Delaware's Top Youth Volunteers of 2021 Selected by National Program

NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Divita Taduvayi, 17, of Bear and Lilyan Farris, 11, of Bridgeville today were named Delaware's top youth volunteers of 2021 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, America's largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service.

As State Honorees, Divita and Lilyan will each receive a $2,500 scholarship, a silver medallion and an invitation to the program's virtual national recognition celebration in April, where 10 of the 102 State Honorees will be named America's top youth volunteers of the year. Those 10 National Honorees will earn an additional $5,000 scholarship, a gold medallion, a crystal trophy for their nominating organization and a $5,000 grant for a nonprofit charitable organization of their choice.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, conducted annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), honors students in grades 5-12 for making meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service.

"We created the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards 26 years ago to highlight and support the work of young people taking on the challenges of a changing world – a mission that rings truer than ever given the events of last year," said Charles Lowrey, Prudential's chairman and CEO. "We are proud to celebrate the vision and determination of Spirit of Community's Class of 2021, and all the ways they're making their communities safer, healthier and more equitable places to live."

These are Delaware's top youth volunteers of 2021:

High School State Honoree: Divita Taduvayi
Nominated by Mot Charter School

Divita, a senior at Mot Charter School, launched a nonprofit last year that aims to narrow the gender gap in STEM careers by introducing elementary school girls to fundamental computer science concepts. "I have been interested in computer science ever since I walked the model-rocket-lined halls of my middle school STEM basement," Divita said. "However, it took me until my junior year in high school before I was comfortable in the computer science field, having faced many setbacks in my self-confidence."

Realizing that many girls faced similar challenges, Divita resolved to make the study of science and technology easier for them. She came up with the concept for a program called "Girls Tech Together" that would include activities, coding lessons and interaction with professionals in the field. After developing logos, fliers and a curriculum, Divita persuaded a local Boys and Girls Club to host a pilot program. But her classes quickly came to a halt when the facility had to close because of COVID-19. So she switched to a virtual approach. She built a website, partnered with an elementary school that had plenty of girls eager to learn, and began teaching a five-week course online. The class was so popular that Divita recruited fellow high school volunteers to help, invited technology professionals to speak about their fields, and contacted major corporations for donations. So far, Divita has personally helped more than 120 girls from 10 local schools and three overseas schools learn the basics of computer science, as well as how to use technology to address environmental, racial, educational, medical and agricultural issues in their communities.

Middle Level State Honoree: Lilyan Farris
Nominated by Woodbridge Middle School

Lilyan, a sixth-grader at Woodbridge Middle School, is the founder of "The Lily Project," which seeks to spread kindness throughout her community by organizing a variety of projects that not only serve others, but also show other young people how much fun it is to volunteer. Lilyan has been volunteering since she was 4 years old. "I found out that it is a lot of fun to help others," she said. "But it was hard for me to volunteer sometimes because people saw my age and didn't think I could help. I always had to prove them wrong."

She realized that "a lot of kids like me would be great helpers if someone showed them how." So she started by involving other youngsters in a collection drive that gathered more than 1,500 books to create a children's library at a treatment center for mothers who were battling addiction. Since that first project, she and her fellow volunteers have made thousands of coloring cards for service members, veterans, and first responders; filled Christmas stockings for people experiencing homelessness; created 300 kits of fun items for local school children; and designed an activity book about the COVID-19 pandemic that has been downloaded over 3,000 times. A big part of her work, Lilyan said, is finding creative ways to use what other people discard as trash. "There is a lot of trash in our landfills and a lot of trash could be reused," she said. Lilyan estimated that she and her volunteers have repurposed more than 4,500 items that otherwise would be clogging landfills in her area.

State Honorees in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Class of 2021 – the top middle level and high school volunteer from all 50 states and the District of Columbia – were selected for service initiatives completed, at least in part, between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2020. Selection was based on criteria including impact, effort, initiative and the personal growth demonstrated over the course of the project. Several Distinguished Finalists and runners-up were also selected in each state, and all qualifying applicants received President's Volunteer Service Awards. 

"It speaks volumes about the character of today's secondary school students that the Spirit of Community program heard from more than 21,000 applicants this fall – most of them stories of young volunteers overcoming the hardships of a global pandemic to support those in need," said Ronn Nozoe, Chief Executive Officer, NASSP. "While we're especially proud to celebrate this year's 102 State Honorees, NASSP applauds every student who's found a way to volunteer this past year. You inspire your peers and adults alike to remember that, even in times of crisis, we all have something to give."

To read the names and stories of all of this year's State Honorees, visit http://spirit.prudential.com.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial wellness leader and premier active global investment manager, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees help to make lives better by creating financial opportunity for more people. Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit news.prudential.com. 

About NASSP

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for principals and other school leaders across the United States. NASSP seeks to transform education through school leadership, recognizing that the fulfillment of each student's potential relies on great leaders in every school committed to the success of each student. 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. Learn more at http://nassp.org.

SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.

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