Kevin Spacey Thanks Morristown Student for Volunteerism

Academics in Morristown are on a roll.

Earlier this week, it was announced that several Morristown students were chosen as Presidential scholars. Also, Morristown High School was named one of the country’s best high schools in the Newsweek and Daily Beast’s annual ‘America’s Best High Schools’ list, released Monday.

Now, another MHS junior is making his hometown proud. 

Zachary Certner, 17, was named one of America's top 10 youth volunteers of 2013 today by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards during the program's 18th annual national award ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

He was selected from a field of more than 28,000 youth volunteers from across the country. Certner has earned the title of National Honoree, along with a personal award of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal trophy for his school, and a $5,000 grant from The Prudential Foundation for a nonprofit charitable organization of his choice.

Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey congratulated Certner and Ellen "Nelle" Evans, 14, of Lawrenceville on being named New Jersey's top two youth volunteers for 2013 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. They were honored at a ceremony on Sunday at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, where they each received a $1,000 award.

Certner co-founded SNAP (Special Needs Athletic Programs), a nonprofit organization that conducts free sports clinics for children with special needs, along with sensitivity training to help other students understand the challenges they face. Having a close family friend with severe autism, Certner knew that social and athletic opportunities for children with handicaps were very limited in his community, and that these children are often ostracized by their peers.

"I was disturbed seeing kids excluded from sports, lunch tables, and even friendships just because they were different," he said. "Since sports have always been a passion of mine, I felt strongly about giving every child the opportunity to be part of a team."

Certner and his brother sought help from the Morris School Board, local recreation departments, mayors and other community leaders, and began contacting potential donors to fund SNAP. They then set up a regular schedule of clinics in basketball, baseball, soccer, golf, tae kwon do and other activities, all run by student volunteers six nights a week during the school year.

"Children not only learn how to play sports, but gain confidence, self-esteem, and form strong and lasting friendships," said Certner. During the 2011-12 school year, SNAP provided 11 extracurricular programs to 140 children with special needs, and so far has trained more than 450 students to serve as mentors. In addition, SNAP has expanded its focus to reach a broader educational goal of teaching awareness and acceptance. One part of this includes sensitivity training workshops for more than 2,700 students with hands-on exercises that demonstrate what it's like to be blind, dyslexic, autistic or challenged in some other way.

"My ultimate goal for SNAP is to create an empathetic, compassionate and accepting world for future generations," said Certner.