This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2022) |
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards [1] program is the United States' largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. The program was created in 1995 by Prudential in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) to honor middle level and high school students for outstanding service to others at the local, state, and national level.
The program's goals are to applaud young people who already are making a positive difference in their towns and neighborhoods, and to inspire others to think about how they might contribute to their communities. Over the past 16 years, more than 310,000 young Americans have participated in the program, and nearly 100,000 of them have been officially recognized for their volunteer work.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is also conducted in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland and India, where Prudential has significant business operations.
Any young person who: is in grades 5-12 as of November 1 during the applying year, is a legal resident of any U.S. state or Washington, D.C., has engaged in a volunteer activity that occurred at least partly during the 12 months prior to the date of application, and submits a completed application to a school principal or the head of an officially designated local organization by November 1.
In 2022, the Spirit of Community Awards transitioned into a new program called the Prudential Emerging Visionaries. [2]
Name of Person [3] | Awarded For | Year Awarded |
---|---|---|
Nikita Agrawal | FinPro World | 2023 |
Okezue Bell | Fidutam | 2023 |
Aaryan Doshi | CirFin | 2023 |
Catherine Mellett Felix | Girley | 2023 |
Jordyn Wright | Passion to Purpose | 2023 |
Jack Bonneau | Teen Hustl | 2023 |
Varuni Chopra | Bridge the Gap Initiative | 2023 |
Sydnie Collins | It's Perfect Timing | 2023 |
Kean Dao | Environmental Droners | 2023 |
Mia Fritsch-Anderson | Choose to Breathe | 2023 |
Kylee Hamamoto | WeGo! Hawaii | 2023 |
Zoya Haq | HiStory Retold | 2023 |
Lillian Hertel | Students Stand Up | 2023 |
Shraman Kar | Community AI | 2023 |
Sidney Keys III | Books N Bros | 2023 |
Isheta Kulshreshtha | Leveled Legislation | 2023 |
Vaishnavi Kumbala | Saplings | 2023 |
Mark Leschinsky | Student World Impact Film Festival | 2023 |
Aanand Mehta | Magical Motors | 2023 |
Joshua Oh | Fighting Diaper Poverty | 2023 |
Rishan Patel | The Lending Locker | 2023 |
Riyah Patel | New American Scholars | 2023 |
Austin Picinich | Save Our Salmon Through Art | 2023 |
Siona (Dolly) Pramoda | SafeTeensOnline | 2023 |
Kosha Upadhyay | Buzz Bowl | 2023 |
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including 176,000 female participants. The BSA was founded in 1910; about 130 million Americans have participated in its programs. Served by 477,000 adult volunteers. BSA became a founding member organization of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922.
Community service is work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as those helping getting a lunch for free. In many countries, there are programs to incite people to do community service. People may do community service to get citizenship. In some cases, it is possible to replace a criminal justice sanctions with community service. There may also be school or class requirements. Obtaining certain benefits may be linked to doing some form of community service. For all these reasons, it is distinct from volunteering.
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the United States and in over 40 other countries. In 2019, Prudential was the largest insurance provider in the United States with $815.1 billion in total assets.
Mission Australia is a national Christian charity that provides a range of community services throughout Australia. It has its roots in the Brisbane sector of The British and Foreign Bible Society’s sub-committee, The Colporteur Society (1869), and Sydney City Mission (1862), but was only officially established in 1996, bringing together a number of city missions across the country. The organisation specialises in the areas of homelessness and housing, families and children, early learning, youth, employment and skills, substance abuse, disability, mental health, and strengthening communities. Sharon Callister has been CEO since March 2022.
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a global nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI aims to help its members and their partners build more equitable, sustainable, healthy and resilient communities.
Catholic Memorial (CM) is an all-boys college preparatory school located in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and is administered by the Congregation of Christian Brothers.
The Walker School, formerly known as the Joseph T. Walker School, is a private school in Marietta, Georgia, United States, on Cobb Parkway in what was originally Sprayberry High School. It was founded in 1957 as the St. James Day School at St. James Episcopal Church near the Marietta square. In 1972 the school became an independent body as the Joseph T. Walker School. The school teaches students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade at the same location.
James Gurnett is a former politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1985 until 1986. He is currently the principal of Common Place Services, doing a variety of consulting work, primarily with NGOs.
Citizen Corps is a program under the Department of Homeland Security, founded in 2002 as part of the USA Freedom Corps, that provides training for the population of the United States to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack. Each local Citizen Corps Council partners with organizations, volunteers and businesses to organize responders, volunteers and professional first responders for an efficient response so efforts are not wasted by being duplicated. By training in Incident Command, volunteers know whom to report to and how the incident is organized. This prevents sites from being inundated by untrained and unprepared personnel preventing operation. Citizen Corps also works in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service in promoting national service opportunities for promoting homeland security needs.
Learning for Life (LFL) is a United States school and work-site based youth program that is an affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America. It utilizes programs designed for schools and community-based organizations that are designed to prepare youth for the complexities of contemporary society and to enhance their self-confidence, motivation, and self-esteem, and for careers.
Najidah is a nonprofit secular organisation in Australia dedicated to reducing societal tolerance of abuse and the development of safer communities. Located in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast, it was founded as "Jacana lodge" in the early 1990s before becoming an incorporated association in 1999.
Thread is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded by Sarah and Ryan Hemminger as a partnership between students at Johns Hopkins University and two Baltimore City High Schools: Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and the Academy for College and Career Exploration. The goal of Thread is to transform teenagers who are failing high school into Baltimore City's most valuable role models. Thread extends a school-based tutoring program to the home, providing both academic and social support to youth struggling with poverty, drugs, and violence. Mentoring teams, called "Thread Families" not only support teenagers in overcoming their own adversity, but also encourage them to help others do the same. The first group of Thread students achieved a 100% graduation and 100% college enrollment rate.
Shanaya Fastje is an American writer, singer-songwriter, and motivational speaker.
Charlotte McKane is an American college student known for community service work. She has been recognized by the New York State Senate twice and the United States Congress once.
Mohammed Sadiq Mamdani is a social entrepreneur and activist, who is currently the UK Director of Kijana Kwanza. He is known for his extensive work in founding charitable organisations; including Muslim Youth Helpline, Ansar Youth Project, Al-Mizan Charitable Trust and Sufra NW London. Mamdani is an advocate on youth issues and community development, who is passionate about interfaith social action.
Greater Newark Conservancy is a non-profit organization headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, with the stated goal of promoting "environmental stewardship to improve the quality of life in New Jersey's urban communities." It offers programs for youth education, community greening and gardening, nutritional health, job training, and prisoner re-entry.
Maria Keller is an American woman who is the founder and executive director of Read Indeed, a nonprofit literacy organization that donates books to children who lack access to reading materials. Keller founded the charitable organization in 2009 to donate one million books to in-need children by the time she turned eighteen, a task she accomplished at age thirteen. By 2024, Read Indeed has donated nearly four million books to underprivileged youth in each U.S. State and seventeen countries. For her work with Read Indeed, Keller received the Jefferson Award for Public Service and the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, as well as recognition from CNN Heroes.
The Art of Elysium (TAOE), founded in 1997, is an American nonprofit organization that provides community arts programs and artist services. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, it organizes monthly workshops in fashion, film, theater, music, and visual arts for communities facing challenges, while also rendering career resources for participating volunteer artists. In January 2016, the organization partnered with SAG-AFTRA and the American Film Institute to support President Obama's "Call to Arts" initiative to complete 1 million hours of mentorship for young artists.
Orion Jean is a Haitian American author and philanthropist who was named Time Kid of the Year.