AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ariana Luterman, 16, of Dallas and Courtney Janecka, 12, of Woodway today were named Texas' top two youth volunteers of 2016 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Ariana was nominated by Greenhill School in Addison, and Courtney was nominated by Midway River Valley Intermediate in McGregor. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 21st year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
Ariana, a sophomore at Greenhill School, has combined her passion for competitive triathlon racing with her desire to help homeless children through her Team Ariana, which has raised more than $80,000 to benefit a local childcare center that provides free early development services for homeless children. Ariana said her life changed the first time she saw a homeless child when she was 8 years old. “It awakened my heart to the reality that all kids did not have a home, a bed, or even a special pillow to call their own,” she said. She began volunteering at the Vogel Alcove childcare center, reading to children, supervising arts and crafts projects, and requesting that instead of gifts, her birthday guests bring donations to benefit homeless children. At the same time, Ariana said, her triathlon performances were beginning to attract attention. It occurred to her that maybe there was a way to help homeless children through her racing.
So in 2011, she spoke with her parents about forming Team Ariana. Her idea was to use her name recognition to attract corporate sponsorships and bring awareness to the growing problem of homeless children. She spent months developing strategies and meeting with companies to solicit support. Once she had a clothing sponsor, she designed a line of Team Ariana racewear and created an online store so that other athletes could support her cause with their purchases. She also sold corporate logo placements on her personal race gear and her clothing line to generate funds for Vogel Alcove, and donated her winnings from races. In addition, she began speaking in front of groups about the issue of child homelessness in this country. “If I can change the course of one child’s life, I have proven I am a real champion,” Ariana said.
Courtney, a sixth-grader at Midway Intermediate School, makes and sells beaded bracelets to enable her mother to give away the book she wrote on surviving cancer to other cancer patients, churches, hospitals and schools. When Courtney was a toddler, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Although Courtney doesn’t remember that trying time, she has seen how her mother’s story and book have inspired others. “Her book can help people and I decided that I wanted to help too,” said Courtney. “I knew that if I could raise money, we could give her books away to people with cancer.” When a friend heard of Courtney’s plan, she sent a bracelet and suggested that Courtney make and sell similar ones to raise money. “Courtney’s Creations” was born in late 2013.
To make her beaded creations, Courtney buys beads and charms at local and online stores; sometimes people who have heard about her project even send her cases of beads they no longer need. While she makes many of the bracelets herself, she also organizes bracelet-making parties with her friends to increase the number she can sell. Over the past two years, Courtney has sold more than 1,100 bracelets online and at some local stores, raising over $10,000 and enabling her mother to give away nearly 800 of her books. Courtney accompanies her mother on trips all over Texas to deliver books, and often speaks in front of large crowds at events. “There are lots of people with cancer and I am grateful I can help some of them,” said Courtney.
As State Honorees, Ariana and Courtney 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 2016.
Distinguished Finalists
The program judges also recognized 10 other Texas students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are Texas' Distinguished Finalists for 2016:
Taliah Block, 10, of Humble, Texas, a fifth-grader at Maplebrook Elementary School, has raised $4,500 in cash and donations through her organization “FoodFriendZee,” which she started in 2014 to help feed the area’s hungry and provide hygiene kits to children who are homeless. Taliah has supported numerous organizations including SEARCH homeless services, the Houston Star of Hope, a women’s shelter and Food Not Bombs, an organization for which she and her family cook meals and distribute them to those in need in downtown Houston.
David De La Fuente, 17, of Somerset, Texas, a junior at Somerset High School, helped apply for and receive a $2,500 grant for his school’s FFA chapter to start a community garden in 2014, which yielded 50 pounds of food a week that was donated to the San Antonio Food Bank or directly to the Somerset community. David, who is the president of his FFA, also volunteers with numerous organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, American Red Cross and Haven for Hope.
Kianna Hawkins, 17, of Manvel, Texas, a member of the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council and a senior at Lamar High School, founded “EyeCare4TeenVision,” an initiative to raise awareness about eye health and to provide basic eye care services to kids in need. Kianna, who learned that school-administered eye exams stop in seventh grade, partnered with the nonprofit Nehemiah Center and the organization Prevent Blindness to host an awareness event and screening exams and provide vouchers for eyeglasses, and also collected 320 used pairs of glasses in a drive to support New Eyes for the Needy.
Grace Knight, 18, of Tyler, Texas, a senior at Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 18 months old, and over the years has helped her family raise $1,600,000 for cystic fibrosis research through the annual “Great Strides Walk,” a charity gala events and a golf fundraiser that her family started in 1999. Grace, who started her own walk team and coordinates many additional fundraising events, also speaks at events to raise awareness and is creating a book of poems written by patients and their loved ones.
Diana Martell, 17, of El Paso, Texas, a senior at Eastwood High School, co-founded an organization with her sister called “SisterHoodies” that has collected more than 1,700 winter coats for people in need. Diana, who founded the organization in 2011 after hearing that a homeless man had died from hypothermia, also began collecting and distributing toys, bedding, household items, clothes and hygiene products to those in need in the El Paso area.
Genesis Smothers, 17, of Cypress, Texas, a junior at Cypress Ranch High School, created an interactive reading workshop for kindergarten through third grade students to make reading fun and to improve reading comprehension. Genesis also collected more than 800 books and furniture to create a reading nook in the Krause Center for Homeless Youth, and is an active volunteer for the Houston Food Bank, the Police Officer’s Union and the Legend Oaks Nursing Home.
Kalpana Vaidya, 18, of Sugar Land, Texas, a member of the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council and a senior at Stephen F. Austin High School, created “The World of Science,” an interactive STEM event for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, which has now become an annual event sponsored by the Austin High School Science Honor Society that attracts 400 participants each year. Kalpana, who also helped the honor society raise $2,000 to promote computing at the local middle school, created 24 hands-on activities and secured involvement from many organizations including the Houston Natural Science Museum and the Baytown Nature Center.
Mathew Walther, 17, of Cypress, Texas, a senior at Cypress Ranch High School, raised $1,100 to purchase the materials to build two free-standing mini libraries in two low-income housing developments to provide 200 children with free access to books and encourage a love for reading. Mathew, who recruited volunteers to help with fundraising and construction, also hosted a book drive that produced 1,100 books to stock the libraries and hosted a grand opening event to debut the libraries to the community.
Kayce Welch, 18, of Texarkana, Texas, a senior at Texas High School, was motivated by her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis to create the “One of a Kind Diabetes Program” in 2013, which has raised awareness and $23,000 to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the K.I.D.S. Day Camp for children with the illness. Kayce, who received support from the JDRF and a committee of her mom and other parents of diabetic children, planned and implemented a “Black and White Soiree” to raise the funds and continues to host awareness events to help bring attention to the fight against diabetes.
Jake Wood, 17, of Austin, Texas, a senior at Hyde Park High School, founded “Austin Serving Abaco” in 2011, a service organization for which he has raised $75,000 to fund 150 backpacks filled with school supplies, 500 pairs of shoes, 1,000 pounds of clothing and school uniforms for 130 Hatitian refugee children living in the Bahamas. Jake, struck by the happiness of the refugee children, has recruited a team of volunteers to help him achieve his goals.
“Prudential commends each of these young volunteers for using their creativity and compassion to bring positive change to their communities,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. “We hope their stories inspire others to consider how they can make a difference, too.”
“We are pleased to honor these students not only for their exemplary acts of service, but for the powerful example they’ve set for their peers,” said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. “Congratulations to each of the 2016 honorees.”
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 2, 10 of the State Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2016. 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 115,000 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, China and Brazil. 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
