Indiana's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected In 12th Annual National Awards Program.

Indianapolis students earn $1,000 awards, engraved medallions and trip to nation's capital

Honors also bestowed on other top youth volunteers in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS -- Evan Appleman, 18, and James Kennedy III, 12, both of Indianapolis, today were named Indiana's top two youth volunteers for 2007 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 12th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Evan was nominated by Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, and James was nominated by Creekside Middle School in Carmel. 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 - one middle level and one high school youth - 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 2007 at that time.

Evan, a senior at Lawrence North High School, produced a series of bilingual television programs for a local cable TV channel to promote greater understanding of the growing Hispanic community in Indianapolis and to "bridge the gap" between the city's Hispanic and non-Hispanic cultures. Evan's motivation to take on this project came from one of his teachers. "He said that the greatest problem people have is that they don't understand each other, not out of spite, but often out of ignorance," explained Evan. "I thought it would be a great idea to inform people of the growing Hispanic community, so that the great lack of understanding could be eliminated."

Evan recruited two friends to help him pursue his idea, sought advice from school officials, drew up a project outline, and persuaded the local cable TV operator to allocate on-air time for a series of programs. Many after-school hours were then devoted to scripting, filming and editing the programs, entitled "Latino Community Insight," while Evan and his team maintained constant communication with people in the Hispanic community. The reaction so far has been very positive, said Evan. "Those who have seen it said that they thoroughly enjoyed it and that they had no idea so much was going on in the community."

James, a sixth-grader at Creekside Middle School, delivers frequent speeches about his experience with cerebral palsy, serves as a volunteer patient for therapy students, and raises money for the Timmy Foundation, which supports health and education initiatives in developing countries. Inspired by Dr. Chuck Dietzen, his doctor and the founder of the Timmy Foundation, James wanted to get involved in helping other people, too. He began speaking at schools and other places about the importance of focusing on what people can do, not what they can't do; about what it's like to have a disability; and about the work of the Timmy Foundation. James, who writes his own speeches, delivered more than 10 talks last year, often speaking for 30 minutes at a time.

For several years, he also has participated in annual wrestling matches that raise money for the foundation, and he led a drive at his own school to collect money and supplies for the same cause. In addition, James offered to be a "volunteer patient" to help students at the University of Indianapolis learn more about cerebral palsy. "I feel what I do is important because it helps people understand that even though I wear braces on my legs and use a walker at school, I am just like any other kid with the same feelings and dreams," James said.

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

Sarah Boesing, 17, of New Albany, a junior at Christian Academy of Indiana, collected donations of gift items and then sponsored a party for hospitalized children and their families. After receiving the approval of hospital officials, Sarah organized a toy and gift drive, created a publicity campaign, recruited student volunteers, wrapped presents and assembled gift baskets, and presented the gifts to young patients and their families at a surprise party.

Kacie Giles, 18, of Lebanon, a senior at Lebanon Senior High School, created a volunteer group that recruits high school students to become "buddies" with peers who have intellectual disabilities. The paired buddies have participated in a wide variety of activities, including a pool party, a square dance, a pumpkin-patch visit and fund-raisers.

Savannah Holderman, 17, of Mishawaka, a home-schooled eleventh-grader, organized a program in her community to combat the isolation and loneliness of elderly shut-ins. She arranged for home-bound senior citizens to communicate regularly through phone calls and letters with community members sharing similar interests, and she distributed more than 500 winter "survival kits" for shut-ins to use in case of severe weather or road conditions.

Alison Mansfield, 12, of Fort Wayne, a member of the Allen County 4-H and a sixth-grader at Summit Middle School, led a campaign to collect letters of appreciation and cookies for soldiers undergoing treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and serving in Iraq. Alison worked with Southwest and ATA airlines to encourage their passengers to write the letters to injured soldiers, made 100 copies of each letter, and delivered them to patients at Walter Reed. She also conducted a Girl Scout cookie drive that produced 550 boxes of cookies for service members at Walter Reed and in Iraq.

Brittany Oliver, 17, of Lafayette, a junior at Lafayette Jefferson High School, initiated a program that has recruited more than 80 volunteers to read to young children at seven local day-care centers. The program, called "Reading Teams," teaches kids that reading is important and helps them develop academically. It also makes them feel appreciated and introduces them to positive role models, says Brittany.

Cory Sprunger, 18, of Berne, a senior at South Adams Junior/Senior High School, helped lead a teen volunteer project that built five Habitat for Humanity homes for disadvantaged families. As student project coordinator, Cory helped organize fund-raisers, solicited donations from local building supply centers and other businesses, created publicity materials, coordinated the efforts of other volunteers, and worked at the job sites.

"People as caring and committed as these young students are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nation," said Arthur Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential. "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."

"NASSP is pleased to once again join Prudential in recognizing these young people for their amazing accomplishments," remarked Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "This year's honorees are proof that the youth of today are conscientious and capable of performing selfless acts of kindness in their local communities, on a national scale and at the global level."

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 Volunteer Centers, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. More than 7,500 Local Honorees were then reviewed by state-level judges, who 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 7 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 U.S. Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota; Arthur Ryan of Prudential; actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth; Robert Goodwin, president and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation; Amy B. Cohen, director of Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; Kathryn Forbes, national chair of volunteers, American Red Cross; Joe Militello, president of NASSP; and two 2006 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Ajay Mangal of Pascagoula, Miss., and Geneva Johnson of the Bronx, N.Y.

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 4,150 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. 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. The program is part of a broad youth-service initiative by Prudential that includes a youth leadership training program administered by the Points of Light Foundation; a free booklet of volunteer ideas for young people offered through the Federal Citizen Information Center; and a Web site featuring profiles of outstanding youth volunteers, volunteer tips and project ideas for students, an electronic newspaper on youth volunteerism, and more (www.prudential.com/spirit). The Spirit of Community Awards program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and is being introduced this year in Ireland.

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

The National Association of Secondary School Principals -- the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders -- provides its members with the professional resources to serve as visionary leaders. NASSP promotes the intellectual growth, academic achievement, character development, leadership development, and physical well-being of youth through its programs and student leadership services. NASSP sponsors the National Honor Society[TM], the National Junior Honor Society[TM] and the National Association of Student Councils[TM]. For more information on NASSP, NHS, NJHS or NASC, visit www.principals.org.

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