HONOLULU, Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ryan Park, 18, of Honolulu and Chelsea Masaki, 13, of Mililani today were named Hawaii'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, Ryan and Chelsea 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 Hawaii's top youth volunteers of 2019:

High School State Honoree: Ryan ParkNominated by Punahou School

Ryan, a senior at Punahou School, formed a nonprofit organization and school club that aim to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through hospital volunteering, fundraising and personal interaction. When Ryan was a sophomore, he began experiencing back pain while running competitively. His physician ordered tests that revealed a tumor on the left side of his tailbone. "I was paralyzed by fear," said Ryan. "As I lay on what I thought was my deathbed, I had the opportunity to reflect back on my life." He recalled that few experiences equaled the joy he felt when helping others. Fortunately, his tumor proved to be benign, but Ryan resolved to make the most of his "second chance at life."

Early last year, Ryan organized a club called "HOPE" (Helping Oncology Patients Everywhere) at his school, recruited a faculty advisor, completed paperwork for 501(c)(3) status and started recruiting members. After Ryan became an official volunteer at several hospitals, he encouraged and helped club members to become hospital volunteers, as well. He also has organized club activities such as crocheting hats and sweaters for patients, giving monthly music recitals at treatment centers, and sharing food and crafts with young patients. In addition, Ryan's club has raised more than $3,000 to buy gifts for cancer patients by selling baked goods and specialty T-shirts and tote bags that Ryan designed. His HOPE club, which now has 150 members, also has participated in national cancer-related fundraising drives.

Middle Level State Honoree: Chelsea MasakiNominated by Mililani Middle School

Chelsea, an eighth-grader at Mililani Middle School, works to keep the ocean and beaches of Hawaii clean by participating in regular cleanup activities and educating others about the dangers of plastic pollution. Chelsea's father, an avid diver and fisherman, taught her to swim and dive when she was very young. "This helped me to gain a deep respect and love for the ocean and beach," she said. Like many in Hawaii, Chelsea's family spends a lot of time on the weekends enjoying the beach. But in recent years, she said, they noticed an increasing amount of plastic debris on the sand and in the water.

For the past three years, Chelsea and her family have spent many weekends cleaning beaches on their own and as part of organized group efforts, including two beaches they adopted through a local nonprofit environmental organization. Armed with garden gloves, scoop nets, buckets, tongs, knives and sifters, the family picks up larger pieces of litter and marine debris from the sand with tongs and uses nets to scoop them out of the waves. For microplastic debris, they use sifters to separate the sand from the plastic particles, gather the debris in buckets and dispose of them in garbage bins. "By removing microplastics, birds will not mistake them for food and get sick and die," Chelsea said. "And by removing marine debris in our ocean, our marine animals will not get tangled or caught in them." On her website, Chelsea posts information about beach cleanups, writes about environmental issues and posts pictures of cleanup activities. Chelsea also speaks about plastic pollution to elementary school students and visitors at the Waikiki Aquarium.

Distinguished Finalists

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

These are Hawaii's Distinguished Finalists for 2019:

Catherine Chow, 16, of Kea'au, Hawaii, a junior at Kea'au High School, led a community effort to establish and maintain a garden for the newly constructed Hale Iki Village, home to evacuees from the 2018 volcanic eruption of Kilauea and subsequent earthquake. Catherine's leadership of people from local churches, her high school and her 4-H groups has helped to transform a barren landscape into a garden full of flowers and produce.

Stefani Sakamoto, 18, of Honolulu, Hawaii, a member of Girl Scouts of Hawaii and a senior at Punahou School, created "ALOHA" (A Life of Healthy Actions), a multifaceted nutrition education program that's reached more than 200 children and their families, as well as other community members. Stefani's program, which draws on her passion for food and healthy eating, has encouraged participants to take a pledge to promote a healthy lifestyle, choose healthy snacks and prepare healthy meals.

"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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