Kate Gruendling of Shelburne was selected as a 2019 Distinguished Finalist for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism.
A junior at Champlain Valley Union High School, Gruendling organized a virtual 5K race team in her community to par-ticipate in a 9/11 Heroes Run. Along with recruiting participants and mapping out a course route, she led her team to raise more than $1,100 for the Travis Manion Foundation, which offers community engagement events along with empowerment and character-building programs.
“I am honored to be recognized as a Distinguished Finalist. Giving back to an organization that I stand behind is really important to me,” said Gruendling. “This past summer, I learned about the Travis Manion Foundation and I was in-spired by their dedication to veterans and families of fallen heroes. The foundation is committed to empowering peo-ple to engage as leaders, and to sparking involvement of future generations in their communities. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to share a foundation that I believe in with my local community.”
Brody Brown from Graniteville also received a Vermont Distinguished Finalist honor. South Burlington students Sophia Thomas and Peter Forgione were named the state’s top youth volunteers for 2019 by the Prudential Spirit of Commu-nity Awards judges.
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