LAWRENCE: Student wins President’s Volunteer Service Award

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   If there is a common thread that runs through Nyya Toussaint’s household. It is that the family must find a way to give back to the community that has helped them so much.
   The Toussaint family immigrated to the United States from Haiti many years ago and was given assistance from the local community, said Nyya, who is a senior at Lawrence High School.
   ”While growing up, it was imperative that my cousins and I knew the importance of giving back, which led my family to be the biggest motivating factor in my doing volunteer work,” he said.
   So it should not come as a surprise that Nyya was recently recognized for his volunteer service with a President’s Volunteer Service Award, presented by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program on behalf of President Barack Obama.
   Sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Prudential Spirit of America Awards program recognizes students in grades 5-12 nationwide for outstanding community service activities. The President’s Volunteer Service Award is given to students ages 15 and up who have given at least 100 hours of their time for community service.
   Nyya has been active in the Lindsey Meyer Teen Institute at Lawrence High School, which seeks to develop leadership potential in high school students and help them address specific issues at their school.
   But Nyya was recognized for his work in organizing “Threads. Community House” at Lawrence High School. Observing the lack of communication between the school and the community when it came to meeting social needs, he sought to find a way bridge the gap.
   ”Threads. Community House” was the result.
   With the help of student co-coordinators Yismely Acosta and Aaron Gibson, the student-led group matches volunteers with projects. It also plans and oversees school-wide events, such as the Week of Respect, food drives and collecting prom attire, graduation gowns and winter coats for students in need.
   Last month, Threads organized the Colour Conference to celebrate Black History Month at Lawrence High School. One of the highlights was the premiere showing of “The Struggle to Create: A Civil Rights Documentary,” which told the story of the Eggerts Crossing Village affordable housing development. Students filmed the documentary.
   ”I come up with the ideas and pass them on to someone else. My job is finding new things to do, to reach out and give the project to someone to run,” said Nyya, who is a self-described visionary.
   But Nyya never envisioned that he would receive such a prestigious award.
   ”It was exciting to get a letter from President Obama,” Nyya said.
   The letter quoted from President Obama’s inaugural address, which said that “we need a new era of responsibility (and) a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, the nation and the world. Your volunteer service demonstrates that kind of commitment to your community that moves America a step closer to its great promise.”
   Lawrence High School guidance counselor Marjorie Cobin praised Nyya and his work with Threads. Community House. She encouraged him to apply to Prudential Financial for recognition for his volunteer activities.
   ”Nyya is an incredible student. He is charismatic. One of the best things about Nyya is that he is able to make it ‘cool’ for other students to want to give to the community. He is able to bring a diverse group of students together and make leaders of them,” Ms. Cobin said.
   Nyya also is a spiritual and religious person, and many of his ideas stem from those beliefs, she said.
   ”What we see in Nyya is truly a future leader of this country,” Ms. Cobin said.