Matthew Draeger, of Paris, a sophomore at Paris High School, was presented with an engraved silver medallion to recognize his selection as one of Texas’ top two youth volunteers for 2013 in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program at the Paris ISD Board of Trustees meeting on March 25.
Matthew is being honored for leading a student team that has secured donations of nearly 20,000 household and personal items – including furniture, clothing, bedding and toiletries – and distributed them to needy families in his area. For more information on Matthew and his volunteering, click here: http://bit.ly/ZF9csV
In addition to Monday’s presentation, Matthew will be honored at the Future Problem Solving State Bowl between 9 and 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 21 at the Delco Center, 4601 Pecan Brook Drive, Austin.
As a State Honoree, Matthew also will receive $1,000 and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where he will join 101 other top honorees from across the country for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2013 at that time.
About the award
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. All middle and high schools in the U.S., along with all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award last November. Two State Honorees—one middle and one high school student—plus a select number of Distinguished Finalists from each state and the District of Columbia were selected based on criteria such as personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth.
For more information on the rest of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community Awards State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com.