LANSING, Mich., Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Emily Potter, 17, of Dowagiac and Emma Eimers, 13, of New Haven today were named Michigan's top two youth volunteers of 2019 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Emily and Emma 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 2019.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 24th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

These are Michigan's top youth volunteers of 2019:

High School State Honoree: Emily PotterNominated by Dowagiac Union High School

Emily, a senior at Dowagiac Union High School, is actively involved in numerous projects to enhance the welfare of her Native American tribe, and has served as a volunteer counselor at a youth camp during each of the past several summers. Emily's grandmother was her main connection to the Potowatomi tribe, and when she died, "I wanted to know more about where I came from and the teachings of Native traditions," said Emily. That led to her joining the tribe's youth council in 2016, which has enabled her to play a leading role in addressing several tribal issues. For example, she coordinated a project to provide every newborn in the tribe with a new handmade blanket, gave up Saturdays to clean a highway that the tribe adopted, and promoted sustainable farm land management and healthy eating choices among tribal members. "I feel my tribe has given me so much as a person and I want to give back to my community," said Emily.

She also has been volunteering as a camp counselor for three weeks every summer, serving as a leader, mentor and role model for girls 7 to 14 years old. On duty 20 hours a day, seven days a week, Emily supervised group projects such as crafts and rope activities, and worked with her campers one-on-one to tackle challenges from overcoming homesickness to tying shoelaces. When Emily was a young camper at the summer camp years ago, she was inspired and encouraged by her counselors to be a better person and try new things, she said. "I feel like it was my duty to pass this along to the campers that are now attending."

Middle Level State Honoree: Emma EimersNominated by Endeavour Middle School

Emma, a seventh-grader at Endeavour Middle School, has been helping her older brother feed Detroit's homeless and hungry once a week since she was 5 years old — and, noticing that many had pets, started her own project to make sure that they, too, get a healthy meal. The pair started volunteering when a friend of their grandmother asked if they would hand out warm blankets at a homeless shelter. The siblings were so saddened by what they saw, they knew they had to do more. Before long, they were delivering food, toiletries and clothing every week. One day Emma, who wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, noticed three adults sitting in front of a tent. "They had the biggest Rottweiler dog I had ever seen," she said. "The owners said they tried to give him some of the food we share with them, but they sometimes didn't eat for days. He asked if I had any dog food." That's when Emma decided to take care of homeless animals, too.

With the help of family, she and her brother started The Eimers Foundation. In the beginning, they used birthday and Christmas money and did chores to buy what they could, but soon they were fundraising on their website and through social and news media. Once a week, they shop for groceries, pet food, toiletries and outerwear. They then put together packages to hand out to people in need and cook a meal, which they transport an hour each way to the inner city. On an average week, they serve about 200 people and their pets. Since they began, they have raised more than $90,000 through donations and award money. In addition to feeding people living in poverty, their foundation has paid for life-saving surgeries for sick animals, donated to animal shelters and the Detroit Mounted Police Horses, helped homeless people find housing, and started an annual scholarship for a homeless high school senior.

Distinguished Finalists

The program judges also recognized eight other Michigan students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.

These are Michigan's Distinguished Finalists for 2019:

Addy Battel, 16, of Cass City, Mich., a junior at Cass City Jr./Sr. High School, co-founded "Meating the Need for Our Village" in 2014 to increase the availability of high-quality protein for people in need, since those foods can be hard to access in a town without a grocery store. After receiving a grant for $2,500 in its first year, the group got to work; it's since donated 10,000 pounds of meat and 1,000 gallons of milk to three local food pantries, all while empowering about 200 youth to volunteer in the community.

Makenna Carpenter, 17, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., a senior at Bloomfield Hills High School, organized a canned food drive to support local homeless shelters in her region, an effort inspired by her great-grandparents' experiences helping others despite struggling themselves. Makenna managed advertising, container placement and food distribution, and collected more than 200 cans for two facilities as part of this ongoing effort.

Pearl Daskam, 16, of Ubly, Mich., a member of Huron County 4-H and a homeschooled junior, co-founded "Meating the Need for Our Village" to provide people in need with high-quality protein, to supplement the packaged food they'd typically get from the food pantry. Pearl's efforts have ranged from meeting with local leaders to distributing food; since 2014, the organization has provided the community with more than $50,000 worth of fresh meat, milk and eggs.

Amber Essenmacher, 17, of Bad Axe, Mich., a senior at Ubly Community High School, has been instrumental in a variety of community efforts as she has grown up, including a project to create a community garden that's provided fresh fruits and vegetables to food pantries, her school and others. She teamed up with friends to get supplies donated and create 21 garden beds.

Amogh Gowda, 17, of Troy, Mich., a junior at Troy High School, was inspired by a teacher's experience with kidney failure to begin "Gift8Lives," an organ donation awareness campaign. He earned the Gift of Life Michigan certified volunteer certification to bolster his credentials, and now speaks at venues and volunteers at community events to empower youth and promote the fact that one organ donor can save up to eight lives.

Anna Sun, 17, of Canton, Mich., a senior at Detroit Country Day School, worked with her siblings to co-found "The Little Stars Foundation," an organization that's mobilized young people to perform more than 100 free concerts at local nursing homes. The foundation began about 10 years ago and now includes 50 youth members; Anna, a director, has been instrumental in running the group's free summer workshops for children focused on music, STEM, health and more.

Alex Vanharen, 12, of Oxford, Mich., a seventh-grader at Oxford Middle School, created "Scarves 4 Cozy Kids," a group that has donated about 4,000 hats, gloves and scarves for local kids in need of winter wear; they have also donated items to numerous charities by hosting a monthly collection of other specific items such as blankets, coats and school supplies. Alex, who learned how to knit and recruited others to take up the craft, started the group after noticing that not all his peers had on outerwear during recess on cold days.

Katelynn Whitehead, 17, of Manton, Mich., a senior at Manton Consolidated High School, launched several fundraisers and raised more than $4,000 as part of her "Kira's Crew" initiative to help cover the cost of hospital bills, transportation and other expenses after her best friend's cancer diagnosis. Katelynn said she overcame her own shyness to champion a bake sale, a T-shirt sale and a raffle, drawing on both peer and community support.

"These young volunteers learned and demonstrated that they can make meaningful contributions to individuals and communities through their service," said Prudential CEO Charles Lowrey. "It's an honor to recognize their great work, and we hope that shining a spotlight on their service inspires others to consider how they might make a difference."

"Each of these honorees is proof that students have the energy, creativity and unique perspectives to create positive change," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "We commend each of the 2019 honorees for their outstanding volunteer service, and for the invaluable example they've set for their peers."

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 affiliates of Points of Light's HandsOn Network, 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 6, 10 of the State Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2019. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice.

Since the program began in 1995, more than 125,000 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

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