The Search Is On For NJ's Top Youth Volunteers

Earlier this year, Giovanna Boyle, a Glenfield Middle School student, was recognized as one of New Jersey’s top two youth volunteers for 2012 in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program.

Boyle was honored for working with her mother and two other adults to create a charitable organization that connects privileged young people in her town with poor kids in Brazil.

For more information on Boyle and her volunteer work, click here.

Now, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program has launched its search for New Jersey's top youth volunteers of 2013.

Could a Montclair student win it again?

Now through Nov. 6, New Jersey students in grades 5-12 who have volunteered in the past 12 months are invited to apply for 2013 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards by going here.

The awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial, Inc. in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), were created in 1995 to recognize middle level and high school students for helping the less fortunate, promoting health and safety, protecting the environment, or volunteering in other ways. The awards are presented annually on the local, state and national level.

Applicants for 2013 awards must complete their online application by Nov.6, then submit them for certification to a middle or high school principal, Girl Scout council, county 4-H agent, American Red Cross chapter, YMCA, or affiliate of the HandsOn Network. Paper copies of the application form can be requested by calling 877-525-8491 toll-free.

“We have been recognizing youth volunteers since 1995—and still, every year, we’re amazed by the stories of exemplary community service,” said Prudential Chairman and CEO John R. Strangfeld. “We look forward to honoring the top youth volunteers of 2013 for their selflessness, their initiative and their dedication to changing communities for the better.”