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

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Brady-Mine, 17, of Gainesville and Paloma Rambana, 12, of Tallahassee today were named Florida'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, Alexandria and Paloma 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 Florida's top youth volunteers of 2018:

High School State Honoree: Alexandria Brady-Mine
Nominated by F. W. Buchholz High School in Gainesville

Alexandria, a senior at F. W. Buchholz High School, founded nonprofit organizations to educate people around the world about human rights issues and to provide assistance to senior citizens in her community. She also is an executive director of an international nonprofit dedicated to promoting acceptance, defying stereotypes and defeating hate. Her two grandmothers were the inspiration for her volunteer work, said Alexandria. One was a single mother who fought to educate her children after fleeing Haiti; the other was an educator who developed Alzheimer's disease.

When her maternal grandmother began to forget her family, "it became important for me to carry on her legacy of helping others," said Alexandria. "I decided the best way to honor her would be through helping the elderly." She began performing simple tasks for a small group of seniors, such as cooking, washing dishes and taking care of pets. Later, she introduced various technologies to help them feel less isolated and communicate more easily with family and friends. Alexandria's second nonprofit, "The Human Projects," uses a website and social media to disseminate stories and information about human rights, and is implementing human rights campaigns and a virtual reality curriculum in high schools and colleges. As executive director of another organization, "Redefy," Alexandria manages an international team of more than 100 student volunteers and arranges grant funding to promote social justice and positive perspectives through school workshops and online media.

Middle Level State Honoree: Paloma Rambana
Nominated by Maclay School in Tallahassee

Paloma, a seventh-grader at Maclay School, lobbied legislators, led rallies, gave speeches, created a website and generated media publicity to help secure $1.25 million in state funding for visually impaired children between the ages of 6 and 13. Paloma, who has a congenital eye condition that gives her fuzzy vision, uses a video magnifier to help her read and see around her classroom. But when her magnifier broke, she wasn't able to get another one because visually impaired kids in her age group don't get state aid for training and equipment outside of school, she said. "It's important that kids like me have the tools they need to be successful in school."

Paloma met with dozens of state legislators, her governor and congressmen to explain the situation, organized two rallies in Tallahassee and made T-shirts for the attendees, and spoke to many groups about the issue. She also wrote an op-ed piece for her local newspaper, set up a website, and recorded a radio public service announcement. Her "Fund the Gap" campaign began to pay off when Florida's governor signed off on $1.25 million in funding, with almost half of that continuing each year. "Sometimes I get upset because I can't see as well as other kids," said Paloma, "but then I think about how so many other kids can't see as well as I do, and I want to help them."

Distinguished Finalists

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

These are Florida's Distinguished Finalists for 2018:

Jessica Carscadden, 15, of Apopka, Fla., a freshman at Apopka High School, is the founder of "We Care Bears," a nonprofit that has provided more than 35,000 stuffed animals to first responders and organizations around the country to comfort children in traumatic situations. Jessica, who was comforted by a stuffed monkey when she was adopted at five years old, has mobilized kid volunteers as young as six to support her mission.

Emily Cornelius, 17, of Bartow, Fla., a senior at George Jenkins High School, has been a tireless advocate for the homeless in her community since she was 13 years old, leading projects ranging from care package distributions to a fundraising campaign to restore free bus service for veterans in Polk County. Emily, who has created about 2,000 care packages over the years, has placed special focus on serving homeless veterans.

Alexis Masciarella, 17, of Lighthouse Point, Fla., a senior at North Broward Preparatory School, started an initiative in sixth grade that sells accessories made from soda can tabs to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities and other good causes ? efforts that have raised a great deal of money to date. Alexis has also played a key role in recruiting support for Ronald McDonald House Charities from students in several schools, including her own.

Olivia Russo-Hood, 16, of Deltona, Fla., nominated by the Four Townes Family YMCA and a sophomore at University High School, is the founder of "Save the Earth Projects (STEP)" and, as the group's cornerstone project, led an initative that's collected about 30,000 pairs of shoes for people in need and donated thousands of dollars to a variety of good causes. Olivia's group has also led and supported initiatives to raise awareness about nutrition, hunger and global water issues.

Emma Skantze, 18, of Land O' Lakes, Fla., a senior at Land O' Lakes High School, has raised more than $37,000 for Tampa Bay-area families in need as the creator of the "Helping Hands Benefit Concert," an event she started in 2009. Since deciding at 9 years old that she wanted to raise money for the nonprofit Metropolitan Ministries, Emma has organized seven concerts, taking the lead on everything from marketing to recruiting musicians, sponsors and volunteers.

Oliver Stern, 17, of Miami Beach, Fla., a junior at Ransom Everglades School, is the creator of "Our Abilities," a program that has provided hearing tests for more than 150 children, assistive hearing equipment to more than 130 children, and has reached more than 1,000 elementary schoolers with programming on what it's like to live with certain disabilities. Oliver, who was born deaf and underwent surgeries for cochlear implants, wanted to promote disability awareness and help kids whose families can't afford assistive services.

Vance Tomasi, 12, of Tampa, Fla., a sixth-grader at Farnell Middle School, is the co-founder of a book collection initiative called "read.repeat.," and over 15 months has donated more than 40,000 books to 74 locations in 29 states. Vance's efforts have included partnering with his school system to distribute books to Title 1 schools, collecting books for a school destroyed by a fire, and recruiting volunteer support from friends and fellow scouts.

Colin Wanless, 14, of Boca Raton, Fla., an eighth-grader at Pine Crest Middle School, has been volunteering with a Miami-based hunger-fighting foundation since 2009, and started a Boca Raton-area chapter in 2015 to expand the organization's efforts to his region. Colin, whose efforts have helped to raise more than $10,000 for fighting hunger and fed more than 13,000 people, recruited 25 local youth to join the board he leads for the Joshua's Heart Foundation.

"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.