New Jersey’s top youth volunteers recognized at the statehouse

Date:

Share post:

Two students from the Trenton area — Jordyn Cascone of Hamilton Square and Renita Zaparde of Plainsboro — won the 2017 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for their volunteer work. The students were recently recognized by the New Jersey General Assembly for their achievements.

Cascone, 15, is a sophomore at Health Science Academy and a member of Girl Scouts of Central & Southern New Jersey. Cascone has collected more than 27,000 pounds of pet food for Meals on Wheels of Mercer County through “Jordyn’s Cause 4 Paws,” a nonprofit she started in 2014 after learning that many homebound people fed some or all of their meals to their pets.

Zaparde, 18, is a junior at Princeton Day School who founded “Pedal2Prosperity,” a nonprofit that has provided 510 bicycles to orphaned girls in Africa and India to help them stay in school.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. For more information on the rest of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community Awards State Honorees, visit spirit.prudential.com.

thumbnail_DSC_0423

2017 New Jersey Prudential Spirit of Community Honorees with New Jersey Assemblyman Dan Benson, and Prudential employees Rebecca Mahan and Cathy St. John. Honorees were recognized by the New Jersey General Assembly for service to their community at the State House. (Photo by Harold Banks.),

thumbnail_DSC_0385
[tds_leads input_placeholder="Email address" btn_horiz_align="content-horiz-center" pp_checkbox="yes" pp_msg="SSd2ZSUyMHJlYWQlMjBhbmQlMjBhY2NlcHQlMjB0aGUlMjAlM0NhJTIwaHJlZiUzRCUyMiUyMyUyMiUzRVByaXZhY3klMjBQb2xpY3klM0MlMkZhJTNFLg==" msg_composer="success" display="column" gap="10" input_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxNXB4IDEwcHgiLCJsYW5kc2NhcGUiOiIxMnB4IDhweCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTBweCA2cHgifQ==" input_border="1" btn_text="I want in" btn_tdicon="tdc-font-tdmp tdc-font-tdmp-arrow-right" btn_icon_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxOSIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjE3IiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxNSJ9" btn_icon_space="eyJhbGwiOiI1IiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIzIn0=" btn_radius="0" input_radius="0" f_msg_font_family="521" f_msg_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_msg_font_weight="400" f_msg_font_line_height="1.4" f_input_font_family="521" f_input_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjEzIiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxMiJ9" f_input_font_line_height="1.2" f_btn_font_family="521" f_input_font_weight="500" f_btn_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjEyIiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxMSJ9" f_btn_font_line_height="1.2" f_btn_font_weight="600" f_pp_font_family="521" f_pp_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMiIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjEyIiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxMSJ9" f_pp_font_line_height="1.2" pp_check_color="#000000" pp_check_color_a="#1e73be" pp_check_color_a_h="#528cbf" f_btn_font_transform="uppercase" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbSI6IjQwIiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9LCJsYW5kc2NhcGUiOnsibWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbSI6IjMwIiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9LCJsYW5kc2NhcGVfbWF4X3dpZHRoIjoxMTQwLCJsYW5kc2NhcGVfbWluX3dpZHRoIjoxMDE5LCJwb3J0cmFpdCI6eyJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBvcnRyYWl0X21heF93aWR0aCI6MTAxOCwicG9ydHJhaXRfbWluX3dpZHRoIjo3Njh9" msg_succ_radius="0" btn_bg="#1e73be" btn_bg_h="#528cbf" title_space="eyJwb3J0cmFpdCI6IjEyIiwibGFuZHNjYXBlIjoiMTQiLCJhbGwiOiIwIn0=" msg_space="eyJsYW5kc2NhcGUiOiIwIDAgMTJweCJ9" btn_padd="eyJsYW5kc2NhcGUiOiIxMiIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTBweCJ9" msg_padd="eyJwb3J0cmFpdCI6IjZweCAxMHB4In0=" msg_err_radius="0" f_btn_font_spacing="1" msg_succ_bg="#1e73be"]
spot_img

Related articles

Community turns out for Allentown Spring Stroll

Area visitors turned out in force to brave the cooler-than-usual weather on Sunday, April 26, 2026 to attend...

Dr. Auntie mixes flavor, fundraising and community ties

One of Ewing Township’s most colorful new businesses in recent years is Dr. Auntie’s Gourmet Popcorn — an...

Bringing the Messenger-Press back home

Dear Allentown, Upper Freehold and Millstone residents and business owners, ...

Monks to transform former first aid building into meditation center

The quiet hum of meditation will soon replace the sound of emergency sirens in a former first aid...