Palmer High School senior named top state honoree in 2020 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

PALMER — Palmer High School senior Zoe Nelles was recently named one of the top two state honorees in 2020 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, the largest youth volunteer awards program in the nation.

“I was super excited,” Nelles said.

Nelles, 17, of Palmer ,and Caleb Song, 13, of Anchorage, will each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., joining up with top two honorees across the country for four days of national recognition events. 10 students will be named America’s top youth volunteers of 2020 during the trip.

Nelles leaves for D.C. May 5. This will be her second time visiting D.C. The first was with her eighth grade class. She said that she’s looking forward to the opportunity to go back there.

“This is such a great opportunity,” Nelles said.

Nelles was selected due to her ceaseless efforts with her homegrown meal program for students in need, The Sandwich Project.

Public schools, such as Palmer High, have meal programs during the school day for those in need. But one Palmer High student saw an additional problem, and she stepped up to try to solve it.

With the help of Palmer High staff, Nelles started the Sandwich Project at her school, an effort to feed PHS students in need over the weekend.

“I knew there was probably a need at Palmer High but I was just surprised to know there were that many students who I went to school with that didn’t have a reliable meal over the weekend,” Nelles told the Frontiersman.

Nelles said that she got the idea after seeing similar projects done at other schools like Wasilla High School. She said that prompted her to see where Palmer’s needs were. She approached one of her teachers, Sami King, who offered to help her supervise the project and store the food in her classroom.

The two went to the school nurse, Carmen Pell, who in turn began identifying students in need. Nelles said that she served the first wave of students in October 2018. King, Pell and several other staff members have continued to support her project along the way.

The Sandwich Project has grown substantially over the last two years. Nelles said after she received a grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation, she was able to expand the project to Butte Elementary, Palmer Junior Middle School, and Pioneer Peak Elementary.

“It’s really rewarding,” Nelles said.

Nelles also partnered with the Food Bank of Alaska who contributes ingredients for her food bags. She said they help her find healthier alternatives, a lower sugar version of apple sauce. She said that she was thrilled to have this much backing from the community.

“We’re really appreciative of that,” Nelles said.

Nelles is confident this thing she created for the kids in her community will keep going when she graduates. She said King and Pell promised they would make sure it will and there’s enough momentum going where it’s ready for the next set of eager, teenage hands to take the mantle.

Nelles said that she’s still deciding which college to go to but she knows that wherever she ends up, she has her eyes set on philanthropy.

“I’ love to keep volunteering wherever I go,” Nelles said.

Prudential Financial partnered with the National Association of Secondary School Principals 25 years ago to create the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, honoring students from fifth to twelfth grade for exceptional volunteer service.

“In our 25th year of honoring young volunteers, we are as inspired as ever by the work students are doing to address the needs of a changing world,” said Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. “We hope that their resolve, their initiative and their perspectives on society’s challenges move others to consider how they can make a difference, too.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com