The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honors Aurora and Broomfield students with $1,000, medallions and trip to nation’s capital Finalists also named in Littleton, Denver, Arvada  and Lone Tree

DENVER, Colo. –

Savannah Rock, 17, of Aurora and Addison Kleinhans, 13, of Broomfield today were named Colorado’s top two youth volunteers of 2018 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism.

As State Honorees, Savannah and Addison each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in late April to    Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for four days of national recognition events. 

During the trip, 10 students will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2018.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 23rd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

My mission is to make all schools and communities inclusive and unified for all, to create a new way to embrace each other’s uniqueness and leverage our abilities to make the world a better place.

These are Colorado’s top youth volunteers of 2018:

High School State Honoree: Savannah  Rock

 Nominated by Grandview High School in Aurora

Savannah, a senior at Grandview High School, began a campaign in 2011 to promote the inclusion of students with disabilities in all aspects of school life, and to change the way her whole community views and engages with people who have traditionally been excluded because of disability, race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Savannah’s inspiration was her older brother, who was born with a genetic disorder that causes cognitive delays. “I watched as he struggled with school, being bullied and excluded from activities in and out of school,” she said. “I saw the way schools and communities viewed people with disabilities and only identified them as their disability, not as the kind and loving people they truly are.”

Savannah’s “Project  Unify” sponsors and organizes a series of programs and events designed to celebrate inclusion and bring students with and without disabilities together for meaningful interaction. 

These include school “spirit weeks,” music concerts, parties, sports activities, youth leadership meetings and camping outings.

Savannah also helps lead unified sports activities, and was chosen to represent Colorado as a youth leadership ambassador to the Special Olympics USA Games.

“My mission is to make all schools and communities inclusive and unified for all, to create a new way to embrace each other’s uniqueness and leverage our abilities to make the world a better place,” she said.