Jonah Stein, 12, of Leawood, was one of two Kansas students named as top youth volunteers of 2021 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, America’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service.
Anne Wasinger, 18, of Hays, the high school state honoree, was the other student in Kansas to receive this recognition. She was nominated by Thomas More Prep-Marian High School, where she is a senior.
As state honorees, Anne and Jonah 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 five-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.”
Jonah, the middle level state honoree, was nominated by Leawood Middle School where he is a seventh grader. He has raised more than $18,000 to provide bags of food for people in need in his community by making and selling beaded necklaces for COVID-19 face masks. A few years ago, Jonah and his family attended his great-grandmother’s funeral in Minnesota. “When we were leaving the synagogue, there were bags with food and essentials for people to take and keep in their cars to give to needy people on the streets,” Jonah said. He thought this was an “incredible” idea and shared it with Jewish Family Services, where he has volunteered. “They were excited by the idea,” Jonah said, and soon the organization was providing its own “care bags” containing food, other essential items and a list of helpful resources.
In order to raise money to support this program, Jonah came up with the idea of selling a face mask accessory. “I saw that people had no place to put their masks when they weren’t wearing them, especially while eating,” said Jonah. With help from his family, Jonah researched and developed a necklace that attaches to face masks so they can be pulled down conveniently when not in use. He got beads, equipment and advice from a local bead-seller, built up an inventory of different necklace styles, created a website to market his “MASKerAIDs,” and conducted media interviews. “I was amazed at how quickly things took off,” he said. He surpassed his initial fundraising goal in one weekend and continues to donate 100% of his sales to the JFS food pantry.
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, NASSP CEO. “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.”
