Teeland student meets Super Bowl MVP

Keefer Brown, 14, of Wasilla and Teressa Baldwin, 18, of Sitka received 2012 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards May 6 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, received $1,000 each, and had the privilege of meeting New York Giants quarterback and 2012 Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.

Manning praised each of this year’s 102 top youth volunteers for their outstanding service to their communities and for their commitment to helping others.

Brown, a seventh-grader at Teeland Middle School, raised more than $3,500 to help rehabilitate sick and injured seals at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward by decorating and selling candles and other items with shells and seaweed that he collected on the beach.

During a school field trip in 2009, Brown learned that he could “adopt” an animal at the SeaLife Center for $50.

“I chose a harbor seal because I like their playful attitude, soulful eyes and intelligent nature,” he said.

After discussing the idea with his parents, Brown raised the $50 by selling candles decorated with items he collected on the beach.

“I spend a lot of time during the summer at my grandparents’ cabin in Seldoivia and like to walk the beach and collect shells and other items washed up during high tide,” he said.

He raised $1,300 the first summer. And the next summer, he sold an expanded inventory that include decorated picture frames, mirrors and wreaths, in addition to candles, and raised another $2,300 for the SeaLife Center.

To show its appreciation, the center honored the Mat-Su Valley teen at a gala event in Anchorage and allowed him to name a baby seal and attend the release of two harbor seals.

“It was a great day,” Brown said, adding that now he is even more inspired to aid the declining population of harbor seals.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards constitutes the nation’s largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. Since its creation in 1995, the program has honored more than 100,000 young Americans at the local, state and national levels for outstanding volunteer service. For more information, visit spirit.prudential.com.