Alabama's Top Youth Volunteers Of 2018 Selected By National Program

MONTGOMERY, Ala., Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Grayson Phillips, 18, of Gardendale and Katherine Huggins, 13, of Florence today were named Alabama's top two youth volunteers of 2018 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Grayson and Katherine each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in late April 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 2018.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 23^rd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

These are Alabama's top youth volunteers of 2018:

High School State Honoree: Grayson Phillips
Nominated by Essential Church School in Birmingham

Grayson, a senior at Essential Church School, organized a fishing tournament and a fundraising dinner/auction to provide seven children and young adults with disabilities with all-terrain power wheelchairs that allow them to safely navigate the great outdoors with their peers. Grayson, who was born with spina bifida, knew all too well the frustration of not being able to easily follow his fellow Boy Scouts during campouts and other outdoor activities. "I was constantly getting stuck in the mud or in the sand in the woods and on the beach in my manual wheelchair," he said. But after raising money to buy his own Action Track chair and seeing how dramatically it changed his life, he wanted others with disabilities to experience the same freedom. So three years ago, he founded a nonprofit to buy chairs for others.

To publicize his organization and fundraising events, Grayson created a website, utilized social media, sent out press releases, and set up a booth at outdoor expos. He asked local businesses for donations, and spoke at schools to recruit volunteers. So far, Grayson has provided all-terrain power wheelchairs worth more than $84,000 to seven people who have a passion for the outdoors, but not the money to buy their own. They include a Mississippi girl with cerebral palsy who loves the beach, a girl in North Carolina who now can go hunting, and an Alabama boy who used his new chair to help clean up his community after a tornado. "It is important to me to help as many disabled kids as possible get outdoors because I know what it feels like to experience independence for the first time," said Grayson.  

Middle Level State Honoree: Katherine Huggins
Nominated by Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama in Birmingham

Katherine, an eighth-grader at Wilson High School, delivered 25 tote bags filled with small stuffed animals to every volunteer fire department in her county so that firefighters could give them to children suffering the effects of fire, car accidents and domestic upheaval. In the past, Katherine had donated some of her own stuffed animals to local fire and police departments to send out with officers and firefighters on calls involving children. But last year, she and a friend who also loves stuffed animals decided to do more. They came up with the idea of collecting and donating new and gently-used stuffed toys for all of their county's volunteer fire departments to deliver. "I knew the city had programs, but the county did not," said Katherine. "I felt it was important that the kids in the county have a comfort item."

To get local fire departments on board, Katherine met with fire officials and spoke at two meetings of the county firefighters association. Then she made flyers and posted them around town to solicit stuffed animal donations. She enlisted the help of friends and family to collect the animals, which she washed, sorted, and packed into 25 totes labeled "Tender Hearts." The totes were then delivered to fire stations throughout the county so that officials responding to emergencies would have a furry friend to leave behind with a frightened child. The project has since led Katherine to other volunteer opportunities, including making a fire safety poster, donating stuffed toys to a library, and supervising activities for young children       

Distinguished Finalists

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

These are Alabama's Distinguished Finalists for 2018:

Hayden Burch, 18, of Auburn, Ala., a senior at Auburn High School, founded the "Pages from Pam Elementary Book Campaign," an annual drive that has collected thousands of books and more than $5,000 with the goal of establishing a home library for every second grader in Talladega, Alabama. Inspired by his late aunt, a literacy advocate who taught second grade in Talladega, Hayden collected money and books through grants, presentations, online publicity and writing directly to authors for support; he also persuaded schools in his own community to contribute books and volunteers.

Nicholas Carlisle, 14, of Hoover, Ala., an eighth-grader at Berry Middle School, worked with a national charity to sell more than 600 wreaths for the graves of veterans at a local graveyard ? and, in the process, has raised more than $3,000 toward his school's fund for students in need. Nicholas contacted friends, family and local businesses to solicit $15 sponsorships for each grave wreath; Wreaths Across America then donated $5 back from each wreath, which he gave to the Berry Middle School hope chest to provide clothes, food, eyeglasses and other essentials to students who need them.

Sydney "Merrill Ann" Culverhouse, 16, of Opp, Ala., a junior at Opp High School, used her experience running a tornado relief T-shirt enterprise to launch another charitable endeavor: designing Alabama's first colon cancer awareness license plate. Inspired by her father's colon cancer diagnosis, Sydney worked with her art teacher to design the tag, then partnered with a colorectal cancer charity to put her plan into action; the tag is projected to raise more than $40,000 by June 2018 to support Alabama families affected by colon cancer.

Amrita Lakhanpal, 17, of Birmingham, Ala., a junior at The Altamont School, raised $18,000 to provide a local elementary school with 60 Chromebooks, then started a coding program for fourth- and fifth-graders led by members of Altamont's Computing for Everyone club. Amrita has also taught weekly computer classes for students at the elementary school's summer program, and started a Girls Who Code club at her own school with an eye toward closing the gender gap in technology fields; she is also raising money to buy laptops for another local elementary school.

"Prudential is proud to recognize these remarkable young people for using their energy, creativity and compassion to bring meaningful change to their communities," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope their stories inspire others to consider how they can do the same."

"These middle level and high school students have not only improved the lives of the people and communities they've served ? they also set an important example for their peers," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "These honorees prove that you're never too young to make a difference."

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 affiliates of Points of Light's HandsOn Network, 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 April 30, 10 of the State Honorees ? five middle level and five high school students ? will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2018. 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 120,000 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, Brazil and Poland. 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 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. 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 Student Council. 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.

For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media

SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.