Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker
pays tribute to Birmingham and Prattville students
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Alabama’s top two youth volunteers of 2014, Kimya Loder, 18, of Birmingham and Laura Grace Henry, 11, of Prattville, were honored in the nation’s capital for their outstanding volunteer service during the 19th annual presentation of The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Kimya and Laura Grace – along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country – each received $1,000 awards and personal congratulations from Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker at an award ceremony and gala dinner reception held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), named Kimya and Laura Grace Alabama’s top high school and middle level youth volunteers in February. In addition to their cash awards, they each received an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip with a parent to Washington, D.C., for four days of recognition events.
Kimya, a senior at Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, created a business etiquette and goal-planning forum to encourage preteen girls to dream big and make plans to reach their goals. Kimya traces her program back to her experience as a 7-year-old Brownie Girl Scout, when she first realized the value of service and the opportunities available to women in today’s world. As a scout, “I began to understand the importance of sisterhood and girl power,” she said, and “learned that success is accomplished through a dedication to bettering the lives of others.”
Over the years, Kimya participated in leadership programs, debating tournaments, empowerment conferences and other activities that gave her the knowledge, skills and inspiration to create “It’s Your World – Change It” in 2012. At her first forum, Kimya led nearly a dozen girls in a discussion of goals, obstacles and the importance of planning. Then the girls described their personal dreams on a “vision board,” outlining college, travel, career and other ambitions. “When each girl presented her vision board, I saw the same excitement in their eyes about life that I had seen when I was a young Girl Scout,” Kimya said. A key objective of Kimya’s forum is to make girls aware of business and professional fields in which women are under-represented, and to help them think about careers they might not otherwise consider. “My goal is to inspire young girls to dream big, and open doors of opportunity not previously opened,” said Kimya.
Laura Grace, a fifth-grader at Prattville Christian Academy, has volunteered nearly 2,000 hours and raised more than $10,000 for local, state and national charities since the age of 5, most recently collecting funds to build and furnish a clubhouse for children displaced by domestic violence. She has established her own nonprofit foundation, “It Starts With One,” to promote youth volunteerism. “My parents always taught me that anything good that has ever happened began with one person taking one step to make things better,” said Laura Grace. So she has volunteered eagerly over the years for a wide variety of organizations including the Children’s Miracle Network, the American Red Cross, a local food bank and an animal shelter.
After volunteering at a shelter for victims of domestic violence, Laura Grace concentrated on creating a children’s clubhouse at the facility. “The children I saw were so sad and scared,” she said. “I knew I had to give them a place that would put a smile on their faces.” She met with a local builder to design the clubhouse, and then raised money to build it by selling lemonade, conducting garage sales, and writing letters to solicit donations. The funds she collected also were used to buy a TV, DVD player, movies, games, art supplies, books, pajamas and personal care bags for children at the shelter. The new amenities were officially unveiled at a grand opening last October, attended by Alabama’s first lady and several elected officials.
“These honorees are shining examples of what is possible when young people use their energy and initiative to help their communities,” said John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “We are proud to recognize their accomplishments, and look forward to seeing the great things they achieve in the future.”
“Through their service, these students have not only made a difference in the lives of others – they’ve provided their peers with a powerful example of what it looks like to be an outstanding youth volunteer,” said Barbara-Jane (BJ) Paris, president of NASSP. “Congratulations to each of the 2014 honorees for a job well done.”
Youth volunteers in grades 5-12 were invited to apply for 2014 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the HandsOn Network. More than 30,000 middle level and high school students nationwide participated in this year’s program.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program was created in 1995 to identify and recognize young people for outstanding volunteer service – and, in so doing, inspire others to volunteer, too. In the past 19 years, the program has honored more than 100,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.
