2011-02-08 14:35:17 -

Rujul Zaparde, 16, of Plainsboro and Rocco Fiorentino, 14, of Voorhees today were named New Jersey'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).

Rujul was nominated by The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, and Rocco was nominated by Voorhees Middle School in Voorhees Township. 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.

Rujul, a junior at The Lawrenceville School, co-founded a nonprofit organization that has motivated more than 450 students at 23 schools to raise funds that have been used to build over 30 water wells in rural India. Rujul traveled to India with his family in 2007 and visited a village called Paras that didn't have fresh water. “The villagers had to walk a few kilometers each way to reach the nearest water source – and that water wasn’t even clean,” he explained. “I was astounded. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to live in such a village.” When he returned home, Rujul enlisted the help of a friend to raise $1,000 to build a well for Paras. They held bake sales at school, set up a car wash, solicited donations door-to-door, and eight months later, had enough money. Rujul went back to India and built the well. “I realized then that we could do even more,” he said. “We could build more wells, and help more villagers.”

Rujul and his friend started a club at their school to involve other students in their mission, and then founded a nonprofit organization call “Drinking Water for India.” They then began to make presentations at other schools about the dire need for fresh water in India. So far, more than 450 students at 23 schools have joined their cause, by forming clubs that fund-raise regularly, or collecting money on their own. As a result nearly three-dozen poor villages in India have new wells. “Clean water is a basic right,” said Rujul. “All deserve to have access to it.”

Rocco, an eighth-grader at Voorhees Middle School, is a dedicated advocate for children who are blind like him or visually impaired, striving over the past nine years to increase government funding for Braille services and educate others about the abilities of people with visual challenges. Sightless since birth, Rocco realized in kindergarten that he could not keep up with his classmates, who could practice reading many hours each week while he received Braille instruction from a state-provided teacher for only one hour. “Frustrated that I could not read as fast as my classmates, I complained to my parents,” he said. “I wanted to learn Braille, but the state would not provide the service.”

Rocco spoke to a local legislator, and then testified before the New Jersey General Assembly. “The legislators had no idea I was receiving such little time for Braille instruction,” he said, so instead of enacting a proposed cut in services, they voted a $1.2 million increase to give every blind child an additional four hours of Braille instruction per week. Since then, Rocco has continued to lobby on behalf of the visually challenged at both the state and national level. He also has petitioned governors in every state to recognize October as Blindness Awareness Month; five have done so. In addition, Rocco gives speeches across the country, visits more than 50 schools a year to increase understanding of blindness, and mentors other blind children to, in Rocco’s words, “be the best they can be.”


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

Grace Farren, 17, of Manasquan, a senior at Ranney School in Tinton Falls, raised more than $17,000 to benefit a “180 Turning Lives Around” shelter for abused women through the organization she founded, “Grace’s Gift.” To raise the funds, Grace designed and sold T-shirts and hosted a benefit concert at the famous Stone Pony music club with four local bands and more than 250 people in attendance.

Gabriella Handal, 14, of Totowa, an eighth-grader at the Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Franklin Lakes, started her annual “Sunshine Collection” in 2009 to benefit children receiving cancer treatment at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson. Gabriella collected more than $800 and 150 toys in the first year, and more than $1,000 and 400 boxes of Band-Aids in the second year.

Aileen Jiang, 18, of Belle Mead, a senior at Montgomery High School in Skillman, founded a student-run service organization in 2008 called “The Holiday Cheer Foundation” to honor the memory of a close friend who was very charitable. Aileen coordinates the volunteer activities of 40 club members who have made 650 homemade gifts and cards for the sick and elderly, donated 1,200 books, organized toy and supply drives for care centers, and cooked meals for families at a Ronald McDonald House.

Michael Mandes, 16, of Brigantine, a volunteer with the United Way of Atlantic County and a sophomore at Atlantic City High School, has raised nearly $30,000 to support pediatric cancer research through the Brigantine Youth Alliance he created and “Alex’s Lemonade Stand,” which the Alliance runs. In addition to coordinating the stand for the past six years, Michael gave away seven $100 grants to encourage other youth to start their own lemonade stands to support the cause.

Jacob Silberg, 18, of Maplewood, a senior at Columbia High School, has raised more than $5,000 as a triathlete to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Jacob, a survivor of Burkitt’s lymphoma, also mentors newly diagnosed patients, has lobbied Congress in support of cancer funding, leads his school’s Relay for Life team, and founded “Jake’s Cakes Against Cancer,” a series of pancake breakfasts he hosts for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House.

Krithika Varagur, 17, of Edison, a senior at John P. Stevens High School, has raised more than $10,000 to create a library of more than 2,000 books at a school in a Nepali orphanage. Krithika, who volunteered with the Save Lives Orphanage in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2008, founded the Youth Literacy Fund and hosted the “Save Lives” benefit performance and the “Spell to Save Lives” charity spelling bee to raise the funds to create a much-needed library for the children.

“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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