Two Arkansas Youth Honored for Volunteerism at National Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C

Business Wire, May 5, 2008

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Pays Tribute to Young Heroes as Part of Four-Day Recognition Events

WASHINGTON -- Two Arkansas students, Ewald Visser, 15, of Bella Vista and Haydn Bryant, 13, of Morrilton were honored in the nation's capital last night for their outstanding volunteer work during the presentation of The 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people - along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country - received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, at the 13th annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Ewald and Haydn were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in Arkansas last February. In addition to their cash awards, they received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week's recognition events.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 13 years ago by Prudential Financial, Inc. to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since then, the program has honored more than 80,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.

"Ewald and Haydn are inspiring examples of young Americans who care deeply about the needs of others and who have taken the initiative to help meet those needs," said Prudential Chairman Arthur F. Ryan. "By honoring them, we hope not only to give them the recognition they so richly deserve, but also to inspire others to follow their example."

Ewald, a freshman at Bentonville High School in Bentonville, conducted a school and community campaign to collect new and gently used books for school libraries in South Africa. During a family visit to South Africa, Ewald discovered that many school libraries were in dire need of books. "This was an upsetting discovery for me, as I love to read," said Ewald. "I could not help but wonder how I could help these school children to experience firsthand what I feel so passionate about."

With help from his parents and school principal, Ewald developed a plan. He placed posters all over his school to solicit book donations, and promoted his effort on the school's TV station. Both students and teachers responded enthusiastically; teachers even contributed small prizes for children who brought in books. When a local newspaper and television station picked up the story, donations began flowing in from community members, as well. Ewald labeled and packed the books, and found a cargo company that agreed to transport the boxes to South Africa free of charge. "If I have made the difference in just one child's life by introducing him or her to my love of reading, then this whole project was indeed worth the time and effort," Ewald said. "Great things can be accomplished when many people work together."

Haydn, a seventh-grader at Morrilton Junior High School, raised more than $5,000 for cancer research, education and patient care by organizing and leading an all-youth team for the annual Conway County Relay for Life. Haydn wanted to get involved after seeing both of his grandmothers battle cancer. "Because of this, I thought I should do something about ways to prevent this disease which takes so many lives each day and every year," Haydn said.

With help from his mother and younger brother, Haydn recruited friends to form a team called "Kids Crushing Cancer." The team organized three skating parties and a letter-writing campaign to solicit donations, and then walked from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on the day of the Relay for Life event. "Someone from our team was on the track all night long," Haydn said. The result: $5,250 for the American Cancer Society. Haydn plans to lead a team again at next year's fund-raiser. "I would encourage other young people to get involved with Relay for Life or any other cancer awareness program so they can feel good about helping millions of people across the world."

Applications for the 2008 awards program were submitted last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers affiliated with the Points of Light & Hands On Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state and the District of Columbia were announced in February. These 102 State Honorees are in Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.

Ten of the 102 were named America's top ten youth volunteers for 2008 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters today. These National Honorees received additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies for the schools that nominated them, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for charities of their choice. [The ceremony can be viewed at www.prudential.com/spirit.]

The ten National Honorees are:

Kristen Allcorn, 18, of Sedalia, Mo., who founded a soup kitchen that provides a hot evening meal five days a week, serving needy residents at tables as if they were eating in a restaurant. Called The Community Cafe, Kristen's kitchen has served more than 12,000 meals since December 2006.