Nevada’s Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in National Awards Program

Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2001 | 9:34 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Amanda Hendryx, 16, of Round Mountain and Holly Walker, 13, of Henderson today were named Nevada's top two youth volunteers for 2001 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its sixth year, is sponsored by The Prudential Insurance Company of America in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Nearly 23,000 high school and middle level students were considered for awards in this year's program.

Amanda was nominated by Round Mountain Senior High School in Round Mountain, and Holly was nominated by Thurman White Middle School in Henderson. As State Honorees, they each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees -- one middle level and one high school youth -- from each of the other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2001 at that time.

Amanda, a junior at Round Mountain, collects warm clothing for the homeless. During a family trip, Amanda was stunned to see people living on the streets of a large city. "I cried," she said. "I couldn't believe there were thousands more just like that." She decided to help. "As the winter months approach, shelters fill up and many homeless people are left out on the street. I made it my goal to help keep them warm." Amanda prepared ads asking community members to donate unused winter clothing. Family, friends and a local 4-H club helped collect and organize donations. Soon her "Share the Warmth" campaign spread to 4-H clubs throughout the state. Amanda also applied for a grant to assist with collection, cleaning and distribution costs. "The hardest part was learning that people's opinions are different," she said. "I had to ask people to look past the shoeless feet or the box a homeless person calls home. I learned that it takes a lot of strength and courage to fight for what you believe in."

Holly, an eighth-grader at Thurman White, founded and leads "Generation Hope," an organization designed to help all children in Nevada who are diagnosed with cancer, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell anemia and other catastrophic diseases. Holly was inspired by her grandfather's courageous battle against stomach cancer (he died in May of 1999) and the story of her mother's victory over childhood cancer. "I was determined to set up a program that would help every child in Nevada struggling with one of these diseases," she said. After researching factors that make a difference in a child's recovery, Holly began by conducting a fundraising campaign in her school district to buy special stuffed bears equipped with taped messages of encouragement for kids diagnosed with a critical illness. She then recruited friends to help make handmade gift bags that they distribute to children at a local hospital during regular visits. Holly also has volunteered at a summer camp for young cancer patients and their siblings, and has raised funds to help operate the camp. "What started out as a desire to help critically ill children became a passionate journey that's changed my life," Holly said.

In addition, the program judges recognized two other Nevada students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

Jennifer Johansson, 18, of Reno, a senior at Bishop Manogue High School, raises money to fight Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD), the leading cause of mental retardation among poor and uneducated people around the world.

Stephanie Mansanti, 17, of Winnemucca, a senior at Albert M. Lowry High School, raised money to build houses for poor families in Mexico by organizing "Taste of the Town," a community dinner featuring specialty dishes from local restaurants.

"These young people represent the noblest qualities of American youth," said Art Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential. "Their commitment and accomplishments graphically demonstrate that young Americans can -- and do -- play an important role in making this a better world. We are proud to honor them."

"Every day, we see more and more the need for dedicated and talented volunteers like these young students," said Gerald Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "We are motivated by their community spirit, and we know that as others realize the impact these honorees have made, their community spirit will indeed spread."

All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, along with all Girl Scout councils and county 4-H organizations, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. Local Honorees were then reviewed by state-level judges, who selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

On May 7, 2001, ten of the 104 State Honorees -- five middle level and five high school students -- will be named America's top ten youth volunteers of the year by a prestigious national selection committee. These National Honorees will receive an additional $5,000, a gold medallion, and a crystal trophy. The selection committee includes Ryan of Prudential; actor Richard Dreyfuss; Miss America 2001, Angela Perez Baraquio; Donald T. Floyd, Jr., President and CEO of the National 4-H Council; Robert Goodwin, President and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation; Marsha Johnson Evans, National Executive Director of Girl Scouts of the USA; and William Grobe, President-elect of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Also serving on the committee are two 2000 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees, Linda Arnade of Palm Bay, Fla., and Andrew Leary of Vernon, N.J.

The awards are part of a broad initiative created by Prudential to encourage young people to become involved in community service. Other elements of the initiative include The Prudential Youth Leadership Institute, a community leadership training program for high school students, and a variety of educational materials for young people and teachers relating to youth volunteerism.

For more information on this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit the community section of Prudential's Internet Web site at http://www.prudential.com, or NASSP's site at http://www.principals.org.

NASSP, based in Reston, Va., represents more than 42,000 secondary school principals in more than 35,000 public and private middle and high schools. Prudential, with headquarters in Newark, N.J., is the largest life insurance company in the United States and one of the largest diversified financial institutions in the world. The company has a global presence in 30 countries, providing a variety of products and services in the areas of insurance, investments, securities and real estate to more than 30 million customers.

In addition to Girl Scouts of the USA and National 4-H Council, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards are supported by American Association of School Administrators; American Red Cross; America's Promise; Boy Scouts of America; Camp Fire Boys and Girls; Council of the Great City Schools; Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America; National Council of La Raza; National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry; National Middle School Association; National School Boards Association; National School Public Relations Association; National Urban League; Points of Light Foundation; United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc.; United Synagogue Youth; YMCA of the USA; and YWCA of the USA.

/NOTE TO EDITORS: Full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion are available at http://www.prudential.com/spirit/pressphotos. Photos of the 2001 honorees may possibly be obtained by calling the media contacts, but formal photos are not yet available through The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards/

/CONTACT: Dawn Kelly of Prudential, 973-802-7134; or Michael Carr of the NASSP, 703-860-7260/

/Web site: http://www.prudential.com

http://www.principals.org/

CO: Prudential Insurance Company of America; National Association of

Secondary School Principals ST: Nevada IN: EDU SU: AWD

JL -- NYTU043 -- 4394 02/06/2001 09:41 EST http://www.prnewswire.com