Anderson named Wyoming's top high school youth volunteer of 2021

FaithHoney Anderson of Devils Tower has been named Wyoming’s top high school volunteer of 2021 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, America’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service.

State Honorees for 2021 were selected for service initiatives completed, at least in part, between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2020. Selection was based on criteria including impact, effort, initiative and personal growth, from more than 21,000 applicants.

Anderson receives a scholarship, a silver medallion and an invitation to the program’s virtual national recognition celebration in April where ten of the 102 State Honorees will be named America’s top youth volunteers of the year for additional scholarships and awards.

Anderson, a senior at Wyoming Virtual Academy, helped bridge the generational divide between senior citizens and young  people in her community by organizing tech-support events where high school students in Hulett, Sundance and Moorcroft provided individual instruction on navigating cell phones and other mobile devices.

She said, “I considered this an excellent way to promote healthy relationships between senior citizens and high school students. I wanted to show senior citizens that teens are more than a screen-glued pair of eyes and have helpful information we can provide. Likewise, I wanted to open the eyes of my generation to the advice, knowledge and perspective of those older than us.”

Seniors in the county learned how to find old emails on their phones, send photos to loved ones, install apps and make group texts.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, conducted annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with the NASSP, honors students grades 5-12 for making meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service. A top middle level and high school volunteer from all 50 states and DC are selected.

“We created the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards 26 years ago to highlight and support the work of young people taking on the challenges of a changing world – a mission that rings truer than ever given the events of last year,” said Charles Lowrey, Prudential’s chairman and CEO.

“We are proud to celebrate the vision and determination of Spirit of Community’s Class of 2021 and all the ways they’re making their communities safer, healthier and more equitable places to live.”