Rebecca Deming, 17, Fairview, a member of Richland County 4-H and a senior at Fairview High School, started the project “Lettuce Eat”, through which she prepared and served free summer meals twice a week for more than 40 children from her community; her efforts included spreading awareness of her cause, soliciting donations and prepping and serving each meal. Rebecca started this program to benefit local children who regularly receive free or reduced lunch during the school year.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle school level and high schools in the country as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Points of Light Global Network members, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. This local honoree was 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 Capital Hill. On May 4, ten of the state honorees-five middle level and five high school students-will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2020. These national honorees will receive additional $5,000 scholarships, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from Prudential for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice.
Since the program began in 1995, more than 130,000 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.
For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community state honorees and distinguished finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or http://www.nassp.org/spirit.
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