Mississippi teens honored for volunteer service. (Southern Scrapbook).

Two Mississippi students were honored in Washington, D.C., in May for outstanding volunteer service to their communities during the presentation of the 2002 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Star Wallin, 17, of Hattiesburg, and Shelly Gunnell, 13, of McComb, along with more than 100 top youth volunteers from across the nation, were selected out of over 28,000 applicants. Each honoree received a $1,000 award as well as personal congratulations from Martin Sheen, star of the Emmy Award-winning television series The West Wing, at the seventh annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Star and Shelly were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in Mississippi. In addition to their cash prizes, they also received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip to the nation's capital for the recognition events.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created seven 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 40,000 young volunteers at the local, state, and national level.

Prudential chairman Art Ryan had high praise for the two Mississippi honorees. "Star and Shelly are wonderful examples of young Americans who care about the world around them and have taken the initiative to improve the world," he said. "We honor their effort, their achievements, and their spirit of community."

Star, a senior at Hattiesburg High School, founded and directs Project CARE, an organization that has mobilized nearly 100 teenagers to assist homeless and hungry families, save abused animals, and address other community needs. Star said she used to be a "civic complainer"--"quick to detail the problems of a situation," but always "stopping short of exercising correctional action." One day, when her brother challenged her to act on her complaints, she realized that the "boulder of pain, anger and frustration I had carried on my back could be transformed into a tool of social change." So three years ago, Star put Project CARE ("Compassion in Action creates a Ripple Effect") into motion, recruiting volunteers, raising money, and partnering with state and local agencies. For needy families, Star's organization has provided meals, transportation and assistance in finding housing, jobs and childcare. In response to her concern about neglected and homeless pets, she has raised nearly $10,000 for a local animal shelter, developed programs to prevent overpopulation, and personally cared for and found homes for more than sixty dogs and cats. Other projects have included finding high school mentors for 400 elementary school children, and beautifying the grounds of her high school.

Shelly, a member of the Girl Scout Council of Middle Mississippi in Jackson and an eighth-grader at Denman Junior High School, organized the building of an outdoor chapel at a state park to memorialize deceased campers of Camp Sunshine, a summer camp for the handicapped. Shelly, who has volunteered at Camp Sunshine over the years, has come to love and respect her handicapped friends. "I have learned to appreciate the many gifts they have that the world does not see," she said. It was this love that inspired her to create a special place to remember those who have died. Once Shelly had permission from Percy Quin State Park, where Camp Sunshine is held, she recruited a retired contractor, a landscaper, the McComb Garden Club, and several of her friends to help build the chapel, which features benches, flowers, a cross, and stones with the names of the remembered. Once the chapel was built, Shelly coordinated a dedication ceremony with Camp Sunshine campers, counselors, and the parents of the deceased campers.

For more information about the honorees and the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, visit their website at www.prudential.com/community/spirit or http://dsa.principals.org/awards.