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

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nikhitha Murali, 17, of Green Bay and Rachel Ley, 14, of Stevens Point today were named Wisconsin'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).

“The crippled wailed as they hobbled down the street. Children with hollow cheeks stared at the cars that drove by.”

Nikhitha was nominated by Ashwaubenon High School in Green Bay, and Rachel was nominated by P.J. Jacobs Junior High School in Stevens Point. 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.

Nikhitha, a senior at Ashwaubenon High School, organized a one-day health care clinic in a poor rural village in India, raising more than $4,000 to bring much-needed health care professionals and supplies to 203 villagers, many of whom had never seen a doctor. The idea for her clinic came to Nikhitha on the way from the airport to her grandmother’s home in India. “Stray dogs huddled next to the homeless, who were swathed in grime-stained cloth,” said Nikhitha. “The crippled wailed as they hobbled down the street. Children with hollow cheeks stared at the cars that drove by.” Haunted by those images and interested in medicine, Nikhitha began researching health care in India and found that many of the illnesses that plague the poor there could be prevented with good hygiene. She decided then to run a health “camp” for a poor village.

Nikhitha first set some basic goals: she wanted to educate villagers about basic hygiene practices, distribute supplies, and provide medical checkups. She contacted a nonprofit organization in India for help in selecting the village of Pallampaakum as the site of the camp, and then contacted manufacturers of drugs and hygienic supplies, many of whom donated or discounted their products. Local Indian Rotary Clubs agreed to provide volunteers to staff the clinic and helped her recruit doctors to provide checkups. At home, she held a raffle at her school and solicited private donations to raise money. On the day of the clinic, 13 doctors of various specialties examined the villagers. Each patient was then sent home with a hygiene kit that included soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste, shoes (to prevent infections and worms), and a mosquito net to prevent malaria. Twenty of the villagers were diagnosed with diabetes and were educated on the proper diet for the disease. And thanks to publicity generated by the project, a sponsor agreed to buy a water filter for the village. Nikhitha said she continues to track health statistics in the village to gauge the success of the clinic and will conduct another clinic in a different village or orphanage. “There is so much more to be done, and I can’t wait to see what the future will bring,” she said.

Rachel, an eighth-grader at P.J. Jacobs Junior High School, promotes reading to infants by delivering book packages to new parents at a local hospital. Since she founded “Literacy for Little Ones” in 2009, Rachel has distributed her packages to the parents of more than a thousand newborns. An avid reader, Rachel had fond memories of her mother reading to her when she was a toddler. “Because I was read to every day, not only did I become an early reader, but a special bond formed between my mom and me,” said Rachel. “I wanted other children to have that same opportunity.”

After researching the benefits of exposing babies to reading, Rachel applied for and received a $500 grant to start her project. She formed a partnership with the local hospital, contacted the media about her effort, and asked bookstores for advice on good books for newborns. Rachel then recruited volunteers to help her assemble the packages, which include a new book, a letter to parents explaining the importance of reading to babies, and tips for parents about how to read to newborns. Public officials and the media were invited to watch as she handed a new mother the first book package. Since that day more than two years ago, about 65 volunteers have helped her, and she has raised more than $3,100 in cash and donations. Each month she delivers about 60 book packages to new parents and their infants. “My project has provided me with the opportunity to instill a love of reading in other children,” Rachel said. “This passion for books will not only assist them in developing early literacy skills, but will help them to develop a special relationship with their parents.”

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

Jawad Arshad, 17, of Menomonee, a senior at Brookfield Academy in Brookfield, has raised funds to support S.O.S. Villages in rebuilding projects in Pakistan and Haiti. Jawad sends pamphlets, meets with people in his community, and makes phone calls asking for donations, and has traveled to Pakistan to aid in a hospital building project.

Dylan DeLisle, 17, of Waukesha, a senior at Kettle Moraine High School, worked with her little sister’s Girl Scout troop to bring first-aid supplies and training to earthquake victims in Haiti. Dylan organized a first-aid supplies drive, assembled first-aid kits, and then accompanied a medical team to Haiti to train Haitians how to provide first-aid care.

Maria Georgen, 17, of Neenah, a senior at Xavier High School in Appleton, has raised nearly $3,000 to support her “Safety PACS (Prevent and Confront Stalking)” program for domestic violence victims. Maria filled backpacks with tools that would help document stalking such as, memo pads, cameras, whistles, flashlights and voice recorders, and donated them to two domestic violence abuse centers in her community.

Molly Harvey, 17, of Cottage Grove, a senior at Monova Grove High School, created a Gay-Straight Alliance at her school after seeing classmates and friends bullied in school. Molly, who encouraged a teacher to serve as advisor, meets with the club twice a month to give gay, straight and transgender students an advocacy group in the school and a safe place to meet and be themselves.

Michelle Kass, 18, of Cedarburg, a senior at Cedarburg High School, has raised more than $16,000 over the past three years with “The 12-Hour Hoopla,” a basketball charity event. The money has been donated to the Rainbow Camp, a camp for children from The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Shaun Stokes, 17, of River Falls, a senior at River Falls High School, founded “Grow-to-Share,” a nonprofit organization that provides fresh produce to food pantries and local residents in need. After his second season of operation, Shaun has harvested more than 10 tons of produce with the help of community volunteers and farmers.

“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 Condoleeza 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.