Patricia Bell, a senior at Juanita High School, was recently honored as one of two top youth volunteers for Washington state.
Bell and Tyler Fiorino, a 13-year-old from Spokane, were recognized in Washington, D.C. at the 22nd annual presentation of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.
Bell and Fiorino — along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country — each received $1,000 awards and personal congratulations from Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps at an award ceremony and gala dinner reception held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), named Bell Washington’s top high school-level youth volunteer in February. In addition to the cash award, she received an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip with a parent to Washington, D.C., for four days of recognition events.
Bell ran a three-day camp during each of the past three summers to teach young girls how to play lacrosse and to raise money for families who are unable to pay for their children’s medical expenses at Seattle Children’s Hospital. When she was younger, Bell made a donation to the hospital for a young girl’s heart transplant.
“I was so proud and thrilled that the money I raised could help her live a normal life again,” Bell said in a Prudential press release.
When she entered high school, she wondered how she could support hospital patients while doing something she felt passionate about. Her answer: LAX (lacrosse) Chicks for Children’s Guild.
After meeting with a hospital official, the release states that Bell decided her guild would raise money to support uncompensated care for families who need financial assistance.
“With the help, they can focus solely on their sick kid without the additional stress of worrying about medical bills,” Bell said.
She then began organizing a camp for girls from kindergarten through sixth grade, securing equipment donations and field space, finding local business sponsors, recruiting her own lacrosse teammates to assist and marketing the camp to parents of prospective players.
After donating her camp registration fees to the hospital, Bell conceived of another way to combine lacrosse and philanthropy: She challenged all female high school lacrosse players in Washington to find sponsors to pledge a donation every time they score a goal. Bell’s efforts have raised more than $12,000 for the hospital.
“These honorees have done exemplary work to contribute to the health and vitality of their communities and we look forward to seeing the great things they achieve in the future,” said John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. in the press release. “Congratulations to each of these extraordinary young volunteers.”
Jayne Ellspermann, president of NASSP, added, “It’s a privilege to celebrate these students not only for outstanding volunteer service, but for the example they’ve set for their peers. These honorees prove that one person truly can make a difference.”
Youth volunteers in grades 5-12 were invited to apply for awards last fall. More than 31,000 middle school and high school students nationwide participated in this year’s program.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program was created in 1995 to identify and recognize young people for outstanding volunteer service — and, in so doing, inspire others to volunteer. In the past 22 years, the program has honored more than 120,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.
For more information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year’s honorees, visit spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.
