2011-02-08 14:41:17 -

Lindsey Buxman, 16, of Pueblo and Leah Fox, 13, of Fort Collins today were named Colorado'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).

Lindsey was nominated by Centennia High School in Pueblo, and Leah was nominated by Boltz Middle School in Fort Collins. 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.

Lindsey, a junior at Centennial High School, initiated and campaigned for a ballot measure in her town that gave city officials permission to spend $10 million on the renovation of an historic theater. As a dancer, Lindsey had often performed at the Memorial Hall theater and had heard the complaints about the dilapidated and dangerous conditions of the stage floor, dressing rooms, and rigging. “While listening to someone complain about the stage floor needing replacement, I wondered why someone didn’t fix the issue,” Lindsey said. “Then I realized that I was that someone.” She decided to embark on a campaign to raise $70,000 to replace the stage floor. But when Lindsey took her plan to city officials, they said if the theater didn’t receive a complete renovation in the near future, it would most likely be torn down.

It was then that Lindsey began campaigning for the passage of a ballot measure to renovate the theater. Lindsey’s first step was appearing before the City Council to present the case for placing the issue on the ballot. Then Lindsey and her supporters worked to convince the public that the cost of the renovation would not increase taxes, but would instead utilize special business tax funds. To do this, Lindsey and a core group of students gave speeches, designed signs, wrote articles for the local newspaper, and met with business leaders to discuss the advantages a renovation would bring to the community. The measure passed by a two-thirds margin last November 3. “A political campaign is a lot of work,” said Lindsey. “It takes very thick skin, for I would at times receive negative criticism. Nevertheless, I am happy I have put effort into this project. It is a very positive thing for the community.”

Leah, an eighth-grader at Boltz Middle School, created her own jewelry business and started a school penny drive to help purchase insulin pumps for young diabetics who cannot afford them. Leah, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 7, knows all too well how difficult it is for children to adjust to the regimented insulin injections typically used to treat this disease. When she was able to switch to an insulin pump, Leah saw a marked improvement in the quality of her life and her ability to manage her disease. “I felt strongly that all kids should have access to a pump if they want one,” she said. But insulin pumps can cost more than $6,000 and insurance doesn’t always cover the cost, so Leah knew she needed to do something to help.

Leah began designing and making beaded earrings, bracelets, necklaces, bookmarks, and cell phone charms, which she sells at school and hospital fund-raising events and at jewelry parties in people’s homes. A chance encounter with her school principal over lunch one day gave Leah the idea of launching “Pennies 4 Pumps,” a school-wide campaign in which classrooms compete to see which one can donate the most pennies to her cause. Since then, Pennies 4 Pumps has expanded to other schools and has gained media attention that generated donations from others in the community. With more than $7,000 in funds, Leah provided $3,500 to help make an insulin pump available to a 6-year-old girl from her community, and is now looking forward to finding a second recipient. “I hope the greatest impact my fund-raisers have had is to inspire others to notice a need and find a way to help,” she said.

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

Angela Harder, 18, of Westminster, a senior at Holy Family High School in Broomfield, has been inspired by her cousin with Down syndrome to volunteer to work with children who have special needs. Angela is a counselor and therapy assistant for a summer camp, an instructor for a therapeutic horseback riding program, a gymnastics coach for a Special Olympics team, and a dance and religious teacher for children with special needs.

Tesia Kolodziejczyk, 18, of Colorado Springs, a senior at Pine Creek High School, raised $2,000 to support Project Mercy, a charity that supports education and sustainability in Ethiopia, by creating and coordinating a benefit movie night at her school. Tesia secured sponsors, managed logistics, and recruited a team of volunteers to assist with promotions and event details.

Ann Moorman, 15, of Denver, a member of the Arapahoe County 4-H in Littleton and a sophomore at George Washington High School, raised more than $900 to support a young Ethiopian girl’s high school education through the Children of Ethiopia Education Fund. She has also conducted numerous service projects, including sewing neck coolers for Iraqi soldiers, making hats and scarves for the homeless, and distributing food to low-income families.

Kristine Shonkwiler, 14, of Colorado Springs, an eighth-grader at Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School, created a unique bullying prevention program at her school to discourage bullying of seventh-graders by upper classmen. Kristine, who herself was shunned and bullied, designed a program to welcome, support, and assist incoming seventh-graders; 80 percent of eighth-graders signed the pledge.

“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 : cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww .. .

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 : cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww .. 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 www.news.prudential.com/ : cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww ..

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

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Prudential FinancialHarold Banks(973) 802-8974 (office)(973)
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