Iowa's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 16th Annual National Awards Program

DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sarah Cronk, 17, of Bettendorf and Jungah Lee, 14, of West Des Moines today were named Iowa'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).

“I have experienced firsthand how much he has benefited whenever his typically developing peers have included him in social activities. I wanted to bring that experience to others.”

Sarah was nominated by Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, and Jungah was nominated by Stilwell Junior High School in West Des Moines. 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.

Sarah, a senior at Pleasant Valley High School, co-founded a cheerleading squad at her high school that includes students with disabilities, and then formed a nonprofit corporation that encourages teens across the country to start similar squads at their schools. Three years ago, Sarah and a fellow cheerleader persuaded school administrators to let them form a cheerleading squad that would include disabled students. “My older brother has special needs,” explained Sarah. “I have experienced firsthand how much he has benefited whenever his typically developing peers have included him in social activities. I wanted to bring that experience to others.” Within two weeks, 10 girls with disabilities ranging from autism to Down syndrome signed up for the squad, called “Sparkles.”

“The first few weeks were very challenging,” said Sarah, “but after a month of twice-weekly practices, our Sparkles emerged miraculously as a cohesive, spirited and joyful cheerleading squad.” They have since cheered through two football and basketball seasons and two Special Olympics, and have been greeted enthusiastically by the student body and the community. Sarah, who has been both a coach and the squad’s captain, sought grants and donations to cover the cost of uniforms and travel, so there’d be no cost to the participants’ families. Sarah also created the Sparkle Effect, Inc., to educate students throughout the U.S. about the value of including young people with disabilities in high school sports programming, and to help them launch their own inclusive cheerleading squads. This has involved creating a website at www.thesparkleeffect.org, speaking to audiences across the country, providing on-site training, and raising more than $37,000 to provide new uniforms cost-free. The result so far: 15 cheerleading squads in 10 states similar to Sparkles.

Jungah, an eighth-grader at Stilwell Junior High School, organized a small group of youth and adult volunteers to clean up trash once a week in her neighborhood in order to make it safer and more attractive. Jungah, who moved to West Des Moines in the fall of 2009, says she loves her new town, but is troubled by the amount of litter that regularly accumulates around her apartment complex. “People who live in our apartment buildings or who drive by throw their trash on our grounds, yards, parking lots, and sidewalks,” she said. “I want to live in a prettier, healthier, and safer environment.”

To address her concerns, Jungah organized a small cleaning crew of kids and adults to pick up trash every week and dispose of it appropriately. She also makes a point of picking up litter whenever she encounters it, especially potentially dangerous items such as broken glass and lit cigarettes. She says she is frustrated that “people continue to carelessly and rudely trash our neighborhood,” and that her apartment’s management doesn’t do more to keep the complex clean. But “I know we are making our neighborhood cleaner, safer, and prettier for everyone, especially for the little kids,” she said. She hopes to recruit more volunteers in the future. “I feel that everyone needs to help out, and why not begin with me, even though others may think I am weird or funny.”

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

Austin Ehlers, 18, of Storm Lake, a senior at Sioux Central Community High School in Sioux Rapids, helped locate and map all 73 fire hydrants in the rural town of Sioux Rapids. Austin, who used Global Positioning System maps and Global Information System software to identify and track the fire hydrants, was motivated by the fire department’s critical need to locate all fire hydrants following a record-breaking snowfall in 2009 that covered many of the hydrants.

Rachel Goering, 17, of Agency, a senior at Cardinal High School in Eldon, planted and grew more than 50 varieties of fruits and vegetables to support a local homeless shelter. Rachel, who recruited friends and family to help weed and tend to the garden, also preserved the food by canning jams, salsas and pie fillings for the shelter.

Max McGee, 17, of Cedar Rapids, a senior at George Washington High School, has helped to raise $14,000 to benefit the Pediatric Cancer Unit at University of Iowa Children’s Hospital as a co-founder and co-chair of the Washington High Dance Marathon. Max, who co-founded a similar dance benefit at his middle school, has helped secure donations, design T-shirts, promote the event, and recruit volunteers.

Robert Pak, 18, of Clive, a senior at Valley High School in West Des Moines, has spent the past six years mentoring students whose second language is English, and helping them assimilate into their school environment. Robert, who arranged extra-curricular activities for the students, also organized a Tsunami Relief Concert and a Hurricane Katrina Relief Talent Show that raised more than $6,500.

“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.

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 or call 703-860-0200.

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Editors: Graphics depicting the award program’s logo and medallions may be downloaded from spirit.prudential.com.