South Carolina's Top Youth Volunteers Of 2020 Selected By National Program

COLUMBIA, S.C., Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- John Michael Stagliano, 16, of Summerville and Riley Silverman, 12, of Charleston today were named South Carolina's top two youth volunteers of 2020 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, John Michael and Riley 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 four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2020. 

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 25^th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

These are South Carolina's top youth volunteers of 2020:

High School State Honoree: John Michael Stagliano
Nominated by University of Nebraska High School

John Michael, a sophomore at the Lincoln, Nebraska-based online school University of Nebraska High School, collected more than $70,000 worth of donated household goods in order to furnish homes for hundreds of people transitioning out of homelessness, including more than 100 veterans. When John Michael was 12, he started making weekly meals for men at a local homeless shelter. "I was happy when they were finally able to secure a home, but when I learned that they were moving out of the shelter with nothing more than clothing, I became concerned," he said. "How would this new situation be better than the shelter?"

Believing that everyone deserves a comfortable place to live, John Michael started "Home Again" in late 2016 with the idea of turning houses into homes for homeless people getting back on their feet. His first task was furnishing a home for three men. He called everyone he knew for donations of furniture, appliances, kitchenware and linens and, with help from his parents, loaded up a truck; within two days, he had fully furnished the house. Soon others began asking for his help, including the Veteran's Administration, which wanted him to furnish homes for veterans. Donations piled up so dramatically that John Michael needed two storage units to accommodate the goods, so a Realtor hosted a drawing and a restaurant organized a fundraiser to pay the annual rent. John Michael said he will keep going, despite some health challenges he faced this past year. "My issues are small compared to a veteran with no home or a single mom living in a car with her kids," he said.

Middle Level State Honoree: Riley Silverman
Nominated by Haut Gap Middle School

Riley, a seventh-grader at Haut Gap Middle School, is an active hunger-fighter in his community whose efforts include helping to pack weekend meals for students in need, maintaining a school vegetable garden that provides fresh produce to a local shelter, and raising money to pay off student lunch debts. Since he was 5 years old, Riley has enthusiastically participated in his older brother's nonprofit to provide lunch bags for kids who didn't have enough to eat on weekends; as "snack chef," he's helped prepare healthy snacks, and given demonstrations on how to make them at home, for nearly 3,000 kids and parents volunteering at the group's packing parties. And as the co-founder of an initiative called "Catch Up on Lunch," he has partnered with two groups to hold restaurant "spirit nights" that raised $25,000 to cancel the lunch debts of students at four schools. "When kids are hungry, they can't enjoy school, and then won't get the good grades that matter to get started in life," explained Riley.

Riley is also an active "grower" with Katie's Krops, an organization that mobilizes kids across the country to grow fresh produce for people in need. To further address the issue of hunger, he asked his principal for permission to plant three vegetable garden beds on his school grounds, then bought supplies, recruited volunteers, and ultimately donated 25 pounds of green peppers, squash and basil to a local shelter. He also conducted hands-on planting workshops for 55 kids. "These projects make the world a better place," said Riley, "and they also helps kids think more about other people."         

Distinguished Finalists

The program judges also recognized four other South Carolina students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.
These are South Carolina's Distinguished Finalists for 2020:

Lana Guy, 15, of Georgetown, South Carolina, a sophomore at South Carolina Connections Academy, built and regularly stocks a "little free pantry" with food for people in need in her community; she used money she earned by playing guitar to buy materials, and built, painted and installed the pantry in a busy intersection with the help of her parents and grandparents. Lana was inspired to start this activity after learning about families in her area who are dealing with food insecurity.

Jordan Phillips, 17, of Clover, South Carolina, a senior at Clover High School, volunteers her time at Victory Farms, a horse stable that offers therapeutic riding lessons to people with special needs; she regularly spends Wednesday evenings and weekends mucking out stalls and feeding and tacking the horses. Jordan also works directly with program participants, running classes, riding with them on the horse or leading the horse during riding sessions.

Pallavi Rao, 18, of Columbia, South Carolina, a senior at Spring Valley High School, organized a service project, "Totes for Hope," that sourced and donated wheelchair bags that patients at a rehabilitation center can use to carry their personal belongings; she raised money through donation boxes, a GoFundMe page and word of mouth, then commissioned 110 bags from artisans from Rajkot, India. Pallavi hopes to continue this service project to honor her Indian heritage while benefitting her local community.

Tyler White, 17, of Columbia, South Carolina, a senior at Spring Valley High School, started and runs "Seniors 4 Seniors" a student club at his high school that has prepared and delivered thousands of meals to local people in need by collaborating with the local chapter of Meals on Wheels. Tyler, who recruited members and tracks the club's efforts, was inspired to start this volunteer activity in memory of his late grandmother, who had a chronic illness.

"In our 25^th year of honoring young volunteers, we are as inspired as ever by the work students are doing to address the needs of a changing world," said Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. "We hope that their resolve, their initiative and their perspectives on society's challenges move others to consider how they can make a difference, too."

"Middle level and high school students are doing remarkable things to shape the future of their communities through volunteer service. They inspire all students and schools to drive learning with real-world challenges," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to each of the 2020 honorees – it's an honor to celebrate your commitment to creating positive change."

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 Points of Light Global Network members, 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 May 4, 10 of the State Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2020. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 scholarships, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from Prudential for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice.  

Since the program began in 1995, more than 130,000 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 and Brazil. 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 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 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.

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