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Two Arizona Youth Honored for Volunteerism at National Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C.WASHINGTON --(Business Wire)-- Arizona's top two youth volunteers of 2013, Morgan Beckwith, 18, of Lake Havasu City and Alexandra Cockett, 14, of Litchfield Park, were honored in the nation's capital last night for their outstanding volunteer service during the 18th annual presentation of The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Morgan and Alexandra - along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country - each received $1,000 awards and personal congratulations from Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey and Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix at an award ceremony and gala dinner reception held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. 
Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey congratulates Morgan Beckwith, 18, of Lake Havasu City (center) and Alexandra Cockett, 14, of Litchfield Park (right) on being named Arizona's top two youth volunteers for 2013 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Morgan and Alexandra were honored at a ceremony on Sunday, May 5 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, where they each received a $1,000 award. (Photo: Business Wire) The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), named Morgan and Alexandra Arizona's top high school and middle level youth volunteers in February. In addition to their cash awards, they each received an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip with a parent to Washington, D.C., for four days of recognition events. Morgan, a senior at Lake Havasu High School, founded a community service club that has undertaken a wide variety of volunteer projects and encouraged people from different schools and organizations to work together to accomplish common goals. Morgan began volunteering in her community when she was a little girl, and eventually noticed that while many groups were working toward the same goal, they weren't working together. "Why were we divided in our efforts when clearly we needed each other " she said. "I could not get this thought out of my head. This inspired me to take the initiative." Morgan started by founding a girls' club and recruited several students from each area school to be members. Their first project was selling merchandise at a balloon festival organized by the local Lions Club, which helped to raise $180,000 to benefit food banks, health screening programs, animal shelters, and youth programs. As word spread and more students joined Morgan's team, they developed a recycling program at a local beach, collected aluminum tabs to cover the cost of spaying and neutering animals, and raised money for a variety of other causes. In 2011, Morgan approached the Lions Club leadership about chartering a community-sponsord club, of which she is now president. "Others have begun to realize what I learned very early in life," said Morgan. "That we can run faster and jump higher if we all work together." Alexandra, an eighth-grader at Trivium Preparatory Academy, started a club that teaches young people how to care responsibly for their pets, explores careers in animal-related fields and participates in volunteer projects. For as long as she can remember, Alexandra has wanted to become a veterinarian when she grows up. That made it all the more upsetting when her request to "shadow" a pet therapy team at a local rehabilitation center was denied. "I was sad to learn that many therapy organizations do not welcome kids due to liability concerns," she said. "It was at that exact moment of 'no' that I decided to form my own pet club." The young animal lover asked her Girl Scout leader to help her learn pet therapy techniques, and then began volunteering at a local pet hospital to learn more. She then wrote a plan for a club called "Pets and Caring Kids" (PACK) and recruited industry professionals to help set it up. As president, Alexandra chairs meetings, researches discussion topics, invites speakers, arranges field trips and plans community service activities. Her club has supported a foundation that trains service dogs, a wildlife refuge center, a pet therapy group and a horse ranch that works with children with autism. When club members reach high school, they will have the opportunity to raise their own service dogs. Alexandra envisions establishing PACK chapters throughout Arizona. "If animals and kids work together, the world is a much better place," she said. "We commend these honorees not only for the impact of their service and their spirit of giving, but also for inspiring others to consider that they can make a difference, too," said John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. "We congratulate this extraordinary group of youth volunteers." "These students are fine examples of what is possible when young people roll up their sleeves and commit themselves to helping others," said Denise Greene-Wilkinson, president of NASSP. "They have learned early that their contributions can make a real difference, and there is no limit to the great things they can achieve." Youth volunteers were invited to apply for 2013 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the HandsOn Network. More than 28,000 middle level and high school students nationwide participated in this year's program. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program was created in 1995 to identify and recognize young people for outstanding volunteer service - and, in so doing, inspire others to volunteer as well. In the past 18 years, the program has honored more than 100,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level. 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 (National Association of Secondary School Principals) 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 38 countries around the world. The association 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. 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 http://www.news.prudential.com/ [Editors: For full-color pictures of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions, click here: http://bit.ly/Xi4oFW] Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130506005772/en/ |
