Nominate a Student for 2012 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

Charles County, MD - 10/10/2011

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is accepting nominations for the 2012 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for middle and high school student volunteers. The annual award program provides a unique opportunity to recognize students for exemplary acts of volunteer service in their communities. The awards are given to students for serving their communities through volunteer activities, such as helping the less fortunate, promoting health and safety or protecting the environment.

The award is open for students in grades five through 12. Eligible students will have engaged in a volunteer activity that occurred at least in part after Sept. 1, 2010. Students can apply online at http://spirit.prudential.com or at www.nassp.org/spirit. Applications must be completed by Nov. 1, and submitted to the student’s middle or high school. The school principal may nominate top Local Honorees for state-level judging by certifying an application by Nov. 8. All state-level honorees will be announced in February.

The school system will select local honorees in early November and present them with Certificates of Achievement. These local honorees also will receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award if they have contributed the minimum number of volunteer hours to qualify (50 hours for age 14 and younger, 100 hours for those older).

State-level honorees receive $1,000 awards and travel to Washington D.C. for four days of recognition events. National honorees will be selected from the finalist group and receive an additional $5,000 award, as well as $5,000 grants will be awarded on their behalf by the Prudential Foundation to the nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards was created by National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and Prudential Financial in 1995 to honor both middle level and high school students for outstanding acts of community service. The NASSP provides research-based professional development and resources, networking, and advocacy to build the capacity of middle school level and high school leaders to continually improve student performance.