[February 08, 2011]

Washington's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 16th Annual National Awards Program

Logan Melander, 16, of Tacoma and Justin Peterson, 10, of Chewelah today were named Washington state's top two youth volunteers for 2011 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 16th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Logan was nominated by Stadium High School in Tacoma, and Justin was nominated by Gess Elementary School in Chewelah. As State Honorees, 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 several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2011 at that time.

Logan, a junior at Stadium High School, founded and runs a nonprofit organization that has provided "scholarships" of up to $1,250 to 13 young gymnasts who otherwise would not have been able to compete because of the sport's high cost. A competitive gymnast himself, Logan suffered a serious wrist injury when he was 12 that threatened to end his gymnastic career. While recuperating, Logan felt he wanted to give back to the sport that meant so much to him. He decided to create a foundation to provide financial and moral support to male gymnasts in need of assistance, and to educate people about his sport. "People ought to be able to live up to their potential without having to worry about whether they can afford it," said Logan.

After Logan's mother helped him set up the "Iron Cross Foundation," he recruited board members and began giving speeches to attract volunteers and raise funds. He was asked to write a blog for a gymnastics website, and before long, people from all across the country were volunteering to help. In addition, Logan's organization has hosted state and regional gymnastic meets for hundreds of competitors, and he is currently working on a national meet that is expected to become a major fund-raiser for his scholarships. It is important to Logan that the recipients of his foundation's scholarships give back to their communities. "The way I was raised and our family values taught me to care about other people instead of just myself," said Logan. "All scholarship recipients have to make a commitment to give back to the sport in their community." In addition to his work with the foundation, Logan volunteers to make the life of homeless people in his city easier by serving meals at a soup kitchen, and has organized a drive at his church to provide socks and health kits for the homeless.

Justin, a fifth-grader at Gess Elementary School, raised money to send 15 World War II veterans from his area to Washington, D.C., to see the memorial built in their honor. Last year, Justin elected to do a school project on World War II after watching some documentaries on the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler. "As I began my project, I learned about the men and women who had fought for our country," said Justin. "It was really amazing to me how much these wonderful people did for not only our country, but the world." He decided to see if there were any veterans from that war in his community that he could interview as part of his research. At about the same time, Justin saw a news report on the Inland Northwest Honor Flight, which provides all-expense paid trips for veterans to visit the World War II Memorial in the nation's capital, and he learned that most World War II vets had died before the memorial was completed. It was then that Justin decided he wanted to raise money to fly a veteran across the country.

Justin launched a change drive at his school, and asked local business owners if he could place change-collection jars in their establishments. He then posted handmade flyers all over town, and wrote an article for the local paper to find veterans and publicize his fund-raising drive. After the article appeared, veterans started calling him. He also began a letter-writing and public-speaking campaign to solicit donations from organizations, and hosted a taco/nacho fund-raising dinner with the help of his family. Although Justin's goal was to send just one veteran to see the memorial, he raised more than $5,300, enough to send 15. After his interviews and photographs of local veterans were showcased in a display at his school, the veterans began to receive thanks and appreciation for their service and sacrifice from local residents, many for the first time. "They tod me that it has been very rewarding for them to know that people appreciate what they did, although they all still say that 'it was nothing'," said Justin.

In addition, the program judges recognized six other Washington students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

Bryan Cargill, 18, of University Place, a senior at Curtis Senior High School, refurbished and donated 36 computers to eight nonprofit organizations in the Philippines and the U.S. Bryan, who earned his Eagle Scout Award for the project, collected used computers, taught a group of Boy Scout volunteers how to rebuild the computers, and distributed the like-new computers to area organizations.

Robert Case, 13, of Chehlais, a seventh-grader at Adna Middle School in Adna, is helping to restore a 2-8-0 Baldwin steam locomotive and maintain rail tracks as a volunteer with the Chehalis Centralia Steam Railroad and Museum. Robert, a lover of trains, also assists crew members with promotional steam train rides and gives tours to museum visitors.

Jennifer Hodgman, 17, of Olympia, a junior at North Thurston High School in Lacey, is an avid community and church volunteer who has raised more than $4,000 for cancer research through the Relay for Life. Jennifer also helps feed the homeless, has rebuilt houses after flooding disasters, served Christmas dinner to flood victims, and hosted a children's carnival to support the Sound Reading Foundation.

Andrina MacDonald, 13, of Tacoma, an eighth-grader at Meeker Middle School, has spoken to physicians, caregivers, parents and children with physical disabilities about life with an implanted medical device. Andrina, who has spastic cerebral palsy, underwent a trial surgery to implant a device to combat mobility problems that come with her illness, and wanted to help other children overcome their fears of the surgery.

Jesse Sheldon, 16, of Spokane Valley, a volunteer with the Spokane Valley United Way and a sophomore at Central Valley High School, founded "Inland NW Baby," a nonprofit organization that has provided thousands of diapers, hygiene items and gently used clothing to babies and children in need. Jesse, who works with local organizations to distribute the collected items, not only coordinates diaper and clothing drives throughout the community, but has developed a website and secured a storage space for the donations.

Sarah Smith, 16, of Kirkland, a junior at Juanita High School, has volunteered more than 600 hours over the past two years at Phoenix Rising Sanctuary, a horse rescue organization in Duvall that invites young girls to build self-confidence while learning to ride. Sarah helps to care for as many as 60 rescued horses, training and exercising them, and also helps participants learn to ride during summer camps, and assists with fund-raising activities.

"These award recipients have proven that young people across America are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our nation, and our world," said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. "Each and every one of these honorees deserve our respect and admiration, and we hope by shining a light on them, they will continue to serve as an example for others."

"The young people recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need," said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "NASSP is proud to honor these student leaders because they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation's schools today."

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 affiliates of HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. More than 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital's landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them - five middle level and five high school students - will be named National Honorees on May 2 by a prestigious national selection committee. These 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.

Serving on the national selection committee will be John Strangfeld of Prudential; Jana Frieler, president of NASSP; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light Institute & Hands On Network; Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the America's Promise Alliance; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Pamela Farr, the American Red Cross' national chair of volunteers; Elson Nash, associate director for project management at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; and two 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shannon McNamara of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Benjamin Sater of Plano, Texas.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President's Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President Barack Obama. The President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. Since the program began in 1995, more than 95,000 young volunteers nationwide have been honored at the local, state or national level. Many prominent public figures have assisted in saluting these honorees over the years, including Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Laura Bush, and Condoleezza Rice. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland and India.

For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP's mission is to promote excellence in school leadership. The National Honor Society ®, National Junior Honor Society ®, National Elementary Honor Society™, and National Association of Student Councils ® are all NASSP programs. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, Va., visit www.nassp.org or call 703-860-0200.

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, investment management, and real estate services. 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: Graphics depicting the award program's logo and medallions may be downloaded from spirit.prudential.com.

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