2010-02-09 15:04:37 -

Michael Young, 16, of Scottsdale and Austen Pearce, 12, of Maricopa today were named Arizona's top two youth volunteers for 2010 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 15th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Michael was nominated by Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise Valley, and Austen was nominated by Desert Wind Middle School in Maricopa. 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 2010 at that time.


Michael, a junior at Phoenix Country Day School, started an annual charity golf tournament that has raised approximately $200,000 over the past four years to fund the animal-assisted therapy program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Although Michael and his family have always been involved in charitable activities, “when I was 12 years old, I knew I really wanted to do something on my own,” he said. “I wanted to help other children who were not as fortunate as I was.”

Michael met with the foundation director at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where two of his cousins had been treated, and learned that the hospital’s animal-assisted therapy program needed help since it was not funded by the hospital. Michael, who loves to play golf, proposed a benefit golf tournament, and although he encountered skepticism that a 12-year-old could pull off such an event, “I was determined not to let the fact that I was an adolescent stand in my way,” he said. Michael met with the director of the therapy program, solicited help from a golf pro at a local course, and set a date for his first Swing Fore Kids Golf Classic. He created forms and informational literature, secured corporate sponsors, obtained auction items, marketed the event to golfers, and coordinated most of the arrangements on the day of the tournament. In addition to hosting the tournament for the past four years, Michael has organized several “golf days” for children at the hospital. “Seeing a child’s face light up when a therapy dog is with them makes the hard work all worthwhile,” he said.


Austen, a seventh-grader at Desert Wind Middle School, initiated a community garden that yielded more than 7,000 pounds of fresh vegetables and fruit last spring and summer for 85 needy families in his community, which was hit hard by home foreclosures and unemployment during the recent recession. Austen was volunteering at a local food bank when he read a gardening book that mentioned community flower gardens. “I was inspired to take that concept and extend it to something that could physically help people in need,” he explained. “I wanted people to know that they were cared about and could be helped by members of their own town.”

Austen presented his idea for a community fruit and vegetable garden to his town’s mayor and the director of the food bank, and then worked with the Maricopa Christian Alliance and a master gardener to get the project underway. Serving as an assistant master gardener, Austen planted crops, pulled weeds, and worked with other volunteers to harvest and transport the ripe produce to the food bank each week, where he weighed and sorted everything into containers. Then, every Monday, Austen spent several hours handing out the fresh produce to families in need. “To see the appreciation of all of the families as they received the produce was overwhelming,” he said. “What a wonderful feeling it is to help other people.”


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

Annica Benning, 15, of Scottsdale, a sophomore at Scottsdale Preparatory Academy, promoted early literacy and cultural understanding by researching, writing, and photographing a 48-page children’s book about the indigenous people of Arizona and their art. Annica is currently raising money to fund the distribution of her book to every fourth-grade student in Arizona.

Taylor Cool, 17, of Anthem, a senior at Boulder Creek High School, organized a club at his school called “The Dreamcatchers” to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The club’s first project generated $15,000 to send a cancer-stricken teen and her family to Italy.

Mikaela Gibson, 17, of Phoenix, a senior at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, has spent the past three years working to raise funds and promote awareness in the battle against brain tumors. As student co-chair of Students Supporting Brain Tumor Research, Mikaela plans and coordinates an annual walkathon for the cause, and works to raise money for research throughout the year.

Taylor Landreth, 17, of Peoria, a senior at Sunrise Mountain High School, launched a project called “Taylor’s Thank You Wish” several years ago that makes greeting cards for children in hospitals. Taylor also has raised money to buy art supplies, games, and personal items for pediatric patients.

Kaitlin Lang, 18, of Paradise Valley, a senior at Xavier College Preparatory High School for Girls in Phoenix, organized a community-wide campaign that collected and shipped more than 1,100 pairs of tennis shoes to needy children at the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala, India. Assisting Kaitlin were two-dozen students from 12 elementary schools who belong to Compassionate Kids Helping Kids, a nonprofit organization founded by Kaitlin.

Rozan Latham, 17, of Glendale, a senior at Deer Valley High School, volunteers as an assistant for surgical and rehabilitation patients at Arrowhead Hospital, gives presentations to youth about HIV/AIDS prevention and positive self-esteem, and organizes fund-raising efforts to drill clean-water wells in Africa.

“People as caring and committed as these young students are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nation,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “By recognizing these honorees, we hope to encourage other young people – our future leaders – and all Americans to think more about the value and importance of volunteering in their communities.”


“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. Nearly 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 3 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 Strangfeld of Prudential; Steven Pophal, 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 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shardy Camargo of Orlando, Fla., and Colin Leslie of Rye, N.Y.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will distribute President’s Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President 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 90,000 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 President Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and Laura Bush. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Ireland.

For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit spirit.prudential.com.

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.principals.org : or call 703-860-0200.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) is a financial services leader with operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. In the United States, the company’s Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time.

Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com : .

Editors: Graphics depicting the award program’s logo and medallions may be downloaded from spirit.prudential.com.


PrudentialHarold Banks973-802-8974 (office)973-216-4833
(cell) harold.banks@prudential.com : mailto:harold.banks@prudential.com