District of Columbia's Top Youth Volunteers of 2021 Selected by National Program

NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stephen Mirabello, 17 and Deloris Barbett, 13, today were named the District of Columbia's top youth volunteers of 2021 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, America's largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service.

As State Honorees, Stephen and Deloris will each receive a $2,500 scholarship, a silver medallion and an invitation to the program's virtual national recognition celebration in April, where 10 of the 102 State Honorees will be named America's top youth volunteers of the year. Those 10 National Honorees will earn an additional $5,000 scholarship, a gold medallion, a crystal trophy for their nominating organization and a $5,000 grant for a nonprofit charitable organization of their choice.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, conducted annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), honors students in grades 5-12 for making meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service.

"We created the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards 26 years ago to highlight and support the work of young people taking on the challenges of a changing world – a mission that rings truer than ever given the events of last year," said Charles Lowrey, Prudential's chairman and CEO. "We are proud to celebrate the vision and determination of Spirit of Community's Class of 2021, and all the ways they're making their communities safer, healthier and more equitable places to live."

These are the District of Columbia's top youth volunteers of 2021:

High School State Honoree: Stephen Mirabello
Nominated by School Without Walls High School

Stephen, a senior at School Without Walls High School, developed a free online tutoring program that has helped more than 100 K-5 students in 11 elementary schools maintain and build on their reading skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. "After the pandemic halted in-person learning," said Stephen, "I was concerned about the negative impact on children's reading skills, particularly among minority, low-income and younger students." Having worked for a few years with a national volunteer tutoring organization, he knew that personal tutoring by high school students could be very beneficial for struggling young readers. Since the D.C. government has provided free computers to students from low-income households to support virtual learning, and many of his peers were looking for productive ways to spend the summer, Stephen formulated a plan to launch the "D.C. Virtual Story Time Program."

After soliciting advice from his faculty advisor and members of his school's reading club, he asked local elementary school principals and PTAs to identify interested families, and then began recruiting fellow high school students to serve as tutors. Soon they were working with youngsters one-on-one during 35-minute reading sessions in either English or Spanish via Zoom, using e-books from the D.C. Public Library. During these sessions, the kids read aloud, answered comprehension questions, and chatted with their tutors about their books. The summer program was so successful that Stephen decided to continue with fall, winter and spring extensions. So far, more than 100 high schoolers in D.C., Maryland and Virginia have conducted over 1,600 tutoring sessions, and report that their young students are reading with more skill, frequency and enjoyment. "One hundred percent of parents surveyed said they would recommend the program to other parents in the future," said Stephen.

Middle Level State Honoree: Deloris Barbett
Nominated by KIPP DC Key Academy

Deloris, an eighth-grader at KIPP D.C. Key Academy, has spent her weekends over the past few years distributing food and clothing to local people experiencing homelessness . "As I grew up, my mom taught me and my siblings to be willing to give a helping hand to anyone in need," said Deloris. "I especially love to give back to the homeless, people who have struggled and fallen on hard times." She buys groceries with her allowance money and saves her outgrown clothing, and then goes out on weekends to distribute food and garments to adults and children in the community who don't have a permanent place to live.

Deloris sometimes takes her younger brother along on her distribution outings, and tries hard to be a positive role model for fellow students at her school as well. She especially likes to recall the time she bought meals at a McDonald's restaurant for a woman and her two children standing on a corner. "It was a great feeling," she said, citing "the joy I get when making someone else smile and be happy." "It makes me as a person feel good inside that I was able to help spread joy to someone else."

State Honorees in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Class of 2021 – the top middle level and high school volunteer from all 50 states and the District of Columbia – were selected for service initiatives completed, at least in part, between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2020. Selection was based on criteria including impact, effort, initiative and the personal growth demonstrated over the course of the project. Several Distinguished Finalists and runners-up were also selected in each state, and all qualifying applicants received President's Volunteer Service Awards. 

"It speaks volumes about the character of today's secondary school students that the Spirit of Community program heard from more than 21,000 applicants this fall – most of them stories of young volunteers overcoming the hardships of a global pandemic to support those in need," said Ronn Nozoe, Chief Executive Officer, NASSP. "While we're especially proud to celebrate this year's 102 State Honorees, NASSP applauds every student who's found a way to volunteer this past year. You inspire your peers and adults alike to remember that, even in times of crisis, we all have something to give."

To read the names and stories of all of this year's State Honorees, visit http://spirit.prudential.com.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial wellness leader and premier active global investment manager, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees help to make lives better by creating financial opportunity for more people. Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit news.prudential.com. 

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 http://nassp.org.

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