Miami and Rockledge students will receive a $5,000 award and invitations to the 2024 summit
for their work addressing the challenges of a changing
world.
NEWARK, N.J.,
Feb. 13,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- William
Charouhis, 18, of Miami,
and Anjani Sharma, 17, of
Rockledge, today were each named a
2024 Prudential Emerging Visionary for their inspiring commitment
to improving the lives of others.
As two of 25 Prudential Emerging Visionary winners, William and
Anjani will each receive a $5,000
award to help take their innovation to the next level. They are
also invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to Prudential's
headquarters in Newark, New
Jersey, where they will be coached by Prudential
employees and have the chance to meet other young leaders.
Prudential Emerging Visionaries recognizes young people ages
14-18 whose fresh perspectives and innovative solutions address
pressing financial and societal challenges in their communities.
The program's goals align with Prudential's purpose: to make lives
better by solving the financial challenges of our changing
world.
"I am inspired by the students' sense of purpose and commitment
to driving positive change in their communities," said
Chairman and CEO Charles
Lowrey. "We're honored to support these young leaders as
they bring their extraordinary projects to life."
During the summit, to be held April
20-23, 2024, five winners will also have the opportunity to
present their solutions in a pitch-off, where a grand prize winner
will be awarded an additional $10,000
in funding. What's more, Prudential employees will again vote to
name an Employees' Choice Award winner, who will receive an
additional $5,000.
Florida's 2024 Prudential
Emerging Visionaries:
William Charouhis founded "A Million Mangroves," a
youth-led network in Miami
mobilizing to plant one million mangroves by 2030, addressing
climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon and protecting
coastlines. Through the utilization of biotech to create more
adaptable mangrove propagules, "A Million Mangroves" is growing
mangrove forests resilient to climate change effects like flooding
and severe heat.
In 2017, Hurricane Irma hit William's hometown, causing
destructive flooding. Spurred to action, William advocated for the
City of Miami to declare a climate
emergency while starting his own initiative. "A Million Mangroves"
works on mangrove conservation through organizing community
cleanups and accelerates restoration by improving planting success
rates. Currently, the initiative works with a team of more than 180
volunteers, has restored six miles of Florida mangroves and has educated 2,500 young
people in 16 countries through an annual Climate Summit.
Anjani Sharma created
"Minds Without B0rders," a youth-led initiative that works to
reduce stigma and normalize conversations around mental health,
mobilizing students to engage stakeholders and advocate for
policies that increase mental health support systems. "Minds
Without B0rders" utilizes blogs, podcasts and digital campaigns to
encourage open discussion and provide pathways for mental health
support, specifically focused on underserved communities.
Through the pandemic, Anjani turned to writing when she noticed
that "there was no proper outlet for young people to express their
mental health struggles or find appropriate help." After publishing
a few blog posts about mental health challenges and interviewing
mental health professionals, many young people reached out to join
her work of making mental health discussions open and
destigmatized. The organization operates chapters in 24 states and
18 countries.
Prudential Emerging Visionaries is sponsored by Prudential in
collaboration with Ashoka, a leading organization in the social
impact sector, with advisory support provided by the Financial
Health Network, an authority on financial health and a longtime
partner of The Prudential Foundation.
The program is an evolution of Prudential's Spirit of Community
Awards, which honored more than 150,000 outstanding youth
volunteers over 26 years.
To read about all of this year's Prudential Emerging
Visionaries, visit prudential.com/emergingvisionaries.
About Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial wellness leader
and premier active global investment manager, has operations in
the United States, Asia, Europe
and Latin America. Prudential's
diverse and talented employees help to make lives better by
creating financial opportunity for more people. Prudential's iconic
Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and
innovation for more than a century. For more information, please
visit news.prudential.com.
About Ashoka
Ashoka is the largest global network of leading social
entrepreneurs — individuals with new ideas to systemically address
the world's biggest challenges and the entrepreneurial skill to
transform those ideas into national, regional and global social
impact. Over 40 years, Ashoka has supported more than 3,600 social
entrepreneurs in 90 countries with solutions addressing society's
most pressing issues. Ashoka's vision is a world in which Everyone
is a Changemaker — a society that responds quickly and effectively
to challenges, and where each individual has the freedom,
confidence and societal support to address any social problem. For
more information, visit ashoka.org.
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SOURCE The Prudential Insurance Company of America