National Award Ceremony:Two Oklahoma Youth Honored

FRIDAY, 28 MAY 2010
Submitted By: Mariangela Silvestre

Two Oklahoma students, Kenna Baker, 18, of Yukon and Alana Ralson, 11, of Warr Acres, were honored in the nation’s capital last night for their outstanding volunteer work during the presentation of The 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people – along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country – received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Olympic snowboarding champion Seth Wescott at the 15th annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Kenna and Alana were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in Oklahoma last February. In addition to their cash awards, they received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events.

“The Prudential Spirit of Community honorees give us great hope for the future,” said Dr. Rice. “Their compassion and commitment are already making a real difference in so many lives, and I have no doubt that their leadership will continue to positively impact the world for many years to come.”

Kenna, a member of the Canadian County 4-H in El Reno and a senior at Yukon High School, has made more than 6,000 “cooling ties” over the past five years to keep American soldiers cool in the desert heat of Iraq and Afghanistan, and has conducted more than 300 workshops to teach others how to make the ties. During a student trip to Washington, D.C., Kenna visited the war memorials and “felt a tugging at my heart to do something for the soldiers serving our country,” she said.

Soon after, she read about a woman who wanted to make cooling ties for troops overseas, and since Kenna had used them before, she contacted the woman and taught her how to make them. Together, they began seeking volunteers and donations to help make the ties, which contain water-absorbing crystals that become cool to the touch when moistened, and are called “hugs” because they fit snugly around the neck. In addition to making more than 6,000 hugs herself, Kenna has taught more than 4,000 other people to make them at fairs, conferences, schools, libraries, 4-H and scout gatherings, and organization meetings. And she invented a “turning tool” with her father that makes the process faster. Kenna also sews quilts for injured soldiers, the elderly, hospice patients, and neonatal infants, and makes stocking hats for newborn babies. “I feel strongly that everyone should work toward the betterment of their community, country, and world,” said Kenna. “One way to do this is through volunteer work.”

Alana, a sixth-grader at Western Heights Middle School in Oklahoma City, volunteers for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), working to promote public awareness and education, raise funds for diabetes research and patient care, and lobby Congress to provide more funding for diabetes research. “Eight years ago I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and my life drastically changed,” Alana said. After her family started a team to participate in an annual walkathon, Alana began participating in as many activities and fund-raisers as she could to support JDRF, the Children’s Miracle Network, and Diabetes Solutions of Oklahoma.

She has helped with fund-raising auctions, presented at awards dinners, sold raffle tickets, assisted at a “poker run” to raise money for a diabetes camp, and volunteered at a benefit rodeo. She also organized a walkathon at her school for JDRF and persuaded a family fun center to donate 10 percent of its profits on a busy Saturday to the foundation. In addition, she has told her story in television and radio interviews, and recruited other volunteers to help find a cure. Last year, Alana was selected to represent Oklahoma as a delegate to JDRF’s Children’s Congress in Washington, D.C, where she met with President Obama and delivered scrapbooks on her life with diabetes to three congressmen. “I will keep telling my story until I can tell the final chapter: The Cure for Diabetes is Here!” she said.

“Kenna and Alana are wonderful examples of young Americans who care about the world around them and have taken the initiative to improve that world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “We salute their effort, their achievements, and their spirit of community.”

Source: www.businesswire.com