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Iowa's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 21st Annual National Awards ProgramAllison Ockenfels, 18, of Wellman and Clare Szalkowski, 10, of Dubuque today were named Iowa's top two youth volunteers of 2016 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Allison was nominated by Ockenfels Homeschool in Wellman, and Clare was nominated by Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois in Bettendorf. 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). Allison, a senior at Ockenfels Homeschool, has raised more than $50,000 since late 2010 to build kitchens at three schools in the African nation of Malawi and to provide daily meals for students living in poverty there. Allison was attending a conference when she learned about Mary's Meals, a charitable organization that feeds children at schools in the developing world. "Hunger and starvation are often a reality for many children in third-world countries," Allison said. "Parents are motivated to send their children to school because they know they will receive a nutritious meal every day. For many children, it is the only meal they receive." Allison learned that the organization is feeding over one million children worldwide every day, and that it takes less than $20 to provide a child with a daily meal for one year. Allison began by visiting local church parishes and asking their congregations for donations. Then she knocked on the doors of local businesses and spoke about her cause at a school and at meetings of civic clubs. Allison also started a blog and a fundraising page on the Mary's Meals website. She now receives donations from all over the country, and has raised enough money to help feed more than 5,000 children in Malawi. Allison has visited two of the schools that benefited from her efforts. "It was amazing to meet the children," she said. "They swarmed toward us and greeted us with smiles and laughing." Clare, a fifth-grader at Hoover Elementary School, started "Clare Cares" over two years ago to "build friendships and make our community a better place" by organizing projects that benefit bullied children, homeless and hungry people, and others in need of assistance. Clare was inspired to start her project after her older sister had an epileptic seizure at school. "This 'friend' made fun of her," said Clare. "Then she recruited others to make fun of her. That's when I knew I needed to do something about bullying because, unfortunately, bullying has touched nearly everyone's life, and that makes me sad." Her initial goal was to provide a "buddy bench" on her school's playground to promote friendship and discourage the isolation that bullied children often feel. Today, every elementary school in her region has a Clare Cares Buddy Bench on its playground - more than 30 benches in all. Clare also formed "kid committees" and scheduled "buddy events" to work on projects supporting the missions of local nonprofits. She and her fellow volunteers have made blankets for children experiencing trauma, created greeting cards for nursing home residents, and filled a Santa's sleigh for Toys for Tots. They also have provided 22 complete birthday packages to celebrate the birthdays of children in a homeless shelter, filled the shelves of a local food bank with more than a ton of food, and provided bag lunches every Monday for homeless men. As State Honorees, Allison and Clare 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 four other Iowa students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. These are Iowa's Distinguished Finalists for 2016: Blake Anderson, 12, of Bettendorf, Iowa, a sixth-grader at Riverdale Heights Elementary, raised $3,300 to support Alex's Lemonade Stands with a penny drive and an awareness assembly at his school that taught his fellow classmates about cancer and how they can help in the fight. Blake, who lost his older sister to cancer many years earlier, had his long hair cut at the assembly and donated it to make wigs for children with cancer. Jill Berkland, 17, of Sibley, Iowa, a junior at Sibley-Ocheyedan High School, is a lead grant writer for her 4-H club who has helped to secure more than $21,000 in funds over the past six years to support renovations to the former hog silo Hawkeye Point, turning it into a museum and convention center. Jill also helped with the physical labor to renovate farm equipment, construct a picnic area and install signage. Macy Gudenkauf, 18, of Manchester, Iowa, a member of the Hazel Green Hawks 4-H and a senior at West Delaware High School, has raised $16,400 over the past four years with her "Brighten a Kid's Day" 5K/20 mile bike ride that benefits the Child Life Program at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. Macy, whose brother had cancer as a baby, works with her cousin to seek sponsorships, design T-shirts, and recruit and organize volunteers and participants for the event each year. Emily Montelius, 17, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School, founded "J's Closet" at her school in 2014, a program that provides clothing, shoes and hygiene products at no charge to students in need. Emily, who supervises volunteers who help maintain the closet, also launched a school supply and backpack drive in 2015, collecting $1,550 and distributing 150 backpacks filled with supplies through J's Closet. "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 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160209005074/en/ |
