U.S. Senator Susan Collins was pleased to meet with and personally congratulate Maine’s two top youth volunteers in her Washington, D.C. office on Tuesday, May 8th. Kelly Davis, 17, of West Bath and Stephanie Dunton, 13, of Winterport were honored with the 2007 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism.
Davis, a senior at Morse High School in Bath, is being recognized for raising more than $40,000 to purchase a bulletproof vest for every working police dog in Maine. So far, she has raised enough money to purchase 54 bulletproof vests, one for every active police K-9 in Maine.
During a ceremony in Washington, Davis was also named one of America’s top ten youth volunteers for 2007.
Dunton, a seventh-grader at Samuel L. Wagner Middle School, conducts a monthly collection drive called the “Food Shuttle” that has collected more than 1,000 pounds of donated food items for a local pantry.
Maine’s two top youth volunteers each received $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. where they are meeting with other recipients from around the country and participating in events honoring their volunteerism.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
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