Rachel Wheeler, 11, of Lighthouse Point, Fla., was named one of America’s top ten youth volunteers for 2011 in a ceremony today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, winning a national Prudential Spirit of Community Award for her outstanding volunteer service. Selected from a field of more than 29,000 participants across the country, she received a personal award of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal trophy for her school, and a $5,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation for the nonprofit charitable organization of her choice.
Also honored in Washington was Wendi Oppenheim, 18, of Southwest Ranches. She and Rachel were named Florida’s top youth volunteers in February, and were officially recognized last night at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, along with the top two youth volunteers of every other state and the District of Columbia. At that event, all of the Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees for 2011 were presented with $1,000 awards, and congratulated by Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon. The honorees also received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events.
“The Prudential Spirit of Community honorees have seen problems in their communities and around the world and have taken action,” said Ms. Sarandon. “Their compassion to help others should give us all a lot of hope for the future.”
Rachel, a fifth-grader at Zion Lutheran Christian School in Deerfield Beach, launched a fund-raising campaign that has raised more than $162,000 to build a new 25-home village in Leogane, Haiti, near the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred in January 2010. Two years ago, Rachel and her mother visited Food For The Poor (FFP), an international relief and development agency based in Florida, and learned about the charity’s work in Haiti from President/CEO Robin Mahfood. “When I saw the before and after pictures of the families he has helped, I knew he was doing God’s work and I had to help,” said Rachel.
At the suggestion of the Lighthouse Point Chamber of Commerce president, Rachel attended a chamber meeting and stood on a chair in front of more than 100 business people to talk about her desire to build homes in Haiti. Then she started appealing to friends, neighbors, and fellow karate students. Her school soon jumped on the bandwagon. Next, FFP issued a press release about Rachel’s efforts, and the news media interviewed her after each milestone. As donations flowed in, Rachel decided that instead of just reaching her original goal of building 13 houses, she would build an entire village, complete with sanitation and potable water. To date, Rachel has raised more than $162,000 to construct “Rachel’s Village,” and helped to inspire the Florida Marlins baseball team to build a village in Haiti. “I would tell other young people that we are the future, and we need to stand up for those who have nothing,” said Rachel.
Wendi, a senior at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, co-founded an online guide to community service opportunities for young people in her area. The guide features descriptions of more than 100 organizations and programs that need volunteers, with ratings and reviews of each one submitted by actual volunteers. Wendi’s interest in volunteering began in middle school after the 9/11 tragedy, when she and her sister raised $25,000 for the victims by baking goods and organizing other students to make patriotic jewelry. Later, she routinely volunteered at a local homeless shelter and distributed food to the homebound. “I realized, through all of these experiences, the importance of helping those in need,” she said. “Thus, I knew at a young age that I wanted to spread the spirit of volunteerism.”
To do that, Wendi and her sister spent countless hours gathering and compiling information on local nonprofits needing student volunteers. They made presentations to solicit support from local businesses, formed a nonprofit organization to facilitate donations, and negotiated with local printers to print their guide at a reduced cost. Realizing that a printed guide had limited reach, they began developing an online guide at www.opp-guide.com using funds raised from grants and bake sales. In addition to providing information to potential youth volunteers, the “Opp Guide” created a matching-grant program that raised more than $45,000 for victims of the recent Haitian earthquake, and organized a student hair collection drive to aid oil-cleanup efforts on the Gulf Coast. Wendi also has created a Spanish-language version of the website and a Facebook fan page, and is now recruiting college students to start Opp-Guides in other parts of the country. “I strongly believe that we should all ‘pay it forward,’ and that the guide helps young people do exactly that,” said Wendi.
“Wendi and Rachel represent young Americans who have a strong sense of community and who are dedicated to improving our neighborhoods, our nation and our world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “With great anticipation, we look forward to their future achievements as they continue to spread the spirit of community.”
More than 29,000 young people participated in the 2011 awards program last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the Points of Light Institute’s HandsOn Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state were selected in February, and were flown to Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.
In addition to Rachel, the other National Honorees are:
Justin Churchman, 18, of El Paso, Texas, has raised more than $48,000 and recruited more than 75 volunteers to build 18 houses in Juarez, Mexico, despite the rampant drug wars that have frightened away many other American volunteers.
Sarah Cronk, 18, of Bettendorf, Iowa, co-founded a cheerleading squad at her high school that includes students with disabilities, and then formed a nonprofit corporation that encourages teens across the country to start similar squads at their schools.
Rocco Fiorentino, 14, of Voorhees, N.J., is a dedicated advocate for children who are blind like him or visually impaired, striving over the past nine years to increase government funding for Braille services and educate others about the abilities of people with visual challenges.
Jeffrey Hanson, 17, of Overland Park, Kan., has generated more than $225,000 for various local and national charities over the past five years by selling and donating original paintings and other artistic creations, despite having a genetic condition that causes severe loss of vision.
Cassandra Lin, 13, of Westerly, R.I., launched a program that collects more than 36,000 gallons of waste cooking oil a year from 95 restaurants and thousands of households in nine towns in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and converts it into heating fuel for needy families.
Aimee Matheson, 18, of Clearfield, Utah, coordinated the building of a day-care and community center in Guatemala so that impoverished single mothers would have a safe and nurturing place for their children while they are at work.
Tyler Page, 14, of Brentwood, Calif., held a car wash hoping to rescue just one child from being sold into slavery in Ghana, but ended up sparking a kids’ fund-raising enterprise that has involved hundreds of young people and has generated more than $100,000 for a variety of children’s causes.
Glennita Williams, 14, of South Holland, Ill., has collected snacks and personal care items worth more than $14,000, including more than 600 pounds of Hostess Twinkies, for shipment to American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past four years.
Rujul Zaparde, 16, of Plainsboro, N.J., co-founded a nonprofit organization that has motivated more than 450 students at 23 schools to raise funds that have been used to dig over 30 water wells in rural India.
The national selection committee that chose the ten National Honorees was chaired by Strangfeld of Prudential and included Jana Frieler, president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light & HandsOn Network; Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the America’s Promise Alliance; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Pamela Farr, the American Red Cross’ national chair of volunteers; Jaclyn Libowitz, chief operating officer and chief of staff for Girl Scouts of the USA; Felix Rouse, vice president of resource development for the southeast region of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Elson Nash, associate director for project management at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; and two 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shannon McNamara of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Benjamin Sater of Plano, Texas.
Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 16 years ago by Prudential Financial to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models.
“The young women and men in America’s schools are nothing short of amazing, and nowhere is this more evident than amongst this year’s award recipients,” said NASSP President Jana Frieler. “They possess a keen intellect, servant hearts, capable leadership skills, and are filled with energy and ambition. NASSP and Prudential are honored to recognize them.”
More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees can be found at http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
NASSP is the leading organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and all school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP provides research-based professional development and resources, networking, and advocacy to build the capacity of middle level and high school leaders to continually improve student performance. Reflecting its longstanding commitment to student leadership development as well, 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.
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, investment management, and real estate services. 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 http://www.news.prudential.com/
Also honored in Washington was Wendi Oppenheim, 18, of Southwest Ranches. She and Rachel were named Florida’s top youth volunteers in February, and were officially recognized last night at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, along with the top two youth volunteers of every other state and the District of Columbia. At that event, all of the Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees for 2011 were presented with $1,000 awards, and congratulated by Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon. The honorees also received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events.
“The Prudential Spirit of Community honorees have seen problems in their communities and around the world and have taken action,” said Ms. Sarandon. “Their compassion to help others should give us all a lot of hope for the future.”
Rachel, a fifth-grader at Zion Lutheran Christian School in Deerfield Beach, launched a fund-raising campaign that has raised more than $162,000 to build a new 25-home village in Leogane, Haiti, near the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred in January 2010. Two years ago, Rachel and her mother visited Food For The Poor (FFP), an international relief and development agency based in Florida, and learned about the charity’s work in Haiti from President/CEO Robin Mahfood. “When I saw the before and after pictures of the families he has helped, I knew he was doing God’s work and I had to help,” said Rachel.
At the suggestion of the Lighthouse Point Chamber of Commerce president, Rachel attended a chamber meeting and stood on a chair in front of more than 100 business people to talk about her desire to build homes in Haiti. Then she started appealing to friends, neighbors, and fellow karate students. Her school soon jumped on the bandwagon. Next, FFP issued a press release about Rachel’s efforts, and the news media interviewed her after each milestone. As donations flowed in, Rachel decided that instead of just reaching her original goal of building 13 houses, she would build an entire village, complete with sanitation and potable water. To date, Rachel has raised more than $162,000 to construct “Rachel’s Village,” and helped to inspire the Florida Marlins baseball team to build a village in Haiti. “I would tell other young people that we are the future, and we need to stand up for those who have nothing,” said Rachel.
Wendi, a senior at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, co-founded an online guide to community service opportunities for young people in her area. The guide features descriptions of more than 100 organizations and programs that need volunteers, with ratings and reviews of each one submitted by actual volunteers. Wendi’s interest in volunteering began in middle school after the 9/11 tragedy, when she and her sister raised $25,000 for the victims by baking goods and organizing other students to make patriotic jewelry. Later, she routinely volunteered at a local homeless shelter and distributed food to the homebound. “I realized, through all of these experiences, the importance of helping those in need,” she said. “Thus, I knew at a young age that I wanted to spread the spirit of volunteerism.”
To do that, Wendi and her sister spent countless hours gathering and compiling information on local nonprofits needing student volunteers. They made presentations to solicit support from local businesses, formed a nonprofit organization to facilitate donations, and negotiated with local printers to print their guide at a reduced cost. Realizing that a printed guide had limited reach, they began developing an online guide at www.opp-guide.com using funds raised from grants and bake sales. In addition to providing information to potential youth volunteers, the “Opp Guide” created a matching-grant program that raised more than $45,000 for victims of the recent Haitian earthquake, and organized a student hair collection drive to aid oil-cleanup efforts on the Gulf Coast. Wendi also has created a Spanish-language version of the website and a Facebook fan page, and is now recruiting college students to start Opp-Guides in other parts of the country. “I strongly believe that we should all ‘pay it forward,’ and that the guide helps young people do exactly that,” said Wendi.
“Wendi and Rachel represent young Americans who have a strong sense of community and who are dedicated to improving our neighborhoods, our nation and our world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “With great anticipation, we look forward to their future achievements as they continue to spread the spirit of community.”
More than 29,000 young people participated in the 2011 awards program last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the Points of Light Institute’s HandsOn Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state were selected in February, and were flown to Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.
In addition to Rachel, the other National Honorees are:
Justin Churchman, 18, of El Paso, Texas, has raised more than $48,000 and recruited more than 75 volunteers to build 18 houses in Juarez, Mexico, despite the rampant drug wars that have frightened away many other American volunteers.
Sarah Cronk, 18, of Bettendorf, Iowa, co-founded a cheerleading squad at her high school that includes students with disabilities, and then formed a nonprofit corporation that encourages teens across the country to start similar squads at their schools.
Rocco Fiorentino, 14, of Voorhees, N.J., is a dedicated advocate for children who are blind like him or visually impaired, striving over the past nine years to increase government funding for Braille services and educate others about the abilities of people with visual challenges.
Jeffrey Hanson, 17, of Overland Park, Kan., has generated more than $225,000 for various local and national charities over the past five years by selling and donating original paintings and other artistic creations, despite having a genetic condition that causes severe loss of vision.
Cassandra Lin, 13, of Westerly, R.I., launched a program that collects more than 36,000 gallons of waste cooking oil a year from 95 restaurants and thousands of households in nine towns in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and converts it into heating fuel for needy families.
Aimee Matheson, 18, of Clearfield, Utah, coordinated the building of a day-care and community center in Guatemala so that impoverished single mothers would have a safe and nurturing place for their children while they are at work.
Tyler Page, 14, of Brentwood, Calif., held a car wash hoping to rescue just one child from being sold into slavery in Ghana, but ended up sparking a kids’ fund-raising enterprise that has involved hundreds of young people and has generated more than $100,000 for a variety of children’s causes.
Glennita Williams, 14, of South Holland, Ill., has collected snacks and personal care items worth more than $14,000, including more than 600 pounds of Hostess Twinkies, for shipment to American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past four years.
Rujul Zaparde, 16, of Plainsboro, N.J., co-founded a nonprofit organization that has motivated more than 450 students at 23 schools to raise funds that have been used to dig over 30 water wells in rural India.
The national selection committee that chose the ten National Honorees was chaired by Strangfeld of Prudential and included Jana Frieler, president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light & HandsOn Network; Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the America’s Promise Alliance; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Pamela Farr, the American Red Cross’ national chair of volunteers; Jaclyn Libowitz, chief operating officer and chief of staff for Girl Scouts of the USA; Felix Rouse, vice president of resource development for the southeast region of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Elson Nash, associate director for project management at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; and two 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shannon McNamara of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Benjamin Sater of Plano, Texas.
Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 16 years ago by Prudential Financial to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models.
“The young women and men in America’s schools are nothing short of amazing, and nowhere is this more evident than amongst this year’s award recipients,” said NASSP President Jana Frieler. “They possess a keen intellect, servant hearts, capable leadership skills, and are filled with energy and ambition. NASSP and Prudential are honored to recognize them.”
More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees can be found at http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
NASSP is the leading organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and all school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP provides research-based professional development and resources, networking, and advocacy to build the capacity of middle level and high school leaders to continually improve student performance. Reflecting its longstanding commitment to student leadership development as well, 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.
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, investment management, and real estate services. 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 http://www.news.prudential.com/