Massachusetts' Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 12th Annual National Awards Program.

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

Honors also bestowed on other top youth volunteers in Massachusetts

BOSTON -- David Poritz, 18, of Amherst and Alyssa Bickoff, 14, of Brookline today were named Massachusetts' 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).

David was nominated by Amherst Regional High School in Amherst, and Alyssa was nominated by Solomon Schechter Day School in Newton. 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.

David, a senior at Amherst Regional High School, founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping communities adversely affected by oil contamination in the Amazon River basin of Ecuador. While studying the Ecuadorian rain forest in sixth grade, David read about an environmental and civil rights attorney who happened to be his teacher's father. After being introduced to the lawyer, David was offered an internship in his law office, where he helped research cases involving oil contamination in Ecuador. He eventually got to visit the country. "Witnessing children with sores over their bodies bathing in contaminated waters and walking barefooted in toxic waste had a deep impact on me," he said. "When I returned to Amherst, I felt a moral obligation to help these people."

David spent a month learning to speak Spanish fluently, and then organized a drive throughout New England that collected 12,500 pairs of shoes for children in Ecuador. Since then, David's organization, Esperanza International, Inc., has raised money to furnish educational materials to impoverished schools, and provide medical supplies and support to local clinics. He also has guided groups of students and teachers to the Ecuadorian jungle, interviewed Ecuadorian cancer patients, and worked as a liaison for doctors and other medical specialists visiting the area. "My message to other students is about the importance of moving beyond their comfort zone, learning about injustices inflicted upon others and following their hearts to make a difference," said David.

Alyssa, an eighth-grader at Solomon Schechter Day School, has raised nearly $25,000 to help find a cure for ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, by selling specially inscribed wristbands and participating in fund-raising walks. One of Alyssa's father's best friends died of ALS in 2004. "I learned a great deal from him throughout his illness," she said. "After his passing I became determined to dedicate my life to raising money to find a cure to save everyone who has or may become afflicted with this disease."

Alyssa launched a campaign to sell bright orange wristbands with the inscription, "Banded Together to Cure ALS." After she delivered a presentation to her school about the importance of supporting ALS research, her fellow students chose to allocate the proceeds of an annual charity drive to Alyssa's cause. In addition, Alyssa has participated in two seven-mile fund-raising walks to benefit the ALS Family Charitable Foundation. The money that Alyssa raised has been used not only to fund research into the neuromuscular disease, but also to purchase wheelchairs and mobility items for patients.

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

Matthew Chase, 16, of Dover, a junior at Dover-Sherborn High School, helps introduce the sport of tennis to disadvantaged children by providing free lessons and collecting donations of gently used tennis equipment. While teaching tennis skills to inner-city kids over the past two summers, Matthew noticed that some could not afford racquets, so he set up collection boxes around his town and received more than $2,000 worth of used equipment, which was distributed to young players who needed it.

Kelsey Chisholm, 17, of Lynnfield, a senior at Lynnfield High School, co-manages "Kids Gear," a youth organization that collects new and gently used baseball equipment for disadvantaged children in Greater Boston. With help from the Boston Red Sox organization, Kelsey promotes an annual collection event at Fenway Park, recruits and organizes volunteers, sorts and inventories donations, helps distribute the items to community youth organizations, and works year-round to promote "Kids Gear" efforts.

Cieu Lan Dong, 17, of Cambridge, a senior at Brooks School in North Andover, has worked fervently to improve conditions for women and children affected by HIV and AIDS in the African nation of Botswana. After conducting a survey of HIV-positive women in Botswana, Cieu Lan lobbied government officials to improve health policies, nutritional guidelines and childcare; raised funds to create an after-school job training center for teen AIDS orphans; and collected donations of books to start a new library for an AIDS orphanage.

Elizabeth Handel, 17, of Needham, a junior at Needham High School, created a program that collects donated children's books and gives them to incarcerated mothers at the Framingham women's correctional facility to share with their children during prison visits. Over the past three years, Elizabeth's "A Book from Mom" project has placed more than 4,000 brand-new children's books in the hands of mothers at MCI-Framingham.

Gregg Katz, 17, of Upton, a senior at Nipmuc Regional High School, established a high school club that brings students and senior citizens together for a variety of social activities. Gregg's Nipmuc Friends of Seniors club now has nearly 30 members who take part in activities at the Upton Senior Center, such as computer classes, an ice cream social, and a "senior professional day."

Courtney Mota, 17, of Rehoboth, a senior at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School in North Dighton, created and leads an after-school language program for elementary school children. Courtney recruited fellow students to help her teach weekly French, Spanish and Portuguese classes for four weeks last spring to 30 youngsters at a local elementary school.

"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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