Rachel Faircloth, a junior at Marshalltown High School, has been honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a state-level Certificate of Excellence from the 2012 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program.
In addition to this award, based on the number of volunteer hours, Rachel has also received the President’s Volunteer Service Award. This award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.
Presented annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP); the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people across America for outstanding community service activities.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, now in its 17th year, also recognizes the top middle level and high school volunteer in each state and the District of Columbia, and will name America’s top ten youth volunteers in May. More than 345,000 young people have been considered for these awards since the program’s inception in 1995, making it the nation’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service.
“The recipients of these awards vividly demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “In recognizing these students and placing a spotlight on their volunteer service activities, we hope to motivate others to consider how they can also contribute to their community.”
Program applications were distributed last September to all public and private middle level and high schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs, and affiliates of HandsOn Network. After Local Honorees were named, state-level judges selected State Honorees, Distinguished Finalists and Certificate of Excellence recipients. Volunteer activities were judged on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact, and personal growth.
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