Megan Johnson, a Running Start student from CHOICE Academy, has been selected as Washington’s top high school youth volunteer in the 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. She will travel to Washington, D.C., on May 1-4 to receive her award.

Megan spent a good deal of her childhood in hospitals undergoing 24 surgeries. Her experiences set her on a path to help make the lives of other children better. Megan founded her own charity, Megan’s Mission, to raise money to help homeless people, children in hospital and babies born with drug addiction. She began by distributing blankets to the homeless and obtained donations and conducted fundraisers to provide them with personal items. She raised money so successfully that she made a large donation to the Shriner’s Hospitals who have now appointed her a national patient ambassador. In this capacity, Megan and her Mom now travel throughout the United States speaking on behalf of children and the homeless.

CHOICE Principal Bruce Dearborn said, "We are extremely proud of Megan and congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition. She is an inspiration to all of us - students and staff alike!"

Megan is one of America’s 102 most outstanding youth volunteers – two from each state and the District of Columbia – were named State Honorees by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for exemplary acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 15th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial, Inc., in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Each of the 102 State Honorees will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., May 1-4 for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2010 at that time.

“People as caring and committed as these young students are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our nation, and our world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “By recognizing these honorees, we hope to encourage other young people – our future leaders – and all Americans to think more about the value and importance of volunteering.”

“The young people recognized by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need,” said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “NASSP is proud to honor these student leaders because they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation’s schools today.”

For more information about this award, visit: http://spirit.prudential.com/view/page/soc/16159