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Agenda Item - 2002-05-21 - Number 3.1 - 3. 1 CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO 05/21/02 AGENDA REPORT SUMMARY MEETING DATE: May 21, 2002 SUBJECT: 2002 Prudential Spirit of Community Award, Tonneli Gruetter ESTIMATED FISCAL ATTACHMENTS: NOTICED (Date): IMPACT: • Letter to Tonneli Gruetter announcing award STAFF COST: $ Ordinance no.: BUDGETED: Y N Resolution no.: FUNDING SOURCE: Previous Council consideration: DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR CITY M NAGER /7 " e 2 signoff/date signoff/date 1 Document17 THE PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARDS HONORING OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE BY YOUNG AMERICANS February 1, 2002 Tonneli Gruetter 4th Street Lake Oswego, OR 97034 Dear Tonneli: It is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been selected as Oregon's top middle school volunteer in The 2002 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards! Our judges were so impressed with your outstanding volunteer work that they chose you from among all of the other Oregon nominees in this year's program to be recognized as one of your state's two State Honorees for the year 2002. This is a great honor for you,your school, and your community. Congratulations! Sometime during the next few months,your principal will arrange for you to be presented with an engraved Prudential Spirit of Community silver medallion. Then, in early May,we want you to come to Washington,D.C., along with the other 103 State Honorees so that we may further salute your accomplishments during several exciting days of special recognition events. There,you will receive $1,000 and be considered for one of ten national awards. More information on this May celebration is enclosed. Above all,we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your compassionate dedication to improving the lives of others. The kind of vision and commitment you have demonstrated is extremely important to the future of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nation. Young volunteers like yourself are inspiring examples to all of us; you are our brightest hopes for a better tomorrow. Again,congratulations on your selection as a 2002 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards State Honoree! We look forward to seeing you in May. Sincerely, (237T14,2 le.„9.44/ Arthur F. Ryan Gerald N. Tirozzi Chairman and CEO, Executive Director, Prudential Financial National Association of Secondary School Principals 3 community have a high school diploma,he decided to help"tackle the graduation problem"by focusing on the reading skills of young students."I believe that if a child's reading skills can be strengthened at an early age,that child will have a greater chance to experience success in academics and ultimately graduate from high school,"he said.To implement his program, called READ (Reading Encourages All Dreams), Kyle encouraged the public library to partner with him and then recruited fellow high school students to volunteer as mentors.He also contacted a reading specialist to train the mentors. In the program's first year, 30 elementary children and 21 mentors participated in READ. In addition to helping improve the children's reading grades,the mentors developed great friendships with the children and were able to help them through difficulties with nonreading issues,as well. Alyssa Latty Kiowa Elementary School Kiowa,OK Alyssa Latty, 12, created Kids Singing for Kids, a one-day public singing event that raised nearly$4,000 in cash and donated items to benefit children living in a shelter. When she learned from a family friend who works at the shelter how desperate the facility was for donations of basic necessities, Alyssa knew she wanted to help. "I felt that this project was important because the kids would know that other kids cared about them and wanted to help them feel better at this bad time in their lives."Alyssa, who loves to sing, decided on a singing benefit. She selected a local Wal-Mart store as the location, and received the manager's approval.Alyssa then obtained a donation of a sound system from the local music store and recruited her fellow 4-H members to help distribute flyers. She also sought in-kind gifts from local businesses and encouraged two local congressmen to match the money raised. After two months of planning, Alyssa sang for six hours straight, and collected a total of$3,200. Alyssa plans on making Kids Singing for Kids an annual event. OREGON Samuel Glaser South Eugene High School Eugene,OR Samuel Glaser, 18,created a service club at his school two years ago that now has 100 members who volunteer to assist the community's homeless, ill, and underserved. Samuel felt that teenagers were not doing enough in their community. "The media portrays teens as uninvolved and self-indulgent," said Samuel. "I knew this was not true;the teens I knew did care. We just had no vehicle to help us get involved." So Samuel created the vehicle—called SERV(South Eugene Responsive Volunteers)and began working to turn the stereotype around.First,he called upon a group of young leaders to build SERV's foundation, then drummed up support among the rest of the student body. Next, Samuel contacted community agencies most in need of help. Since the group's inception, its volunteers have prepared meals for the hungry, helped build a medical clinic, raised money to fund a variety of projects, and coordinated a camp for at-risk youth."I have learned the fulfillment that comes from helping people who are not fortunate enough to have as much as I do,"said Samuel. Tonneli Gruetter Lake Oswego Junior High School Lake Oswego,OR Tonneli Gruetter, 14,organized two Thanksgiving turkey drives that collected 270 turkeys and nearly$900 in donations to feed the hungry. The idea came to her when Tonneli and her mother were watching television five days before Thanksgiving and heard a report on the need for turkey donations. "It was then that we realized we had to help," said Tonneli. "I started the turkey drive because I realized how lucky I was for what I have." Tonneli's family and friends agreed to help with the drive, and Tonneli gathered more support by making announcements at local schools and contacting the news media. With only five days' notice, Tonneli was able to collect 110 turkeys and $600 during her first turkey drive—more than twice the amount of turkeys she was hoping for. The following year, Tonneli's drive yielded 160 turkeys and nearly$300 in cash donations, which helped purchase hats and gloves for the needy. "I really felt like I was making a difference when I saw the smiles on everyone's faces at the soup kitchen,"Tonneli said. PENNSYLVANIA Valerie Baron Akiba Hebrew Academy Merlon Station,PA Valerie Baron, 17, organized and now leads the Saint Barnabas Mentoring Program, a youth volunteer group that provides tutoring assistance, mentoring, and positive role models for children living at a local homeless shelter. After helping to prepare and deliver a Thanksgiving meal to the Saint Barnabas Mission(a shelter for homeless women and children), "I felt compelled to do more," said Valerie. A year later, while she was planning activities for her school's 4/15/02 18 4