2017 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

Amal Bhatnagar

Duluth, Georgia

Amal Bhatnagar, 18, of Duluth, Ga., a senior at Northview High School, created a student organization that has provided more than a thousand first-aid kits to people in the U.S. and overseas who lack access to basic healthcare. While volunteering at local hospitals three...

Ariana DeMattei

Center Moriches, New York

Ariana DeMattei, 16, of Center Moriches, N.Y., a junior at Westhampton Beach High School, has raised over $100,000 to provide more than 1,000 new backpacks filled with school supplies for local elementary students through an organization she founded in 2012 called “...

Sarah (Katie) Eder

Shorewood, Wisconsin

Sarah (Katie) Eder, 17, of Shorewood, Wis., a junior at Shorewood High School, developed a creative writing workshop for children in need that is now being taught by 120 teens in seven states and five other countries. Three years ago, Katie took a writing workshop that “...

Bradley Ferguson

Northfield, New Jersey

Bradley Ferguson, 16, of Northfield, N.J., a sophomore at Mainland Regional High School, started a service-learning club that over the past three years has supported veterans and people in need by refurbishing an American Legion post, collecting food for a community food...

Elizabeth Lipp

Mountain Brook, Alabama

Elizabeth Lipp, 16, of Mountain Brook, Ala., a junior at Mountain Brook High School, is co-president of a club that brings special education students together with her school’s general student body to improve social skills and foster friendships and a respect for...

Meghana Reddy

La Mesa, California

Meghana Reddy, 18, of La Mesa, Calif., a senior at Francis Parker School in San Diego, uses 3D printing technology to produce artificial hands for children and adults in several countries who cannot afford commercial prostheses. On a family trip to India in 2014, Meghana...

Louise Adair

Tuscaloosa , Alabama

Louise Adair, 13, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., a seventh-grader at Tuscaloosa Academy, traveled on a mission trip with her family to North Carolina twice in the past two years to assist refugees from numerous countries by cooking, cleaning and helping with their children. Louise...

Riley Callen

Pawlet, Vermont

Riley Callen, 14, of Pawlet, Vt., an eighth-grader at Dorset Elementary School, founded an annual “hike-a-thon” in the hills of Vermont that has raised more than $250,000 to help find a cure for brain tumors, like the ones that have affected her since she was 8 years old...

Harmonie Frederick

Columbia, South Carolina

Harmonie Frederick, 11, of Columbia, S.C., a fifth-grader at Polo Road Elementary School, sold lemonade to raise money and awareness to fight cancer, conducted a coat drive to keep those less fortunate warm in the winter, and volunteers at a local nursing home. After...

Lorelei McIntyre-Brewer

Duncannon, Pennsylvania

Lorelei McIntyre-Brewer, 11, of Duncannon, Pa., a sixth-grader at The Cove School, built a volunteer network that has provided more than 12,000 special pillows for children around the world undergoing heart surgery. Lorelei was born without a left ventricle in her heart and...

Kelsey Norris

Bonaire, Georgia

Kelsey Norris, 13, of Bonaire, Ga., a sixth-grader at Bonaire Middle School, overcame a challenging start in life to provide more than 1,000 volunteer hours and raise more than $20,000 for a wide variety of causes aiding children and others in difficult situations. Kelsey...

Kenan Pala

San Diego, California

Kenan Pala, 13, of San Diego, Calif., a seventh-grader at Francis Parker Middle School, launched an initiative to benefit homeless people by raising money for local shelters, coordinating meals each quarter at shelter kitchens, and organizing a record-setting cereal...

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2017 National Honorees