7 Indian-American Youth Volunteers Among Prudential Award Winners

At least seven Indian-American youth volunteers are among several state honorees and distinguished finalists selected for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring students in grades 5-12 for outstanding volunteer service.

At least seven Indian-American youth volunteers are among several state honorees and distinguished finalists selected for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring students in grades 5-12 for outstanding volunteer service. The awards program, now in its 20th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Indian-American state honorees include Nicole Shah, 16, of Greenwood Laboratory School in Springfield, Missouri; Raghav Ganesh, 12, of Joaquin Miller Middle School in San Jose, California; and Shivani Nookala, 17, of Breck School in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Anant Pai, 17, of Redlands Senior High School in Redlands, California; Sonali Ranaweera, 14, of Del Mar High School in San Jose, California; Shrey Pothini, 11, of Harriet Bishop Elementary in Savage, Minnesota; and Sujan Bhandari, 18, of Foster Senior High School in Tukwila, Washington were among the distinguished finalists.

“Prudential is honored to celebrate the contributions of these remarkable young volunteers,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. “By shining a spotlight on the difference they’ve made in their communities, we hope others are inspired to volunteer, too.”

Each of the 102 state honorees will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C. for four days of national recognition events.

During the trip, 10 of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2015. In addition to the state honorees, the program’s judges recognized 234 students nationwide as distinguished finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion. More than 500 other applicants were awarded certificates of excellence for their volunteer work.

This story originally appeared on News India Times.