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Wisconsin's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 21st Annual National Awards Program
[February 09, 2016]

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


Ananya Murali, 17, of Shorewood and Luke Smith, 13, of Manitowoc today were named Wisconsin'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. Ananya was nominated by Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast in Milwaukee, and Luke was nominated by Wilson Junior High School in Manitowoc. 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).

Ananya, a senior at Shorewood High School, designed and conducted an educational leadership camp to teach more than 100 middle school girls life skills and strategies to stand up against bullying and other forms of aggression in school. Ananya became interested in that subject when her family experienced harassment and discrimination after moving from India to the U.S. "They started smashing our car windshields and tires and saying 'Go back to your country, we don't want you here,'" said Ananya. She did some research and learned that bullying is a huge problem in schools, especially for minority children. "I was determined to take action," she said.

With $2,000 in grant money and the help of several dozen youth and adult volunteers, Ananya developed an anti-bulling/leadership curriculum and then organized a camp at a local middle school called "Step-Up Against Bullying and Violence." The more than 100 girls in attendance heard national and local speakers, took part in group discussions and team-building activities, learned peace songs written by Ananya and participated in a yoga session. Since then, Ananya has conducted her camp at other schools, Girl Scout gatherings, Native American reservations, an international youth peace conference and five schools in India. Because of her efforts, Ananya was invited to be a delegate and speaker at the United Nation's 59th Commission on the Status of Women.

Luke, a seventh-grader at Wilson Junior High School, raises awareness of people with special needs, promotes inclusion through speeches in his community, and helped raise money to build a rubberized baseball field and an all-accessible playground for children with and without disabilities. He also is an avid volunteer for the local Humane Society. Luke, who has autism, was bullied when he was in elementary school because he was different. But instead of making him withdrawn and fearful, the experience motivated Luke to stand up for victims of bullying and prove his ability to make a difference in his town.

Luke began his volunteer work at the Humane Society, where he helped with fundraisers, brought in supplies and fostered special-needs animals because "no one understands like me what it is to be different." After hearing about the Miracle League and its desire to build a special baseball field and playground that children with special needs could use, he gave public presentations to raise money and awareness for the project, recruited players and coaches for games, and was chosen to sing the National Anthem at the field. To combat bullying, Luke gives speeches to promote universal acceptance, and personally stands up when he sees someone being mistreated.

As State Honorees, Ananya and Luke 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 Wisconsin students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.

These are Wisconsin's Distinguished Finalists for 2016:

Kirsten Cutler, 12, of Pewaukee, Wis., a seventh-grader at Asa Clark Middle School, worked with two friends to hold a fundraising event at their school that raised $6,546 for ALS research, after the mother of a close friend died from the disease. Kirsten and her collaborators recruited a team of 15 volunteers to help gather gift baskets for a raffle, organized a bake sale and wored with local businesses on a scavenger hunt for the event, with proceeds going to the Wisconsin chapter of the ALS Association.



Katrina Mazier, 17, of Appleton, Wis., a senior at Xavier High School, has become a passionate advocate for suicide prevention, working closely with the National Suicide Awareness Center and other experts to prepare presentations for churches, community groups and local schools. Katrina also created the informational and inspirational Facebook (News - Alert) page "Teens of Tomorrow," raised $500 to support the Catalpa Health, a pediatric mental health clinic, and recruited 25 volunteers to make and donate blankets to young patients in the adolescent mental health unit at St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Carter Olles, 16, of De Pere, Wis., a junior at Notre Dame Baie Academy, created the nonprofit organization "Bright Young Dyslexics" with his sister in 2013, and has since helped to raise $30,000 to provide tutoring and assistive technology to children with dyslexia throughout Wisconsin. Carter, whose sister was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in the third grade, has also installed resource centers in area libraries to assist families with recently diagnosed children in getting all the information they need to help their children be better prepared for success.


Payton Petsche, 17, of Prairie du Chien, Wis., a senior at Prairie du Chien High School, has been actively volunteering in her community since she was 8 years old by donating clothes to those in need, shoveling snow for others, and participating in fundraising events like the Relay for Life. Payton, inspired to volunteer when she realized some children do not have food or proper clothing, also volunteers at the local nursing home.

Paolo Valle, 16, of Milwaukee, Wis., a junior at St. Thomas More High School, has attended mission trips with his church for the past three years, for which he has helped to paint homes. Paolo, who has been to South Dakota, Iowa and Pennsylvania, also helps to build ramps and encourage people to strengthen their faith.

Madison Zepnick, 17, of Oconomowoc, Wis., a senior at Oconomowoc High School, founded "The Homeless Project" in 2012 in California's Riverside County, where she used to live, for which she raised $1,500 and collected and packed hygiene products, food, cards, socks and hats for up to 200 of the area's homeless each year. Madison, who recruited a crew of volunteers to continue the program when she moved to Wisconsin, is in the process of starting the program in her new hometown.

"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


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