Samantha Vance of Fort Wayne, Indiana named one of America's top 10 youth volunteers of 2021 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

NEWARK, N.J., May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Samantha Vance, 12, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was named one of America's top 10 youth volunteers of 2021 on Sunday evening by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards during the program's 26th annual, and second fully virtual, national recognition celebration. Selected from a field of more than 21,000 youth volunteers from across the country, Samantha has earned the title of National Honoree, along with a scholarship of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal trophy for her school, and a $5,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation for a nonprofit organization of her choice.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored 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.

Samantha, a sixth-grader at Blackhawk Middle School, launched an initiative to provide "buddy benches" for shy, lonely or bullied kids at more than 150  schools across the country. "I noticed a lot of lonely kids at recess, and I get lonely sometimes, too," said Sammie. So when she heard about buddy benches – specially-designated benches where kids can sit and make new friends when they have no one else to play with – she asked her principal if she could get one for their school. After finding a company that could recycle plastic bottle caps into benches, Sammie posted a video on Facebook to enlist help from her community in collecting caps and lids. In just two months, she had 1,600 pounds – enough for three benches.

As word continued to spread via social media and news coverage, bottle caps poured in from all 50 states and from as far away as Europe and Africa Sammie secured support from local and national businesses including pharmacies, shipping stores, coffee shops, and sports teams. With the thousands of pounds of caps and lids she has collected, and fundraising efforts that have generated $35,000, Sammie has helped schools throughout the U.S. get their own buddy benches. In addition, she speaks to groups large and small about how they, too, can make a difference. "This project helps the planet with the plastic pollution problem," said Sammie. "But even more importantly, it helps create a place for kids who are shy, lonely or bullied to go to and find a friend."

"After 26 years of honoring young volunteers, we know that students across America do great things in service to their communities, and we're especially inspired by this year's honorees for doing so in the face of unprecedented challenges," said Charles Lowrey, Prudential's chairman and CEO. "Prudential is proud to shine a spotlight on these remarkable young people and their stories of service."

"These young volunteers are great examples of the resilience and commitment to social progress that so many students demonstrated over the past year," said Ronn Nozoe, chief executive officer, NASSP. "NASSP congratulates these students on a well-deserved honor, and thanks them for providing us all with role models for turning adversity into action."

These are the other National Honorees:

• Katie Chai, 18, of Charlotte, North Carolina, who helped start a grassroots effort to address the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in her city by using 3D printers and laser cutters to make more than 100,000 face shields, which were ultimately distributed to health care workers across North Carolina and in 12 other states.

• Michael Chen, 13, of Raleigh, North Carolina, who has made more than 580 mask "buckles" with his 3D printer to lessen the discomfort that wearing face masks for extended periods can cause behind the ears.

• Ruby Kate Chitsey, 13, of Harrison, Arkansas, who has raised more than $300,000 to grant wishes for over 8,000 nursing home residents across the country who cannot afford day-to-day expenses such as pet food, haircuts or clothes that fit properly.

• Cash Daniels, 11, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has organized cleanup outings that have removed more than 11,000 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River, recycled over 1,000 pounds of aluminum cans to raise money for river conservation, and installed fishing-line recycling receptacles along the river.

• Orion Jean, 10, of Fort Worth, Texas, who has collected more than 600 toys for kids at a children's hospital, and provided more than 40,000 meals for people in need, after winning a national speech contest in which he encouraged people to "Race to Kindness."

• Thomas Kim, 17, of McLean, Virginia, who has piloted more than 20 flights to deliver over 70,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) items and ventilator supplies to rural hospitals in four states since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

• Suraj Kulkarni, 18, of Corvallis, Oregon, who created a website where young people of diverse backgrounds can share their experiences, perspectives and culture with one another, along with online conferences that have involved young people from more than 13 countries.

• Gitanjali Rao, 15, of Lone Tree, Colorado, who has reached more than 30,000 students around the world, encouraging younger generations to think creatively about confronting the world's big challenges by leading online workshops where she shares the unique problem-solving methodology she created.

• Ellie Zimmerman, 18, of Purchase, New York, who is the founder and CEO of an organization that has recruited thousands of high school students across the country to provide technology assistance to more than 180 nonprofit organizations, as well as to teachers, parents and students struggling with remote learning.

National Honorees were announced Sunday, culminating a three-day weekend of events celebrating Spirit of Community's 102 State Honorees – the top middle level and high school volunteer of 2021 from each state and the District of Columbia. In addition to remarks from guest speaker Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the State Honorees connected with each other through small-group project-sharing sessions and learned about service and advocacy from accomplished Spirit of Community alumni. They were also congratulated by special guests including Lowrey from Prudential and Nozoe from NASSP.

To read the names and stories 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 http://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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