R.I. youth volunteers recognized

By Lindsay Lorenz
PBN Staff Writer

Volunteers Marina Palumbo, 17, of East Greenwich, and Cody Clarkin, 14, of Charlestown, have been selected as Rhode Island’s top two youth volunteers of 2013 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism.

Palumbo was recognized for making and selling necklaces to support a school for poor children in Haiti. She also started a club at her school to raise more money, collect supplies and increase awareness about the plight of the children she was helping.

Clarkin was recognized for spearheading a project to restore a flagpole and its surrounding area at Charlestown’s Ninigret Park. The flagpole was originally installed 30 years ago to honor fighter pilots and crew members that trained in Charlestown when it was a naval air training center.

By 2009, the pole’s paint was peeling, the flag was tattered and the site had become an eyesore.

Clarkin has since engaged the community and cleaned up the area.

Both students will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.