The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards: A Comprehensive Guide

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is the United States' largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. Since 1995, it has recognized the exemplary volunteer work of middle level and high school students. Over the past 22 years, Prudential Spirit of Community Awards have been given to more than 120,000 middle and high school students across the country at the local, state and national level.

Introduction: Recognizing Young Changemakers

In a world often focused on academic and athletic achievements, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards stands out by applauding young people who are making a positive difference in their towns and neighborhoods. The program's goals are to inspire others to think about how they might contribute to their communities. These awards recognize middle and high school students who have gone above and beyond with self-driven community service.

The Evolution of the Awards: From Spirit of Community to Emerging Visionaries

The innovative ideas of these young leaders led to the creation of Prudential Emerging Visionaries in 2021. Prudential Emerging Visionaries is the evolution of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Young changemakers aged 14 to 18 who participate in the program are called The Prudential Emerging Visionaries.

Prudential's Mission and the Awards

The program’s goals align with Prudential’s mission to improve lives by tackling today’s financial challenges. Prudential Financial empowers and rewards young people for turning ideas into impact. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management.

Applying for the Award: Key Requirements and What Judges Look For

To stand out and win an award, you need to go beyond meeting the basic requirements. Every student has some skill, interest, experience, or characteristic that may make them an attractive candidate for one scholarship or another.

Read also: Scholarship Eligibility

Application Process

Complete an application and student/parent agreement online. Applications can be certified by a middle or high school principal or head of a Girl Scout council, county 4-H organization, American Red Cross chapter, YMCA or an affiliate of Points of Light’s HandsOn Network.

What the Selection Committee Values

The selection committee is looking for changemakers who can clearly explain their initiative, how it operates, and the personal story behind it. Winners are selected based on their innovation, impact potential, understanding of the issue, and passion for change. Research past winners to see what the selection committee values.

Key Qualities and Achievements

Innovation: Highlight any innovative solutions or approaches you’ve developed in your volunteer work.
Scalability: Demonstrate the potential for your project to be expanded or replicated in other communities.
Connection: Show a deep understanding of the issue you are addressing and a genuine connection to the community you are serving.
Changemaker Qualities: Display leadership, initiative, and a commitment to making a positive impact.

Showcasing Your Impact

Measurable Outcomes: Use measurable outcomes to prove the effectiveness of your work.
Leadership and Initiative: Emphasize times when you led a project or came up with creative solutions.
Personal Growth: Discuss obstacles you’ve overcome and how they contributed to your personal growth.

Crafting Your Story

Frame your experiences into a cohesive story that highlights your passion and vision for the future. Instead of listing achievements, connect them to your personal journey.

Examples of Winning Initiatives

The award-giving body already has hundreds of awardees at this point, each year different from the last. However, they look for the same qualities in their finalists. Here are some examples of initiatives undertaken by past winners:

Created “Crypto Debunked,” an engaging learning platform designed to teach young people about financial topics like cryptocurrency and blockchain.
Founded “One Loan Fund,” a financial service that offers micro-loans to unbanked women in rural Latin America.
Created “Code for All Minds,” a computer science program specifically designed for neurodivergent students.
Founded “A Million Mangroves,” a youth-led network in Miami dedicated to planting 1 million mangroves by 2030.
Co-founded “Compai,” a smart home composting system that uses digital sensors and a mobile app to make composting easier.
Founded “EmpowerME,” a literacy project for Black boys facing mental health challenges.

Recognition and Rewards

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards will grant two students in each state $1,000, a medallion and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

Prudential Emerging Visionaries Awards Summit

All 25 winners will enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to Newark, New Jersey, from April 20-23, 2024, for the Prudential Emerging Visionaries Awards Summit. Winners also get an all-expenses-paid trip to Prudential’s headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, with a parent or guardian, plus access to coaching and skills development to grow their initiatives even further. The five Financial Solutions winners will participate in a pitch-off at the Prudential Emerging Visionaries Awards Summit. One winner will receive the Prudential Employees’ Choice Award, with an additional $5,000 prize. Winners will receive coaching and development sessions.

State Honorees and National Recognition

On February 6, 2018, the top middle level and high school volunteer from each state and the District of Columbia will be named State Honorees. In Washington, a distinguished national selection committee will name 10 of the 102 State Honorees as America’s top youth volunteers of the year. Several Distinguished Finalists in each state will receive bronze medallions, and runners-up will receive Certificates of Excellence.

The Impact on College Applications

Yes, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards greatly benefits a college application. focused on volunteerism and community service, traits that many colleges highly value. Earning this award demonstrates your leadership, initiative, and commitment to making a positive impact in your community. Moreover, the award’s national recognition adds significant weight to your application. For example, top honorees receive a $5,000 Prudential Spirit of Community scholarship, which not only contributes to your financial aid but also signals to colleges that you are capable of achieving at a high level in both academic and extracurricular areas.

Eligibility and Reapplication

Students in grades 5-12 are invited to apply for 2018 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards if they have made meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service within the past 12 months.

Reapplying

Yes! If you applied but were not selected as a Prudential Emerging Visionaries winner, you are encouraged to apply again this year. If you’ve previously applied to the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards but didn’t receive National or State Honoree recognition, you’re also welcome to reapply.

Read also: A Look at UCF's Spirit Splash

Team Applications

Yes, multiple team members can apply. A team can either select one representative to submit an individual application, or each leadership member can submit their own. Each application will be reviewed individually without affecting other team members’ chances.

The Prestige of the Award

Yes, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is prestigious. Each cycle, 25 winners are identified. 5 winners are awarded the Financial Solutions award and 20 winners are picked for Societal Solutions. Every year, the award-giving body receives hundreds of applications and filters through each of them.

Partner Organizations

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. 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.

Conclusion: Inspiring a Generation of Volunteers

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is more than just a recognition program; it is a catalyst for inspiring a generation of young people to become active and engaged members of their communities. By recognizing and rewarding their efforts, the program encourages them to continue making a difference and inspires others to follow in their footsteps. The Spirit of Community is the largest program awarding middle school and high school students for their volunteerism.

Afterschool Programs and Youth Development

Afterschool programs offer an antidote to social media harms. Being a project leader and board member for Young Voices (YV), a youth organization advocating for policies affecting youth and their communities, has been a life-changing experience. It’s important for everyone to feel equal and important. Even though I participated in afterschool programs all of my elementary years, my middle school did not have an afterschool program my 6th and 7th grade years because of the pandemic.

Supporting Youth Through Afterschool Initiatives

Municipal leaders play an important role in supporting and funding local afterschool and summer learning programs, and to help support them the National League of Cities has a new resource page on Afterschool and Summer Learning at the city level geared towards city leaders. We are excited to announce a groundbreaking collaboration between the Afterschool Alliance and the National AfterSchool Association (NAA), aimed at fortifying the workforce within the afterschool and summer programming sectors.

Voices of Youth in Afterschool Programs

The voices of young people are still echoing in afterschool programs across the nation, in the halls of Congress, and across social media after a powerful Youth Voice Week! Throughout middle school, I loved going to the Boys and Girls Club afterschool, and I especially loved the staff. Being at the club felt like home to me; it just felt normal and comfortable.

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