2021 National Honorees

Each year we select a group of young Americans to the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program for national recognition based on their outstanding achievements in community service.

Year

Katie Chai

United States of America

Katie Chai, 18, of Charlotte, North Carolina, a senior at Charlotte Latin School, helped start a grassroots effort to address the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in her city by using 3D printers and laser cutters to make more than 100,000 face shields, which...

Michael Chen

United States of America

Michael Chen, 13, of Raleigh, North Carolina, a seventh-grader at Triangle Math and Science Academy, has made more than 580 mask “buckles” with his 3D printer to lessen the discomfort that wearing face masks for extended periods can cause behind the ears. In March of 2020,...

Thomas Kim

United States of America

Thomas Kim, 17, of McLean, Virginia, a junior at Landon School, has piloted more than 20 flights to deliver over 70,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) items and ventilator supplies to rural hospitals in four states since the COVID-19 pandemic began. After his school...

Suraj Kulkarni

United States of America

Suraj Kulkarni, 18, of Corvallis, Oregon, a senior at Corvallis High School, created a website where young people of diverse backgrounds can share their experiences, perspectives and culture with one another, along with online conferences that have involved young people...

Ellie Zimmerman

United States of America

Ellie Zimmerman, 18, of Purchase, New York, a senior at Rye Country Day School, is the founder and CEO of an organization that has recruited thousands of high school students across the country to provide technology assistance to more than 180 nonprofit organizations, as...

Ruby Kate Chitsey

United States of America

Ruby Kate Chitsey, 13, of Harrison, Arkansas, a seventh-grader at Arkansas Virtual Academy, has raised more than $300,000 to grant wishes for over 8,000 nursing home residents across the country who cannot afford day-to-day expenses such as pet food, haircuts or clothes...

Cash Daniels

United States of America

Cash Daniels, 11, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a fifth-grader at Homelife Academy, has organized cleanup outings that have removed more than 11,000 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River, recycled over 1,000 pounds of aluminum cans to raise money for river conservation, and...

Orion Jean

United States of America

Orion Jean, 10, of Fort Worth, Texas, a fifth-grader at Chisholm Ridge Elementary, collected more than 600 toys for kids at a children’s hospital, and provided more than 40,000 meals for people in need, after winning a national speech contest in which he encouraged people...

Gitanjali Rao

United States of America

Gitanjali Rao, 15, of Lone Tree, Colorado, a sophomore at STEM School Highlands Ranch, has reached more than 30,000 students around the world, encouraging younger generations to think creatively about confronting the world’s big challenges by leading online workshops where...

Samantha Vance

United States of America

Samantha Vance, 12, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, a sixth-grader at Blackhawk Middle School, launched an initiative to provide “buddy benches” for shy, lonely or bullied kids at more than 150 schools across the country. “I noticed a lot of lonely kids at recess, and I get lonely...

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2021 National Honorees