Noel Netzhammer, an 8^th grade student at Archbishop Chapelle High School, was named one of Louisiana’s top two youth volunteers for 2007 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism.  The awards program is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

            As a State Honoree, Noel will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where she will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events.  Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2007 at that time. 

            Mr. Joe Seoane, a Prudential Representative will present Noel with her Prudential Spirit of Community medallion on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at the Archbishop Chapelle High School gymnasium during a school liturgy that will begin at 10 a.m. (presentation at 11 a.m.).

            Noel helped create an annual summer camp where children with disabilities interact with other kids.  Noel became aware of the isolation experienced by many special-needs children because she had an autistic boy in her class.  “I started thinking about how things could change for him,” she said.  “If the boys and girls in class really got to know him, they’d be less likely to make fun of him and more likely to be friends with him.”  Noel thought about forming a “friendship club,” and, after discussing it with her mother, a special education teacher, the idea blossomed into summer camp.

            With funding from Jefferson Parish, the Green Park Friendship League Summer Camp has provided reading, writing, math, social, and other activities over the past two years to two dozen kids with and without disabilities.  Noel has served as a junior counselor, helping teachers prepare for each day, assisting with lessons and snacks, and ensuring that the special-needs campers make new friends and feel safe and accepted.  She says this experience has not only taught her about autistic children and the benefits of inclusion, but also has reinforced her desire to become a brain surgeon.  “Perhaps one day I can find a cure for this puzzling condition, as well as other childhood diseases,” Noel said.

            All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, country 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November.  More than 7,500 Local Honorees were then reviewed by state-level judges, who selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

            While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital’s landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of National History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill.  In addition, 10 of them will be named National Honorees on May 7 by a prestigious national selection committee.  These honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.