Illinois’ Glennita Williams of South Holland Named One of America’s Top Ten Youth Volunteers

State’s Elizabeth Lee of Bloomingdale Also Honored During Four-Day Celebration, With Tribute from Academy Award-Winning Actress Susan Sarandon

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Glennita Williams, 14, of South Holland, Ill., was named one of America’s top ten youth volunteers for 2011 in a ceremony today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, winning a national Prudential Spirit of Community Award for her outstanding volunteer service. Selected from a field of more than 29,000 participants across the country, she received a personal award of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal trophy for her school, and a $5,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation for the nonprofit charitable organization of her choice.

“Elizabeth and Glennita represent young Americans who have a strong sense of community and who are dedicated to improving our neighborhoods, our nation and our world”

Also honored in Washington was Elizabeth Lee, 18, of Bloomingdale. She and Glennita were named Illinois’ top youth volunteers in February, and were officially recognized last night at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, along with the top two youth volunteers of every other state and the District of Columbia. At that event, all of the Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees for 2011 were presented with $1,000 awards, and congratulated by Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon. The honorees also received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events.

“The Prudential Spirit of Community honorees have seen problems in their communities and around the world and have taken action,” said Ms. Sarandon. “Their compassion to help others should give us all a lot of hope for the future.”

Glennita, an eighth-grader at McKinley Junior High School, has collected snacks and personal care items worth more than $14,000, including more than 600 pounds of Hostess Twinkies, for shipment to American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past four years. When Glennita learned that a friend’s father in Iraq had a craving for Twinkies, “I felt all the soldiers must be craving something sweet from home,” she said. She asked her principal and teacher if her class could help collect Twinkies for the troops, and just 10 days later 1,000 of the golden sponge cakes were shipped overseas.

The next year, Glennita spoke at a student assembly to ask her whole school to collect care items and books, and to draw pictures for veterans at a nearby VA hospital. She then arranged for the school choir to sing at the facility and help distribute 160 care packets. In addition, Glennita sent another 3,000 Twinkies to Iraq and Afghanistan. Over the past two years, she has involved her entire community in her collection drives, asking businesses, churches, schools and civic organizations to help, and encouraging residents to bring donations to various drop-off points. So far, more than 750 servicemen and women have benefited from Glennita’s efforts. She has started an organization called “America’s Guardian Angels” and created a website (www.americasguardianangels.org) to do even more in the future. “It’s important for me to do this volunteer work because it helps people (especially young people) understand that our protection and freedom comes from the sacrifice of servicemen and women, their families, and friends,” she said.

Elizabeth, a senior at Lake Park High School in Roselle, teaches children and their parents the importance of toothbrushing and flossing through instructional presentations, games, books, and a website, all of which she developed herself. While serving as an intern at local dentist offices, “I noticed what many dentists notice, a clear lack of daily brushing and flossing,” said Elizabeth. “Then I realized that I don’t have to be a dentist to help people.”

Elizabeth first prepared teaching lessons that she could deliver to both children and parents. She read all the books she could find on dental care, and created two PowerPoint presentations on the importance of brushing and flossing, along with the proper techniques. To keep children interested in her subject, she designed two games, wrote a song, and drew up coloring sheets. She also held a fund-raising event and a school collection drive to be able to hand out basic dental supplies. Elizabeth conducted learning sessions first for three adult English-as-a-Second-Language classes and then tried it out on children at a refugee day-care center. More recently, she has begun teaching students in a special-education class at her high school, and putting on dental exhibitions in her school’s science classes. In addition, she has written two children’s books on dental hygiene, and created the website www.tinytoothbrush.com as an informational resource for kids, parents and teachers.

“Elizabeth and Glennita represent young Americans who have a strong sense of community and who are dedicated to improving our neighborhoods, our nation and our world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “With great anticipation, we look forward to their future achievements as they continue to spread the spirit of community.”

More than 29,000 young people participated in the 2011 awards program last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the Points of Light Institute’s HandsOn Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state were selected in February, and were flown to Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.

In addition to Glennita, the other National Honorees are:

Justin Churchman, 18, of El Paso, Texas, has raised more than $48,000 and recruited more than 75 volunteers to build 18 houses in Juarez, Mexico, despite the rampant drug wars that have frightened away many other American volunteers.

Sarah Cronk, 18, of Bettendorf, Iowa, 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.

Rocco Fiorentino, 14, of Voorhees, N.J., is a dedicated advocate for children who are blind like him or visually impaired, striving over the past nine years to increase government funding for Braille services and educate others about the abilities of people with visual challenges.

Jeffrey Hanson, 17, of Overland Park, Kan., has generated more than $225,000 for various local and national charities over the past five years by selling and donating original paintings and other artistic creations, despite having a genetic condition that causes severe loss of vision.

Cassandra Lin, 13, of Westerly, R.I., launched a program that collects more than 36,000 gallons of waste cooking oil a year from 95 restaurants and thousands of households in nine towns in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and converts it into heating fuel for needy families.

Aimee Matheson, 18, of Clearfield, Utah, coordinated the building of a day-care and community center in Guatemala so that impoverished single mothers would have a safe and nurturing place for their children while they are at work.

Tyler Page, 14, of Brentwood, Calif., held a car wash hoping to rescue just one child from being sold into slavery in Ghana, but ended up sparking a kids’ fund-raising enterprise that has involved hundreds of young people and has generated more than $100,000 for a variety of children’s causes.

Rachel Wheeler, 11, of Lighthouse Point, Fla., launched a fund-raising campaign that has raised more than $162,000 to build a new 25-home village in Leogane, Haiti, near the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred in January 2010.

Rujul Zaparde, 16, of Plainsboro, N.J., co-founded a nonprofit organization that has motivated more than 450 students at 23 schools to raise funds that have been used to dig over 30 water wells in rural India.

The national selection committee that chose the ten National Honorees was chaired by Strangfeld of Prudential and included Jana Frieler, president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light & HandsOn 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; Jaclyn Libowitz, chief operating officer and chief of staff for Girl Scouts of the USA; Felix Rouse, vice president of resource development for the southeast region of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America; 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.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 16 years ago by Prudential Financial to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models.

“The young women and men in America’s schools are nothing short of amazing, and nowhere is this more evident than amongst this year’s award recipients,” said NASSP President Jana Frieler. “They possess a keen intellect, servant hearts, capable leadership skills, and are filled with energy and ambition. NASSP and Prudential are honored to recognize them.”

More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees can be found at http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

NASSP is the leading organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and all school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP provides research-based professional development and resources, networking, and advocacy to build the capacity of middle level and high school leaders to continually improve student performance. Reflecting its longstanding commitment to student leadership development as well, NASSP administers the National Honor Society™, National Junior Honor Society®, National Elementary Honor Society®, and National Association of Student Councils®. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org.

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[Editors: full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions are available at spirit.prudential.com.]

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6697950&lang=en