Two Washington Youth Honored for Volunteerism at National Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Two Washington Youth Honored for Volunteerism at National Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning pays tribute to young heroes from Spokane Valley and Longview as part of four-day recognition events

Washington’s top two youth volunteers of the year, Jesse Sheldon, 17, of Spokane Valley and Skyler Lee, 12, of Longview, were honored in the nation’s capital last night for their outstanding volunteer service during the presentation of The 2012 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people – along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country – received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning at the 17^th annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

New York Giants quarterback and 2012 Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning congratulates Jesse Sheldon, 17, of Spokane Valley (center) and Skyler Lee, 12, of Longview (right) on being named Washington's top two youth volunteers for 2012 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Jesse and Skyler were honored at a ceremony on Sunday, May 6 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, where they each received a $1,000 award.

Jesse and Skyler were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in Washington in February. In addition to their cash awards, they received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events.

Jesse, a junior at Central Valley High School, started Inland NW Baby, a “diaper bank” that has distributed over 60,000 diapers. It began when Jesse read an editorial in Time magazine about families that had to reuse soiled diapers because they couldn’t afford to buy more. He wondered if this was a problem in his area. After doing some research, he found that there was a local need.

Jesse developed a mission statement and business plan, filed to create a nonprofit organization, and began recruiting volunteers to help him collect diapers and monetary donations. He then coordinated two “Stuff the Bus Community Diaper Drives” in 2010 and 2011, which gathered more than 35,000 diapers and nearly $1,000 in cash. Jesse distributed the diapers through a network of 28 agencies in three counties. “An interesting thing happened as diapers were being delivered,” said Jesse. “Families started asking for clothes, toys, books and equipment.” So, Jesse now collects and distributes those items as well. So far, his organization has handled nearly $40,000 worth of donations and was recently voted the best local charity in his city. Equally important, it has provided rare volunteer opportunities for local kids as young as five years old. “We are the future and share in the responsibility to use our gifts and talents to positively impact our neighborhoods, community and world,” said Jesse.

Skyler, a sixth-grader at Kelso-Longview Adventist School, has collected and donated 2,050 coats for her local Salvation Army Christmas Center over the past five years to help needy families in her area get through the cool winter months. “When I was 7 years old, I was watching ‘Good Morning America’ and learned that some children in our country had never had a warm coat to wear in the winter,” said Skyler. “I told my mom that we should do something.” Skyler and her mother went out and bought two new coats, which they donated to the Salvation Army. But after learning that coats were in short supply and that more were needed, Skyler decided to expand her efforts. “I was hooked,” she said.

She began by organizing coat drives in her community. Skyler placed collection boxes at several businesses and contacted the newspaper to help spread the word. Soon, coat donations started coming in. Skyler also sells lemonade in her neighborhood every summer, and uses the proceeds to buy gently used coats at garage sales and thrift shops. Her coat drives are now an annual event, yielding 550 coats a year, which are distributed during the Christmas season. “Everyone who comes into the store is able to pick out a coat for themselves and family members at no charge,” said Skyler. “There are so many people who need some type of help.”

“Through their extraordinary acts of volunteerism, these students are powerful examples of the way one young person can make a big impact,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “We are proud to honor them for their achievements, and hope their stories inspire others to consider how they, too, can make a difference.”

More than 26,000 young people participated in the 2012 awards program last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the HandsOn Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state were selected in February, and flown to Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 17 years ago by Prudential Financial to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since then, the program has honored more than 100,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.

“These young people have demonstrated remarkable leadership, selflessness and compassion, and they set a fine example for thousands of other students across the U.S. who want to make a difference,” said Ken Griffith, president of NASSP. “The actions of these young volunteers exemplify the best of what America’s youth have to offer.”

More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees can be found at http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Principals) is the leading organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and all school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. The association provides research-based professional development and resources, networking, and advocacy to build the capacity of middle level and high school leaders to continually improve student performance. Reflecting its longstanding commitment to student leadership development as well, 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.

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 http://www.news.prudential.com/

[Editors: Full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions are available at http://spirit.prudential.com.]

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50265496&lang=en

Prudential
Harold Banks
(w) 973-802-8974 or (c) 973-216-4833
harold.banks@prudential.com
or
NASSP
Robert Farrace, 703-860-7257