Prizes offered for amazing young volunteers

The 2020 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is looking for amazing youth volunteers to recognize at its next ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Students must apply and demonstrate how they have worked on behalf of others. Children age 10 and younger must have performed 26 hours of volunteering; for ages 11 to 15, it’s a 50 hour contribution and for older students, 100 hours.
The deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 5 to submit an application that must be certified by a school principal, Girl Scout council, county 4-H Club, American Red Cross chapter, YMCA or Points of Light Global Network member.
Kids must also write an essay describing how they have made meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service within the past 12 months.

Certifiers review all applications for a student’s school or organization, then select a local honoree to nominate for state-level judging by Nov. 15.
Two winners will be picked from each state.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards will grant honorees a $1,000 scholarship, a medallion and an all-expense-paid trip to the nation’s Capitol. A parent or guardian may accompany winners for four days of events to be held in May.
Out of that group, 10 students will be named top youth volunteers of the year and will receive an additional $5,000 scholarship, a gold medallion, a crystal trophy for their nominating school or organization and $5,000 grants from the Prudential Foundation toward a nonprofit charitable organization of their choice.

The Awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, were created in 1995, has recognized the exemplary volunteer work of 130,000 middle school and high school students, the company said.
Stacey Gringauz, of Parkland, was a state level honoree in 2019. She and two friends made and sold personalized bracelets and donated the proceeds each month to a different charity, including $130,000 for victims of the Feb. 14, 2018 shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and their families, Prudential said.

Vance Tomasi, of Tampa, was named one of America’s top 10 youth volunteers last year after he and a friend collected and donated more than 90,000 books to families, schools, group homes, hospitals and libraries over two years, according to the company.
“As we enter our 25th year, we remain inspired by these young people and their stories of service, and hope that they’ll inspire others to get involved, too,” Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial Inc. said in a press release.
To download an application to to https://spirit.prudential.com/apply/2020.