[February 09, 2016]

Kentucky's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 21st Annual National Awards Program

Christian Cole, 18, of Lexington and Grace Davis, 10, of Louisville today were named Kentucky'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. Christian was nominated by Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington, and Grace was nominated by Greathouse Shryock Traditional Elementary School in Louisville. 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).

Christian, a senior at Lexington Catholic High School, has raised more than $35,000 from a landscape business he started as a seventh-grader and from private donations to build houses for destitute people in Haiti and sponsor 20 homeless children there. When Christian was 13, his life changed with the arrival of a Haitian boy named Odolphe, who had come to Lexington for medical treatment. It wasn't long before the boys were inseparable. But four months later, it was time for Christian's friend to go back to Haiti. "As I walked Odolphe to the plane, my heart began to shatter," said Christian. "He was going to leave the warmth of an American home, soft bed and plenty of food to go home to an 8 by 8 tarp-covered concrete slab that he shared with six family members." Christian made a promise to his friend that day that he would go to Haiti and build a home for Odolphe and his family. That was the day he decided to start his landscape business, which he calls "Mission Works Lawn and Landscaping."

Eighteen months later, Christian, accompanied by his dad and four other adults, was able to make good on his promise. Assisted by charitable organizations in Haiti, Christian's group not only built a house for Odolphe's family, but brought much-needed supplies, refurbished a large chicken barn for their community and stocked it with 200 chickens, and educated people on water safety and nutrition. Christian also was able to sponsor 20 children, getting them off the streets and providing them with school tuition, books, and uniforms. The following year he returned to begin another house and check on the progress of the students he continues to sponsor. "This began not so much as a service project but maybe what one would call one random act of love," Christian said.

Grace, a fifth-grader at Greathouse Shryock Traditional Elementary School, has raised more than $140,000 over the past four years to care for babies born prematurely by distributing piggy banks to students in her community and encouraging them to fill them up. One day Grace had an idea. She saw a piggy bank in someone's home and a child feeding it stray change until it was full. What if every child in her school filled a piggy bank for a good cause, she thought. "As a kid, it is hard to think about raising money, but I knew this idea would take off," said Grace.

She took her idea, called "Piggies for Preemies," to officials at Kosair Children's Hospital, whose neonatal unit would be the beneficiary of the program. A local bank agreed to donate 604 piggy banks, one for every student in Grace's school, and as an incentive for filling those banks, offered a chance to win a $500 scholarship. The students were encouraged to think of creative ways to raise money, said Grace. Some had yard sales, some sold baked goods, others operated lemonade stands. Grace created fliers to advertise the program throughout the community and the bank provided piggy banks at all of its Louisville branches to anyone who wanted one. The media and the hospital's website further spread the word, and it wasn't long before students at other schools in her district and beyond began filling piggy banks. The program continues to grow; Grace's banking partner has announced it will distribute piggies at branches across the state. "It is so exciting to see piggies all around our city raising money and awareness for all preemies," said Grace. "People just love these pigs!"

As State Honorees, Christian and Grace 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 topyouth volunteers of 2016.

Distinguished Finalists

The program judges also recognized four other Kentucky students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.

These are Kentucky's Distinguished Finalists for 2016:

Olivia Allen, 10, of Louisville, Ky., a fifth-grader at Coleridge-Taylor Montessori Elementary School, is an avid volunteer who conducted three projects in 2015, including a toy drive that collected 100 toys for children at Kosair Charities and a food drive that yielded enough food to feed 20 children for one weekend through the Backpack Buddy Program at First Choice Food Market. Olivia's third project was the first annual "'I Can Be' Girls Confidence Conference," a free workshop for 55 local girls who heard from guest speakers on topics including confidence, entrepreneurship and personal care.

Jakob Beckley, 17, of Pleasureville, Ky., a senior at Henry County High School, has spent the past two years actively volunteering to revitalize his small town, including reviving the once-popular annual "Pleasureville Day" and the community parade. In addition, Jakob has been elected to the newly created Pleasureville Economic Development Council, for which he has helped to organize a farmer's market and has helped to write and secure $20,000 in grants to bring business back to the town.

Maiah Cisco (News - Alert), 13, of Bowling Green, Ky., an eighth-grader at Drakes Creek Middle School, got together with her younger brother to create "5 Musketoes," an organization for which she has collected $1,700 to provide 65 children with bags filled with new shoes, new underwear, new socks and toiletries, and also provide them with free haircuts - things that cannot be purchased with food stamps. Maiah, who started the project when she noticed that many children do not have a decent pair of shoes to wear, raised the funds through sponsorships and a GoFundMe site, and convinced her hair salon to open on its off-day to provide the free haircuts.

Kaitlin Jenkins, 17, of Harlan, Ky., a senior at Harlan High School, founded the Harlan County chapter of "DanceBlue," an organization started at the University of Kentucky, and raised $4,240 to fight pediatric cancer by hosting a number of fundraising events, including the "Flush Away Pediatric Cancer" event that involved placing yellow toilets on residents' lawns and encouraging donations to remove the toilets. Kaitlin worked with two close friends on all the details of the events that culminated in the six-hour "DanceBlue" marathon.

"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/20160209005092/en/

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