NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sascha
Pakravan, 16 and Brennan Yamaguchi,
12, both of Honolulu, today were
named Hawaii'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, Sascha and Brennan 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 Hawaii's top youth
volunteers of 2021:
High School State Honoree: Sascha Pakravan
Nominated by
Punahou School
Sascha, a junior at Punahou School, has worked to improve access
to early literacy resources in his state by starting a program that
has created dozens of online children's storytime videos, and
recruited high school students across the state to mentor young
readers. As an avid reader, Sascha said he was distressed to learn
from a report that 1 in 6 Hawaii
residents is functionally illiterate. "I realized that illiteracy
is a rampant societal issue among people living on our islands," he
said. This is a critical challenge, he added, because "ultimately,
literacy empowers people to learn, communicate, and have better
futures."
Determined to do something about this, Sascha contacted dozens
of local organizations to volunteer as a literacy tutor, but was
turned away either because of his age or because COVID-19 had
forced many groups to curtail operations. So he took matters into
his own hands. After a year of research, brainstorming and
conversations with educators and parents, Sascha launched an
initiative called "Words4" and began producing videos in which he
and his younger sister read children's books aloud while displaying
the pages so young readers could follow along. On the videos, they
also discuss the books and pose questions to encourage critical
thinking. His 76 videos, available on his website, have been viewed
more than 13,000 times since July. The website also lists hundreds
of recommended, teacher-approved books. In addition, Sascha
recruited 19 high schoolers to mentor elementary school children in
need of reading assistance. "I consider it my civic duty to
dedicate my time, effort, resources and willpower to helping
Hawaii's children," he said.
Middle Level State Honoree: Brennan Yamaguchi
Nominated by
Maryknoll School
Brennan, a sixth-grader at Maryknoll School, has raised
awareness about epilepsy for the past five years by persuading his
baseball team to play special epilepsy-awareness games, making
presentations at his school, selling lemonade to raise money for
research, and co-writing a bill requiring the posting of seizure
first-aid information in public spaces and workplaces. Brennan got
involved in his cause because his good friend has epilepsy. "I
wanted to help her because people weren't being nice to her and I
didn't like that people were doing bad things," he said.
His first step was to recruit his baseball team to help him hold
"Epilepsy and Seizure Awareness" games. To promote the games, he
gave media interviews, solicited sponsorships, and distributed
fliers and comic books about the neurological disorder. In
addition, he gave a presentation to his entire grade about epilepsy
and encouraged fellow students to wear purple, the official color
for epilepsy awareness. Last year, Brennan engaged his state
senator in his cause and co-wrote a bill that would provide
information at worksites and in public places on how to help
someone having a seizure. "The more people learn about epilepsy,
the more people know what to do if someone has epilepsy," said
Brennan.
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.
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