Arizona's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 12th Annual National Awards Program.

Mesa students earn $1,000 awards, engraved medallions and trip to nation's capital

Honors also bestowed on other top youth volunteers in Arizona

PHOENIX -- Anne Jaffe, 16, and Austin Gutwein, 12, both of Mesa, today were named Arizona's top two youth volunteers for 2007 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 12th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Anne was nominated by Red Mountain High School in Mesa, and Austin was nominated by Surrey Garden Christian School in Gilbert. 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 2007 at that time.

Anne, a junior at Red Mountain High School, interviews and photographs young Sudanese refugees at the Arizona Lost Boys Center and writes their tragic stories to educate others about the devastating result of African civil unrest. Anne began volunteering at the center in 2004 after attending a lecture given by the refugees. "I practically cried when I heard their stories," she said. "They talked about seeing the militia burn their villages, steal their livestock, and try to kill or kidnap the villagers, especially the young boys." Boys as young as a few years old had to leave their families and run for their lives, only to wander hundreds of miles looking for safe places to stay. Many of the "lost boys" who survived were eventually brought to Arizona to start new lives, aided by the Lost Boys Center, explained Anne.

Shortly after she began volunteering at the center, Anne was asked to coordinate a "Story Board Wall Project" to tell the stories of the refugees. She interviews and photographs the refugees, writes their stories, designs layouts, and then frames and hangs her finished storyboards on a wall at the center. Anne's storyboards have educated hundreds of visitors about the crisis in Sudan. The storyboards also have become a source of pride and inspiration to the refugees, and have been used in fund-raising activities. Anne also has recruited her family to raise money for the center.

Austin, a seventh-grader at Surrey Garden Christian School in Gilbert, initiated an annual basketball free-throw "shoot-a-thon" that has raised more than $42,000 to benefit Zambian children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. "When I saw a video of children who were suffering from the loss of their parents, I began to think what it would be like if I lost my own parents," Austin said. He contacted World Vision, the sponsor of that video, and in 2004, "Hoops of Hope" began with Austin shooting 2,057 free throws on World AIDS Day to represent the 2,057 children orphaned daily by HIV/AIDS. He raised more than $3,000 from sponsors.

The following year, Austin recruited more than 1,000 kids across the country to join him in shooting baskets, and their combined fund-raising yielded more than $35,000 to provide food, clothing, healthcare, shelter and an education to Zambian orphans through World Vision. Austin's current goal is to help build a school in Zambia. "If everyone my age would do something small, we could conquer things beyond our dreams," said Austin.

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

Shruti Bala, 16, of Glendale, a senior at Barry Goldwater High School in Phoenix, developed and coordinated a "Youth LEAD Summit" for more than 100 middle school students to increase awareness of cultural differences and reduce bullying. Shruti, a member of the Governor's Youth Commission and an experienced community volunteer, received a $2,500 grant from the American Red Cross to organize the Summit, which Shruti intends to hold again next year.

Alyssa Bisanz, 17, of Mesa, a senior at Dobson High School, founded a youth volunteer organization called STARS (for "Students Taking Action and Responsibility through Service") when she was 12 years old to undertake volunteer projects at a local hospital. Over the past four years, more than 100 students between the ages of 5 and 18 have participated in STARS activities, benefiting more than 1,000 patients and their families.

Alyssa Goya, 12, of Phoenix, a seventh-grader at Mountain Trail Middle School, has organized a variety of fund-raising activities over the past four years that have collected more than $16,000 to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation grant wishes to terminally ill children. Alyssa also started a Make-A-Wish club at her school, and serves on the executive board of the foundation's Kids for Wish Kids program.

Alan Hoang, 17, of Phoenix, a senior at Mountain Pointe High School, helped revive an American Cancer Society Relay for Life fund-raising event at his school that collected more than $190,000 over two years. Then, as a member of a regional youth task force, Alan produced materials to encourage other young people to get involved in the cause, and helped plan a conference to teach high school and college students how to organize Relay for Life events at their schools.

Smitha Ramakrishna, 15, of Chandler, a sophomore at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, raised $5,400 through three walkathons to provide food and clean water to underprivileged children in India. She also started a local organization to raise awareness of water conservation issues in Arizona.

Kathryn Scheckel, 17, of Scottsdale, a senior at Xavier College Preparatory School in Phoenix, has worked as a volunteer for the Mustang Library and the City of Scottsdale Public Library System since 2001. Among other activities, she has served as president of the Mustang Library's Teen Advisory Group, coordinated the schedules of more than 40 teen volunteers each summer, and directed puppet shows for infants and toddlers at the library.

"People as caring and committed as these young students are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nation," said Arthur Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential. "By recognizing these honorees, we hope to encourage other young people - our future leaders - and all Americans to think more about the value and importance of volunteering in their communities."

"NASSP is pleased to once again join Prudential in recognizing these young people for their amazing accomplishments," remarked Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "This year's honorees are proof that the youth of today are conscientious and capable of performing selfless acts of kindness in their local communities, on a national scale and at the global level."

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. More than 7,500 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's National 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 7 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.

Serving on the national selection committee will be U.S. Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota; Arthur 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; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; Kathryn Forbes, national chair of volunteers, American Red Cross; Joe Militello, president of NASSP; and two 2006 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Ajay Mangal of Pascagoula, Miss., and Geneva Johnson of the Bronx, N.Y.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President's Volunteer Service Awards to more than 4,150 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 represent the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. The program is part of a broad youth-service initiative by Prudential that includes a youth leadership training program administered by the Points of Light Foundation; a free booklet of volunteer ideas for young people offered through the Federal Citizen Information Center; and a Web site featuring profiles of outstanding youth volunteers, volunteer tips and project ideas for students, an electronic newspaper on youth volunteerism, and more (www.prudential.com/spirit). The Spirit of Community Awards program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and is being introduced this year in Ireland.

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.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals -- the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders -- provides its members with 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 sponsors the National Honor Society[TM], the National Junior Honor Society[TM] and the National Association of Student Councils[TM]. For more information on NASSP, NHS, NJHS or NASC, visit www.principals.org.

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 U.S. 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.