Colorado Students Honored for Outstanding Community Service

Strategic Insights -

DENVER – Two Colorado students, Lindsey Buxman from Pueblo and Leah Fox from Fort Collins, have been named as the top two youth volunteers in the state by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The program, now in its 16th year, recognizes young people for their outstanding acts of volunteerism. Lindsey and Leah will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. in May to receive national recognition.

Lindsey Buxman, a junior at Centennial High School, initiated a ballot measure to renovate an historic theater in Pueblo, raising $70,000 and convincing the public that the renovation would not increase taxes. Leah Fox, an eighth-grader at Boltz Middle School, created her own jewelry business and started a school penny drive to help purchase insulin pumps for young diabetics, raising over $7,000 and providing $3,500 to help make an insulin pump available to a 6-year-old girl.

Key Takeaways:

  • Lindsey Buxman, a junior at Centennial High School, was recognized for her campaign to renovate an historic theater in Pueblo, raising $70,000 and convincing the public that the renovation would not increase taxes.
  • Leah Fox, an eighth-grader at Boltz Middle School, was recognized for her jewelry business and school penny drive to help purchase insulin pumps for young diabetics, raising over $7,000 and providing $3,500 to help make an insulin pump available to a 6-year-old girl.
  • The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, now in its 16th year, recognizes young people for their outstanding acts of volunteerism.
  • The program has a national selection committee comprising of prominent public figures and educators, including John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, and Jana Frieler, president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
  • The program has granted awards to over 95,000 young volunteers nationwide since its inception in 1995.
  • The program has also recognized prominent public figures who have assisted in saluting the honorees, including Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, and Condoleezza Rice.

Statistics:

  • 102 State Honorees were selected from over 5,000 Local Honorees nationwide.
  • More than 2,800 Local Honorees will receive President's Volunteer Service Awards on behalf of President Barack Obama.
  • The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service in the United States.
  • Over 95,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state or national level since the program began in 1995.

Sources:

  • "Prudential Spirit of Community Awards." Prudential Financial.
  • "National Association of Secondary School Principals." National Association of Secondary School Principals.
  • "President's Volunteer Service Award." The White House.
  • "The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards." spirit.prudential.com.