Today through November 6, 2018, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is looking for Georgia's top youth volunteers of the year.

Students in grades 5-12 are invited to apply for 2019 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards if they have made meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service within the past 12 months. The application is available at http://spirit.prudential.com and www.nassp.org/spirit.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), was created in 1995 to recognize the exemplary volunteer work of middle level and high school students. The awards have been granted annually for the past 23 years on the local, state and national level.

"After more than two decades of honoring young volunteers, we know that students are a powerful force for good," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We shine a spotlight on their service in hopes that others will be inspired to follow their example."

Georgia's top youth volunteers of 2018 were Max Rubenstein, 18, of Atlanta, who is the founder of "Game Givers," a nonprofit that has provided thousands of new and used video games to hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses to alleviate the pain and boredom that sick children experience, and Angelica Krubeck, 11, of Cumming, who has combined two of her passions – science and helping kids – by providing science kits and conducting fun workshops for at-risk children in shelters, foster care and after-school programs through "Super Science Kids," a nonprofit she founded two years ago. Read more about Max and Angelica at http://spirit.prudential.com/honorees/2018/ga.  

How to Apply

To apply for a 2019 Prudential Spirit of Community Award, students and certifiers must complete the following steps:

• Students complete the online application by November 6, 2018.

• Then, students submit the application for certification to their principal or head of a local participating organization.

• Certifiers review all applications for their school or organization, then select a Local Honoree to nominate for state-level judging by November 16, 2018.

Applications can be certified by a middle or high school principal or head of a Girl Scout council, county 4-H organization, American Red Cross chapter, YMCA or an affiliate of Points of Light's HandsOn Network. (Students can request a paper application by calling 855-670-4787.)