Dale City girl earns distinguished award

Dale City resident Nyasha Sprow was presented with an engraved silver medallion to signify her selection as one of Virginia's top two youth volunteers for 2010 in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program.

The presentation took place March 20 during the March is Red Cross Month Volunteer Appreciation Gala at Harbour View Events, located at 13200 Marina Way in Woodbridge.

Sprow is a volunteer with the Prince William Chapter of the American Red Cross and a seventh-grader at Virginia Virtual Academy. As a State Honoree, Nyasha also will receive $1,000 and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington where she will join more than 100 other top honorees from across the country for several days of national recognition events.

Ten of them will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2010 at that time.

Sprow was honored for her work as a passionate advocate for organ and tissue donation. Several years before Nyasha was born, her two sisters were tragically killed and her mother made the decision to donate their organs and tissues, giving 12 strangers the gift of life and health.

And, in an unfortunate twist of fate, Nyasha's older brother died from renal failure after being on dialysis for years.

Sprow has become a spokesperson for the National Kidney Foundation, stressing both the importance of protecting one's organs and the need for more organ donors. She makes presentations at elementary schools, distributes literature at health fairs and community events, and seeks interviews with news media.

She also participates in fund-raising events sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation and the Washington Regional Transplant Center. Finally, Nyasha is spreading the word about organ donation as a contestant in the National American Miss pageant.

"I feel that education is the key to dispelling the myths and misconceptions that prevent people from donating," she said. "If I can answer questions that may be keeping people from being donors, then maybe I can help increase the rate of donation and thereby save a life."

All middle level and high schools in the U.S., along with all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award last November.

Nearly 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by state-level judges, who selected two State Honorees -- one middle level and one high school youth -- plus a select number of Distinguished Finalists from each state and the District of Columbia, based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

Visit spirit.prudential.com for more information.

Submitted by Prudential Financial