[February 09, 2016]

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

Madison Childers, 18, of Murfreesboro and Graci Semptimphelter, 11, of Franklin today were named Tennessee'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. Madison was nominated by Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, and Graci was nominated by Battle Ground Academy in Franklin. 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).

Madison, a senior at Blackman High School, organized two golf tournaments that have raised nearly $10,000 to send veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials erected in their honor. "I was inspired by my grandfather's service in World War II," said Madison. "I wanted him to know how much I appreciate his service and dedication to our country. I feel that veterans do the most for our country and they receive the least amount of recognition."

Working with a group of classmates, Madison persuaded the director of a local golf course to host the tournament, then distributed sponsor packets to more than 100 businesses in Murfreesboro. Next, she and her colleagues collected donations, signed up players, and recruited volunteers to help run the event. After what she described as "200 hours of continuous stress and emotional breakdowns," Madison's first tournament raised $4,500 - enough to send 10 veterans to Washington with an organization called the Screaming Eagle Honor Flight. A second tournament held last October raised an additional $5,000 for veterans' trips.

Graci, a sixth-grader at Battle Ground Academy, helped her mother initiate an activity program for individuals with special needs, and serves as a peer role model for a girl with Down syndrome. Graci learned about working with people with special needs from her little brother, who has autism, and from her mother, who has been friends with a man with Down syndrome since she was 15. Their nonprofit organization, 1Team1Goal, organizes football, cheer and dance teams, trains peer role models, and raises money to train educators on how best to work with kids with special needs.

Graci helps administer the organization's activities, sends out emails and other communications, and makes T-shirts for the program. She also works one-on-one with a young girl who has Down syndrome, helping her learn to be part of a cheer team. "Through sports, special needs people find out new strengths and abilities, skills and success," said Graci. "They find joy, confidence and fulfillment. I love helping them find this out about themselves and I love helping our community see how amazing these people are."

As State Honorees, Madison and Graci 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 six other Tennessee students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.

These are Tennessee's Distinguished Finalists for 2016:

Katlyn Bryant, 18, of Oakland, Tenn., a senior at Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School, has been serving her community since 2006 in a variety of ways, most recently founding "Helping Hands Tennessee," an organization that honors a young person doing community service once every month to encourage service in others. Over the years, Katlyn has collected more than 2,000 pounds of food and $3,400 for the Fayette Cares shelter program, collected and distributed 15,361 books and hundreds of games for the Boys & Girls Club, and collected and sent more than 1,361 flavored water packets to troops overseas.

Kathryn Capizzi, 18, of Nashville, Tenn., a senior at Harpeth Hall School, has spent the past four years tutoring and mentoring a total of 150 elementary children in The Afterschool Program fr at-risk children in North Nashville. Kathryn, who in this last year became the sole organizer and mentor in the program that originally began with a larger group of volunteers, creates lesson plans, tracks progress, and provides support to help the children reach their grade level in math and reading.

Thomas Colburn, 17, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., a senior at Oak Ridge High School, was instrumental in renovating exhibits at the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, including raising $1,500 to help fund the cost of renovations. Thomas, who has volunteered at the museum for the past five years, renovated the bird room by constructing a tree sculpture bird feeder as a display, added QR codes so museum guests could scan and learn more, repaired the exhibit walls and worked with local artists who painted bark and leaf structures on the tree and in the surrounding exhibit.

Joe Julian, 18, of Hixson, Tenn., a senior at Baylor School, spent last summer renovating the library space at the Carver Youth and Family Development Center in Chattanooga to turn the formerly dim and messy space into a haven for the hundreds of children who attend weekly tutoring sessions. Joe, who is a tutor at the program, gathered together a team of volunteers, applied for and received grants and donations for $1,000, collected 700 new books and salvaged hundreds of old books, painted the walls, and purchased new lamps, pictures, rugs and furniture for the new space.

Chelstin Wildun, 16, of Nashville, Tenn., a junior at Overton High School, wrote, filmed and distributed a movie called "My Reality is Unreal," which dramatizes how bullying can lead to a child's decision to turn to suicide. Chelstin, motivated to act by the suicide of an eighth grade classmate, worked with a Tennessee legislator to pass a bill to create awareness of teenage suicide, and has been distributing DVDs to high schools and organizations for use in anti-bullying and suicide prevention programming.

Olivia Wright, 17, of Hendersonville, Tenn., a junior at Aaron Academy, founded "Help Us Give Shoes (H.U.G.S.)" in 2008, and since then has collected more than 90,000 pairs of shoes for people all over the world who live in poverty or are struck by natural disasters. Olivia, who is currently in the planning stages of building an orphanage in India, has worked with teens throughout the world to create H.U.G.S. chapters, and works with a dedicated team of local volunteers who help organize shoe drives and sort and distribute the shoes.

"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/20160209005139/en/

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