Yoon Ja-young is in charge of articles translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times. She is interested in improving the newspaper through AI.
Prudential Foundation honors volunteer teens
Prudential Foundation of Korea Chair Sohn Byoung-ok, third from left in the front row, congratulates winners of the 16th Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, at a ceremony held in Seoul early this week. The teenagers were honored for their volunteer work. / Courtesy of Prudential Life
By Yoon Ja-young
By Yoon Ja-young
Kim Se-jin, known as “the robotic leg swimmer,” has a good friend he can’t forget. That’s Jin Eun-seo, a sophomore at Daewon Foreign Language High School. She volunteered to help the swimmer with disability, doing the paperwork for attending international events including the Paralympics, and interpretation and book translation to support Kim’s bigger and brighter future. He won medals at numerous international competitions, received a scholarship and went to college.
Prudential Foundation of Korea noted how Jin supported the swimmer and thus contributed to make a better society. It honored Jin and other volunteer teens at the 16th-annual Prudential Spirit of Community Awards ceremony in Seoul early this week.
Launched in 1999, the Prudential Award is the nation’s largest youth volunteer recognition program that aims to publicize the work of notable junior high and high school volunteers leading various community services.
A total of 1,062 volunteering cases, involving 3,933 teenagers, were submitted for possible honors. After a few months’ review and interviews, 40 young volunteers were selected as winners. Among them, two won the Ministry of Education Award, the other two won the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Award, and six received Gold Awards. On top of winning the Ministry of Education Award, Jin was named a goodwill ambassador to represent Korean volunteering youths at the U.S. Prudential Spirit of Community Awards scheduled for Washington, D.C. in May 2015.
Lee Seo-ho, who led volunteering group ConGo at the Bugil Academy in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, was also named as a goodwill ambassador.
The team comprised of 17 students has been supporting a childcare center for abused and harassed children. They’ve been supporting the children one-on-one through a mentor system, aiming to bring them life-changing experiences. He won the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Award.
Kim Min-seong was awarded for supporting children’s libraries, while Park Chon-gang and his peers at a volunteer group of North Korean defectors have been visiting a neighborhood nursing care facility, helping solitary senior citizens.
“The Prudential Spirit of Community program is the nation’s biggest youth volunteer recognition program developed in 1999, which has been nurturing and encouraging prominent youth volunteers who contribute to society through creative and proactive volunteer activities,” said Prudential Foundation of Korea Chair Sohn Byoung-ok.
“We hope this program will be an inspirational event that helps many more youth volunteers share the joy and importance of volunteering, and engage in more community services,” she said.
The program is held annually in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, India and China.