CAPE GIRL WINS AWARD FOR PROJECT

Traci Taylor, a Cape Girardeau student, earned a national Inspiration Award for her work at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Taylor was one of two Missouri youth volunteers competing for national honors in the Prudential Spirit of Community Initiative.

Taylor created the Toy Train, a cart she built with the help of family and church members. She provides toys to children at the hospital. Taylor, a former cancer patient, knows firsthand how to make hospital stays a little easier for children.

Of the 104 finalists, five students were selected for Inspiration Awards. Ten others were selected as national volunteers of the year. Recipients were named at a ceremony Monday in Washington, D.C.

Inspiration Awards were given to state honorees who not only made outstanding contributions to their communities but did so in the face of significant personal challenges. Taylor and the other honorees receive $2,500 and a commemorative plaque.

Launched last fall in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models.

Starting with a field of more than 7,000 school nominees, state judging committees selected 104 honorees -- a middle level and high school student from each state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia -- each of whom received $1,000 and a silver medallion.

From the 104, the 10 national volunteers and five Inspiration Award winners were named.