an earthquake in Sichuan, China, killed nearly 90,000 people. “I was very sad, and felt that I had to help the kids there,” he said. He gathered all of his savings – $94.87 – and asked everyone in his school to help him collect more money for the victims. In three months, Eric was able to send more than $4,500 to the Red Cross for disaster relief in Sichuan, and then visited China to deliver $1,500 more.
That experience made Eric realize that there are lots of people around the world who need help. He and his siblings formed a nonprofit charity that has since organized more than 400 activities that have either raised money or collected needed items for young victims of 10 disasters. When Japan was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, Eric and his fellow volunteers persuaded young people and adults in 16 countries to send over 5,000 letters to children who suffered from the disaster. In November 2013, Eric led an effort to ship 4,210 items of clothing and other supplies to the Philippines in the aftermath of a devastating typhoon. Currently, Eric also is teaching local students to refurbish computers, which are then sent to orphanages in third-world countries.
Cullen, a senior at Episcopal School of Dallas, founded a nonprofit organization made up of student leaders from 12 Dallas-area high schools who mentor, tutor and raise money for kids at a local homeless center. When Cullen began volunteering for Family Gateway in seventh grade with his mother, he noticed there was no place there for teens to “hang out,” so he spent the following summer raising money and recruiting volunteers to install a teen room at the center. He then started planning monthly activities for the kids there and helping them with their schoolwork. “Every time I realized there was a need, I wanted to do something to address that need and help the children,” he said.
Cullen eventually formalized his support for kids at the homeless center by establishing a nonprofit and involving students from other high schools in the area. His group conducts tutoring sessions every Sunday afternoon, plans events at the center each month, hosts holiday celebrations, and runs collection drives for needed items, often aided by hundreds of volunteers. In addition, Cullen’s “Kids Helping Kids” organization raised more than $20,000 through two 5K races to buy a 15-passenger van that will enable the kids at Family Gateway to go on educational field trips, attend camps, and take part in preschool programs. And it is selling branded merchandise on its website to fund a college scholarship program for Family Gateway children.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is a national youth recognition program sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, we are delighted to recognize the 2015 honorees for their exemplary volunteer service,” said John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “These young people have demonstrated leadership, compassion and perseverance, and we look forward to seeing all they accomplish in the future.”
“These honorees represent the best of what America’s youth have to offer,” said G.A. Buie, president of NASSP. “They have set a powerful example for their peers by proving that one young person really can make a difference, and it is a privilege to shine a spotlight on their good works.”
In addition to Eric, these are the other 2015 National Honorees:
Jake Gallin, 13, of New Rochelle, N.Y., a seventh-grader at Albert Leonard Middle School, founded an organization called “Stars for Cars” and has raised more than $12,000 for the United Service Organization (USO) by selling star-shaped magnetic car decals that honor families of soldiers who have served in the U.S. armed forces.
Raghav Ganesh, 13, of San Jose, Calif., a seventh-grader at Joaquin Miller Middle School, designed and built a device that uses sensors to detect objects beyond the reach of the white canes used by many visually impaired people.
Carolina Gonzalez, 18, of Coral Gables, Fla., a senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami, started a nonprofit organization that has helped more than 500 undocumented young immigrants apply for temporary residence and employment in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and has raised more than $22,000 to pay the application fees of those who cannot afford them.
Arturo (AJ) Mattia, 15, of Turnersville, N.J., a freshman at Holy Cross Academy, survived bone cancer and a leg amputation to become a prominent champion for pediatric cancer awareness and fundraising.
Morlan Osgood, 16, of Loveland, Ohio, a junior at Loveland High School, co-founded an educational program that has helped more than 14,000 students in grades 2-12 develop their interest and skills in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math) through summer camps, after-school classes, conference workshops and other activities.
Samantha Petersen, 18, of South Windsor, Conn., a home-schooled senior, founded a nonprofit organization that disseminates information about scoliosis, screens children in low-income communities for the disease, and offers emotional support to those undergoing corrective surgery.
Elizabeth Quesenberry, 17, of Wilmington, Del., a senior at Padua Academy High School, overcame a diagnosis of brain cancer to start a nonprofit organization that has raised $100,000 over the past six years to increase awareness of childhood cancer, help fund the search for a cure, and ease the financial pressure on families of young cancer patients.
Carter Ries, 14, of Fayetteville, Ga., an eighth-grader at Konos Academy, created a weeklong educational curriculum with his younger sister that is teaching kids about the importance of reducing plastic pollution.
Caleb White, 12, of Commerce Township, Mich., a seventh-grader at Clifford H. Smart Middle School, hands out boxes of food, toiletries and warm garments to the homeless on the streets of Detroit each year during the Christmas season, and last August threw a back-to-school party that provided 800 children in need with backpacks stuffed with new school supplies.
The distinguished selection committee that chose the National Honorees was chaired by Strangfeld and included Buie of NASSP; Andrea Bastiani Archibald, chief girl expert for Girl Scouts of the USA; Robert Bisi, senior public affairs manager for the Corporation for National and Community Service; Tracy Hoover, president of Points of Light; Reneé Jackson, senior manager of education programs at the National PTA; Maxine Margaritis, vice president of volunteer services for the American Red Cross; Delia Pompa, senior vice president for programs at the National Council of La Raza; Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO of the National 4-H Council; Dru Tomlin, director of middle level services for the Association for Middle Level Education; Kevin Washington, president and CEO of YMCA of the USA; and two 2014 National Honorees: Sean Egan of Staten Island, N.Y., a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, and Kinsey Morrison of Goshen, Ky., a freshman at Stanford University.
Youth volunteers in grades 5-12 were invited to apply for 2015 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 33,000 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, too. In the past 20 years, the program has honored more than 100,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.
For more information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
About NASSP
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States and 35 countries around the world. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high-quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, 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 www.news.prudential.com.
Editors: For full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions, click here: http://bit.ly/Xi4oFW
For B-roll of Texas’s honorees at the 2015 national recognition events, contact Prudential’s Harold Banks at (973) 216-4833 or harold.banks@prudential.com.
