Nebraska's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 12th Annual National Awards Program

Business Wire, Feb 13, 2007

Superior and Lincoln students earn $1,000 awards, engraved medallions and trip to nation's capital

Honors also bestowed on other top youth volunteers in Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Andrew Leibel, 18, of Superior and Spencer Farley, 13, of Lincoln today were named Nebraska's top two youth volunteers for 2007 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 12th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Andrew was nominated by Superior High School in Superior, and Spencer was nominated by Lincoln Lutheran Middle School in Lincoln. As State Honorees, 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 - one middle level and one high school youth - from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2007 at that time.

Andrew, a senior at Superior High School, founded and operates a community theater to expand the range of artistic opportunities in his small rural town. Andrew had been actively involved in theater for nearly a year, but "the nearest community theater was 30 miles away, and I found myself traveling back and forth four nights a week to participate," he said. "The town this was in wasn't much different than my own. Why, then, couldn't a community theater work here too?"

After organizing a meeting with interested volunteers, Andrew donated $1,000 from his summer job earnings to build a set, purchase costumes, secure legal rights and hire a director for "The Odd Couple," which was a huge success. With proceeds from ticket sales, Andrew has produced three more plays over the past year and a half, including a musical, and has acted in them as well. The productions not only have given local residents the chance to enjoy live theater, but also have raised thought-provoking issues in the community, according to Andrew. "With our active group leaders, our strong base of support, and the audience members who keep coming back for more, all signs suggest that the theater is here to stay," he said.

Spencer, an eighth-grader at Lincoln Lutheran Middle School, turned an overgrown, weedy area at the historic Whitehall Mansion in Lincoln into a beautiful public flower garden. Spencer originally wanted to help install a new playground at the mansion, but when the installation was scheduled for a school day, he started thinking about what else he could do to enhance the mansion's grounds. "I found out that the area by the playground was difficult to maintain, causing it to be overgrown with weeds," said Spencer. "It looked really bad." So after obtaining permission, he began planning a new garden for the nearly 1,500-square-foot area.

With his mother's help, Spencer gave a presentation to the Lincoln Iris Society, which responded with volunteers, plants, and money. He then asked local businesses to donate flower bulbs, fertilizer and tools for the garden, and recruited fellow 4-H members to install stepping stones. When the project was completed, Spencer wrote several newsletter articles and delivered talks to community organizations in order to attract more volunteers to maintain the garden. In all, more than 100 people volunteered to work on the project, and nearly $2,000 worth of materials were donated. "The weedy, overgrown area is now a source of pride and beauty," said Spencer. "All the hard work was worth it once I saw it all come together."

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

Bryan Frost, 18, of Overton, a senior at Lexington High School in Lexington, launched a campaign that collected more than 6,000 pairs of mittens and other articles of warm clothing for homeless and low-income families in Nebraska and across the United States. Bryan named his drive "Emily's Mittens" after a friend who took her own life in 2004.

Allison Gill, 17, of Omaha, a senior at Harry A. Burke High School, implemented a project to place Braille markers on audio-books at the Omaha Public Library to make the collection more accessible to the visually impaired. With help from a blind friend, Allison labeled the audio books, set up summer reading programs for visually impaired elementary and high school students, and worked with the Nebraska Foundation for Visually Impaired Children to encourage visually impaired students to use the audio-book collection.

"People as caring and committed as these young students are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nation," said Arthur Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential. "By recognizing these honorees, we hope to encourage other young people - our future leaders - and all Americans to think more about the value and importance of volunteering in their communities."