Colorado's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 11th Annual National Awards Program.

DENVER -- Prudential Financial:

Monte Vista and Estes Park Students Earn $1,000 Awards, Engraved Medallions and Trip to Nation's Capital

Honors Also Bestowed on Other Top Youth Volunteers in Colorado

Cameron Mansanarez, 18, of Monte Vista and Lindsey Marquez, 10, of Estes Park today were named Colorado'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).

Cameron was nominated by Monte Vista High School in Monte Vista, and Lindsey was nominated by Girl Scouts Mountain Prairie Council in Fort Collins. 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.

Cameron, a senior at Monte Vista High School, played a leading role in the creation of a statewide student council community service project dedicated to helping disadvantaged children, called "Caring for Colorado's Children." As a state student council representative in his junior year, "I wanted to begin a project in Colorado that could be carried out in the future, would make an impact on a large number of people, and would have high participation," he explained. He began working with the state student council president to involve schools across the state in a broad campaign to collect money, food and other items for needy children, and to provide volunteer labor for projects benefiting children. In the end, the project yielded more than $70,000, 368,000 pounds of food, thousands of volunteer hours, and many other contributions. As part of the effort, Cameron also recruited students at his school to collect children's books and then deliver and read them to local elementary school students.

Cameron, who is now Colorado's state student council president, plans to make "Caring for Colorado's Children" a project that can be passed down to future state presidents, with greater results each year. The project also received national attention at the 2005 National Association of Student Councils Conference, and has inspired similar projects in several other states. "More than anything, the feeling that I was in some way a help to a child in the state or my community is the most rewarding thing from this project," said Cameron.

Lindsey, a member of the Girl Scouts Mountain Prairie Council in Fort Collins and a fifth-grader at Estes Park Intermediate School, put together "Blizzard Boxes" last winter to provide elderly shut-ins with nonperishable food, water, and snacks when bad weather prevented deliveries from the local Meals on Wheels program. "This idea came up because I live in a mountain town that can get a lot of snow," Lindsey explained. "People who received the boxes would not have to worry about eating if the roads were bad and Meals on Wheels drivers couldn't get there."

Working with the director of a local senior center, Lindsey compiled a list of items to include in the boxes, wrote letters and e-mails soliciting donations from local groups, collected boxes from local shoe stores, and then went shopping. After packaging her Blizzard Boxes, she delivered them to the senior center for distribution during the next Meals on Wheels delivery. "It made me feel good to have completed such a wonderful project," Lindsey said. "I learned how much fun volunteering can be and how good it makes you feel knowing you are helping other people."

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

Genevieve Aguilar, 17, of Boulder, a senior at Boulder High School, tutors, mentors and encourages Hispanic students to achieve success in school. Genevieve teaches middle and high school students organizational and study skills while also encouraging them to take part in school leadership opportunities and community service projects.

Alyssa Allende Motz, 17, of Highlands Ranch, a senior at Thunder Ridge High School, created and leads a teen volunteer service club at her high school. After obtaining permission from school officials, Alyssa publicized her club, recruited other teen volunteers, developed a list of local service opportunities, organized and assigned volunteer groups to specific jobs, and participated in many different projects herself.

Sophia Ernst, 18, of Denver, a senior at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, leads a group of student and community volunteers who create and deliver handmade greeting cards to nursing home residents. Sophia coordinates the project with nursing home supervisors, recruits and organizes volunteers, leads card-making activities, and then schedules short visits to the seniors receiving her cheerful "Forget-Me-Not" messages.

Natalie Martin, 18, of Colorado Springs, a senior at Manitou Springs High School in Manitou Springs, is the student coordinator for the Manitou Springs Elementary School-Children's Literacy Center. Natalie recruits, trains and organizes student volunteers to serve as reading tutors at the center; arranges all of the materials and games used in the tutoring program; models lessons; schedules lessons for every student needing help; and works as a tutor herself.

"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.