Alabama's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 11th Annual National Awards Program; Birmingham and Coden Students Earn $1,000 Awards, Engraved Medallions and Trip to Nation's Capital; Honors Also Bestowed on Other Top Youth Volunteers in Alabama.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Kimberly Phares, 17, of Birmingham and Louis Buckalew, 13, of Coden today were named Alabama's top two youth volunteers for 2006 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 11th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Kimberly was nominated by Vestavia Hills High School in Vestavia Hills, and Louis was nominated by Clark School of Math, Science and Technology in Chickasaw. As State Honorees, each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees - one middle level and one high school youth - from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2006 at that time.

Kimberly, a junior at Vestavia Hills High School, organized a Habitat for Humanity chapter at her high school that has attracted participation from more than 10 percent of the student body. Kimberly first began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity through her church, eventually devoting the majority of her free time to building new homes for needy families. "I felt satisfaction knowing that we were empowering families who reached out, not for a handout, but for a hammer to build their dreams, one nail at a time," Kimberly said.

When she discovered that the organization had school chapters, she decided immediately to launch one at Vestavia Hills High. She recruited a faculty advisor, drafted a constitution and membership handbook, met with her city's mayor, and launched a membership drive last summer. She also coordinated a fund-raising dinner, which yielded $6,000. The group now sends up to 15 members out on new-home construction projects every Saturday, and hopes to become the first school chapter to totally fund and build a home in its first year. Kimberly also is reaching out to middle and elementary schools, and has spoken at other Alabama high schools, several of which are planning to start Habitat chapters of their own.

Louis, an eighth-grader at Clark School of Math, Science and Technology, has volunteered with several organizations over the past three years to clean up trash along the Gulf Coast shoreline and roadways near his home. Louis initially became involved through his Boy Scout troop and with the encouragement of his parents, is now strongly committed to environmental protection. "I find self-satisfaction knowing that I did something to improve or help my community's environment," he said.

Louis often has to "trudge through mud and swamp funk" to collect and bag trash, he said, and then he records data on his activity at home. In addition, Louis helps cook and serve meals to other volunteers while on cleanup outings. He's worked not only with the Boy Scouts, but also with the Coast Guard, the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, and local government, and has recruited friends to join the effort. Louis now feels his involvement will inspire others. "It makes other people feel good to know that there are good people in this world who volunteer," he said.

In addition, the program judges recognized four other Alabama students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

Fabiani Duarte, 17, of Lacey's Spring, a senior at Randolph School in Huntsville, founded a Junior Optimist Club at his school in 2002 - the first such club in Huntsville - and now serves as the club's senior advisor. The club coordinates a variety of community service activities, including fund-raisers for cancer research and disaster relief, a Halloween haunted house, and an annual school talent show.

Ryan Hagan, 18, of Vestavia Hills, a senior at Vestavia Hills High School, is president of his city's Mayor's Teen Council, which he helped create four years ago as a forum for teens to voice their opinions about the city and become active in serving the community. Under Ryan's leadership, the Council coordinates numerous volunteer projects and assists in planning and organizing community-wide events.

Heather Smith, 17, of Grant, a senior at Kate D. Smith DAR High School, helped lead a project that collected stuffed animals, coloring books and crayons for children with developmental disabilities at the Sparks Center for Development and Learning in Birmingham. The project, called Kuddlies for Kids/Operation Education, was conducted through a regional district of Junior Civitan International.

Laura Spurgeon, 17, of Phenix City, a senior at Central High School, created "Graduate with the Arts," a program that brings arts education to at-risk students in an effort to improve their academic performance and increase their chances of a timely graduation. Laura, who also serves as the Drama Coordinator of the program, directs productions, develops activities for the students, and publicizes the results of the program.

"The recipients of these awards vividly demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities," said Art Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. "They truly deserve all of the praise and encouragement we can give them."

"The young people recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need," said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "NASSP is proud to honor them as they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation's schools today."

All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. Nearly 8,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by state-level judges, who selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital's landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them - five middle level and five high school students - will be named National Honorees on May 8 by a prestigious national selection committee. These honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.

U.S. Senators Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia will serve as co-chairs of the national selection committee. Also serving on the committee will be Ryan of Prudential; actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth; Robert Goodwin, President and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation; Amy B. Cohen, Director of Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA; Donald T. Floyd Jr., President and CEO of National 4-H Council; Ken Gladish, National Executive Director of YMCA of the USA; David Vodila, President of NASSP; and two 2005 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Devin Cohen of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and Lindsey Williams of St. Joseph, Mo.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President's Volunteer Service Awards to nearly 4,200 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is supported by National 4-H Council, Girl Scouts of the USA, American Red Cross, YMCA of the USA, Points of Light Foundation, American Association of School Administrators, National Middle School Association, National School Boards Association, Council of the Great City Schools, National School Public Relations Association, and many other national youth and service organizations.

The awards are part of a broad initiative created by Prudential to encourage young people to become involved in community service. Other elements of the initiative include a community leadership training program for high school students, now administered by the Points of Light Foundation; and a variety of educational materials for young people and teachers relating to youth volunteerism.

For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit www.prudential.com/spirit, or www.principals.org/prudential.

NASSP - the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders - provides its members the professional resources to serve as visionary leaders. NASSP promotes the intellectual growth, academic achievement, character development, leadership development, and physical well-being of youth through its programs and student leadership services. NASSP administers the National Honor Society(TM), National Junior Honor Society(TM), and National Association of Student Councils(TM).

Prudential Financial companies serve individual and institutional customers worldwide and include The Prudential Insurance Company of America, one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States. These companies offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension and retirement related services and administration, asset management, securities brokerage, banking and trust services, real estate brokerage franchises and relocation services. For more information, visit www.prudential.com.