Luke Drabyn, 18, of Grafton and Katherine Ham, 13, of Sheffield today were named Vermont's top two youth volunteers for 2011 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 16th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
Luke was nominated by Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, and Katherine was nominated by Servants Heart Academy in Sheffield. As State Honorees, each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2011 at that time.
Luke, a senior at Burr and Burton Academy, helped create a service organization at his school that raised money to purchase 500 mosquito nets to protect villagers in Sierra Leone from malaria. Luke was seeking a way to satisfy a community service graduation requirement at his school, and asked a teacher for advice. She took him and a couple of friends to Cambridge, Mass., to meet a Sierra Leone native who had co-founded an organization called Global Minimum (GMin), which distributes insecticide-treated mosquito nets in vulnerable areas. Excited about the prospect of helping, Luke and his friends decided to start a chapter at their school, with the idea of helping students meet their graduation service requirement and at the same time do something good for others. “I was awestruck by what this guy from Sierra Leone had done,” said Luke. “I knew when I went back to Burr and Burton, I’d continue to be proactive and see where it led me.”
After recruiting other students, Luke and his friends researched the devastating economic and life-threatening effects of malaria. They then delivered PowerPoint presentations to students and faculty members at local schools to create awareness of the malaria problem in Africa and to raise money. With additional fund-raising activities, including the sale of silicon bracelets and a student dance, they ended up generating more than $2,000 to purchase mosquito nets from the Against Malaria Foundation. Luke traveled with GMin leaders to Sierra Leone last summer to deliver the nets, which are now protecting 1,150 men, women and children from mosquito-borne illness. “You can raise money for any organization, but when you honestly see where the money goes, and talk to the people it’s impacting directly, it’s life-changing,” Luke said.
Katherine, an eighth-grader at the Servant’s Heart Academy home school, has traveled to Guatemala with family members each year since 2008 to volunteer at an orphanage in Guatemala. Five years ago, Katherine’s grandfather, father and older sister decided to join a humanitarian group to work at the Shadow of His Wings Orphanage in the rural town of Monjas. The orphanage was co-founded by a couple from Vermont who began by pulling homeless children off the streets of Guatemala City and later bought property and relocated the orphanage to a rural area. When her father and sister returned from their first trip with pictures and stories, “I was immediately inspired to go and help,” said Katherine. “My dream became reality when, on their third trip, I went with them.”
To prepare for the annual trip, Katherine starts by writing letters to companies, seeking donations of items the orphanage badly needs, such as underwear, clothing, medicine, and hygienic supplies. Last year, the donations filled 22 suitcases. She also makes presentations to groups to recruit more volunteers and to fund-raise. Once in Guatemala, Katherine does whatever is asked of her. This past year she brought party items that she had solicited so that the nine 15-year-old girls in the orphanage would not have to forego their Quinceanera, a coming-of-age party important in many Latin American countries. She also helped build a wooden playground for the children, carrying wood, shoveling, and sweeping debris. In addition, Katherine uses her photography skills to take pictures of the orphanage and its children to show at her presentations. “I was shocked when I first saw the extreme poverty in Guatemala,” said Katherine. “I have been blessed by knowing I have helped the children find joy and hope,” she said.
In addition, the program judges recognized two other Vermont students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:
Cherise Madigan, 17, of Shaftsbury, a senior at Mount Anthony Union High School in Bennington, presides over her school’s Interact Club, a student service extension of the Rotary Club. As president, Cherise has coordinated numerous charity projects for the club including the Relay for Life, Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, and the American Lung Association.
Lauren Waller, 17, of West Rutland, a senior at Mill River Union High School in North Clarendon, became the president of her school’s Key Club after four years of active membership in the Key Club’s numerous service activities. Lauren and her Key Club helped to sponsor the charter for Vermont’s first K-Kids Club, a service club for elementary school children.
“These award recipients have proven that young people across America are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our nation, and our world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “Each and every one of these honorees deserve our respect and admiration, and we hope by shining a light on them, they will continue to serve as an example for others.”
“The young people recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need,” said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “NASSP is proud to honor these student leaders because they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation’s schools today.”
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 HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. More than 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.
While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital’s landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them – five middle level and five high school students – will be named National Honorees on May 2 by a prestigious national selection committee. These 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.
Serving on the national selection committee will be John Strangfeld of Prudential; Jana Frieler, president of NASSP; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light Institute & Hands On 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; 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.
In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President’s Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President Barack Obama. The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. Since the program began in 1995, more than 95,000 young volunteers nationwide have been honored at the local, state or national level. Many prominent public figures have assisted in saluting these honorees over the years, including Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Laura Bush, and Condoleezza Rice. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland and India.
For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP’s mission is to promote excellence in school leadership. The National Honor Society ®, National Junior Honor Society ®, National Elementary Honor Society™, and National Association of Student Councils ® are all NASSP programs. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, Va., visit www.nassp.org or call 703-860-0200.
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