BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stephanie Durr, 18, of Shreveport and Madeline Bethea, 13, of Minden today were named Louisiana's top two youth volunteers of 2015 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Stephanie was nominated by Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport, and Madeline was nominated by Webster Junior High School in Minden. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 20th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
Stephanie, a senior at Captain Shreve High School, creates and sells headbands to help victims of prostitution and sex trafficking in her area start new lives through “Saving Silhouettes,” an organization she and her sister founded two years ago. “In January of 2013, I learned that slavery still exists,” said Stephanie. “More people are enslaved in modern times than at any other point in history. Even worse, I discovered that the most common form of modern day slavery is sex trafficking.” For months, Stephanie tried to think of a way to combat this persistent problem. Then one day her older sister came up with the idea of making headbands and donating all the profits to Purchased: Not for Sale, a Shreveport-based organization that helps victims of sex trafficking.
The sisters decided to make their headbands out of old T-shirts. They and a group of volunteers cut the shirts into strips, sew five strips together, braid them and sew the ends to complete the headband. They sell their headbands for $10 each and have thus far raised $5,000, which has helped 19 women start new lives over the past year. Stephanie knows that is not an easy task. Through an internship at Purchased, she has met some of the women the organization is trying to help, and listened to their stories. “I have learned that not everyone will choose to start a brand new life,” said Stephanie. “But because one life has been changed, everything is worth it.”
Madeline, an eighth-grader at Webster Junior High School, has delivered more than 15,000 stuffed animals over the past eight years to nursing homes, children’s hospitals and emergency first responders in seven states, to comfort those in need of a friend. For as long as she can remember, Madeline went with her mother to visit the residents of local nursing homes. “I love spending time with the residents and listening to their stories,” she said. But one day when she was 6 years old, she noticed that some residents looked sad and lonely, and that gave her an idea. “When I am sad I hug my teddy bear,” she said. “Why can’t I give them a teddy bear to hug?”
She began asking friends to give her the stuffed animals they no longer wanted. Then she asked churches, schools and civic organizations to host stuffed-animal collection drives. She also recruited volunteers through Girl Scouts, Lion’s Clubs and student councils, and now has about 150 that she relies on to help clean, sort, tag and store the donated animals. “The joy that I receive from the looks on the residents’ faces is indescribable,” said Madeline. “As long as I have people who support the stuffed-animal drives, I will continue my quest to decrease the loneliness and depression in nursing homes and hospitals.”
As State Honorees, Stephanie and Madeline 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 four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 students will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2015.
Distinguished Finalists
The program judges also recognized four other Louisiana students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are Louisiana's Distinguished Finalists for 2015:
Stanley Celestine, 15, of Cottonport, La., a member of Avoyelles 4-H in Mansura and a sophomore at Louisiana School for the Agricultural Sciences, founded “WETEACHSTEM,” a mentoring and educational program to help elementary school students improve their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math. Stanley has collaborated with community-based organizations to create a mentoring team of teachers, community leaders, college students and authors who teach and mentor at least 500 students.
Sean Noel, 13, of Mandeville, La., a seventh-grader at Mandeville Junior High School, has conducted a number of comprehensive volunteer projects, most recently creating the “St. Tammany Remembers” website that provides a resource listing of local veterans for schools and service groups who choose to provide assistance. In the past, Sean, who is living with hemophilia, raised $5,000 to benefit the Louisiana Hemophilia Foundation to help raise awareness of the disease.
Isabella Summersgill, 15, of Covington, La., a freshman at Archbishop Hannan High School, worked with her sister to raise $4,100 through their nonprofit organization, “Cleft for a Cause,” to benefit children receiving cleft palate surgical repair, a surgery that Isabella herself underwent as a child. To raise the funds, Isabella and her sister built a website to accept donations and sold T-shirts.
Jack Sweeney, 17, of Baton Rouge, La., a senior at Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, founded the “World’s Biggest Book Club,” a charitable organization that has collected and distributed 10,000 books to public schools, hospitals and Head Start programs throughout Louisiana. Jack’s father donated the first few hundred books, after which Jack developed partnerships with various thrift and book shops that donate the books for the program.
“Prudential is honored to celebrate the contributions of these remarkable young volunteers,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. “By shining a spotlight on the difference they’ve made in their communities, we hope others are inspired to volunteer, too.”
“These students have not only improved their communities through their exemplary volunteer service, but also set a fine example for their peers,” said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. “Each of their stories is proof of the impact one young person can have when they decide to make a difference.”
About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. 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 HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth.
While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees – one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia – will tour the capital’s landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 4, 10 of the State Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2015. These National 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.
Since the program began in 1995, more than 100,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India and China. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President’s Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees on behalf of President Barack Obama.
For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
About NASSP
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States and 35 countries around the world. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, 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.
About Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.
Editors: For full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions, click here: http://bit.ly/Xi4oFW
