SALEM, Ore., Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiya Laguardia, 17, of Portland and Jacob Van, 13, of Beaverton today were named Oregon's top two youth volunteers of 2020 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Kaiya and Jacob each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2020. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 25th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). These are Oregon's top youth volunteers of 2020: High School State Honoree: Kaiya Laguardia

Nominated by Roosevelt High School Kaiya, a senior at Roosevelt High School, produced a 16-minute documentary film to raise awareness of the planned construction of a military base in Okinawa and the movement opposing the project on the Japanese island. Kaiya's mother was born on Okinawa, and from a very young age, Kaiya has felt a deep connection to the island. So when she learned that many islanders were protesting the building of a new U.S. military base on landfill in Henoko Bay, "I had to see it for myself," she said. "When I got to Henoko, elders were lying in the streets blocking bulldozers." She said she also learned that the bay is the second-most biodiverse ocean habitat in the world, and that construction of the proposed base would have a profound impact on its ecosystem and the fishing lifestyle of Okinawans. When Kaiya returned to Portland, she sold cookies to raise funds to make a documentary that would raise awareness of the project's impact on the ocean, she said. Then, with video camera in hand, she spent weeks interviewing student and community activists, war survivors and politicians, and shooting scenes in Okinawa. She edited hundreds of hours of video footage in her school's computer lab, added subtitles and played a song over the closing credits. Kaiya released the final product, titled "Our Island's Treasure," last June, and promoted it through news media interviews, social media and film screenings. Noting that it's been viewed thousands of times around the world, Kaiya said "I hope it will help spread awareness of the true urgency of this crisis for our people." Middle Level State Honoree: Jacob Van

Nominated by Washington County 4-H Jacob, a seventh-grader at International School of Beaverton, raised money to help a local woman and boy pay for cancer treatments, and to provide hundreds of Christmas presents for people experiencing homelessness in downtown Portland. Jacob is motivated, he says, simply by "my desire to help out the less fortunate. Every time I volunteer, I get a good feeling." Last August, Jacob hosted a gala dinner and silent auction that raised more than $16,000 for a woman who had lost her insurance but needed surgery and chemotherapy for breast cancer. He wrote letters and handed out fliers to promote his event, persuaded local businesses to donate flowers and auction items, recruited entertainers to perform, sold tickets, and gave a speech in front of 300 attendees. Less than two weeks later, Jacob set up a cookie and lemonade stand at his parent's workplace at lunchtime to help a boy named Wyatt with a rare type of cancer. "All he wanted was to get mail from people to brighten up his day," said Jacob. So, in addition to selling his refreshments and accepting donations for the boy, Jacob asked customers to convey their best wishes to Wyatt on hundreds of cards he had purchased. Jacob also has used funds from his cookie and lemonade stand – plus allowance money – to buy hundreds of winter accessories for homeless people at Christmastime. "I wanted to share my love, care and compassion for others in need," he explained. Distinguished Finalists The program judges also recognized four other Oregon students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. These are Oregon's Distinguished Finalists for 2020: Rachel Loberger, 16, of Hillsboro, Oregon, a junior at Liberty High School, created "Boys Build IT!," a week-long STEM summer camp that aims to provide its young male participants with female role models in STEM; for this program, Rachel helped design the curriculum, advertise the camp, schedule guest speakers and secure supplies and a location. Rachel was inspired to create Boys Build IT! by her two older sisters, who ran a similar STEM camp for female students. Britton Masback, 18, of Portland, Oregon, a senior at Catlin Gabel School, is the founder and executive director of "Youth Educating Police (YEP)," a nonprofit designed to foster positive relationships between young people and police through education and open dialogue. For his initiative, Britton helped design a curriculum to train police about interacting with young people, hosts regular forums between the police and the community, and has helped students in other places develop similar initiatives. Michael Murray, 17, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, a senior at Lake Oswego High School, founded and runs a food pantry that has provided more than 34,000 meals to people in his community; to do so, he secured a location for the pantry, solicited and organized donations, partnered with local businesses and recruited volunteers. Michael was inspired to start this initiative after learning about the high number of students in his school experiencing food insecurity. Elliot Shin, 17, of Portland, Oregon, a junior at Lincoln High School, is the founder and president of "Olivenbaum," a nonprofit that provides academic tutoring and music lessons to refugees in the Portland area; his oboe performances in a dozen benefit concerts have helped to raise more than $30,000 to fund three scholarships and purchase instruments for program participants. Elliot was first inspired to start his nonprofit after learning about the experiences of his grandmother, a refugee from North Korea. "In our 25th year of honoring young volunteers, we are as inspired as ever by the work students are doing to address the needs of a changing world," said Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. "We hope that their resolve, their initiative and their perspectives on society's challenges move others to consider how they can make a difference, too." "Middle level and high school students are doing remarkable things to shape the future of their communities through volunteer service. They inspire all students and schools to drive learning with real-world challenges," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "Congratulations to each of the 2020 honorees – it's an honor to celebrate your commitment to creating positive change." About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Points of Light Global Network members, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees – one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia – will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On May 4, 10 of the State Honorees – five middle level and five high school students – will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2020. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 scholarships, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from Prudential for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice. Since the program began in 1995, more than 130,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China and Brazil. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees. For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. About NASSP The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for principals and other school leaders across the United States. NASSP seeks to transform education through school leadership, recognizing that the fulfillment of each student's potential relies on great leaders in every school committed to the success of each student. 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. Learn more at www.nassp.org About Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. 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. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com . 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