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

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ana Baracaldo, 18, of Converse and Raven Peterson, 11, of Carmel today were named Indiana'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).

Ana was nominated by Oak Hill High School in Converse, and Raven was nominated by Creekside Middle School in Carmel. 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.

Ana, a senior at Oak Hill High School, conducted a collection drive to provide Spanish-language books to children at a needy school in her native country of Colombia. Ana founded "Books for Peace" after discovering that many children in rural areas of Colombia only go to school through eighth grade, that illiteracy rates are shockingly high there, and that young people often end up working in coca fields because of a lack of education. "Having a love for books myself, I felt that the Spanish books could help students educate themselves," she said. "My goal was to give the children a chance to dream by way of reading, and allow them to say no to cocaine farming."

With support from her parents, Ana created a brochure, spoke at churches and Rotary Clubs, gave interviews to the news media, wrote to publishers for book donations, and solicited funds from companies, community groups and friends. After collecting more than $3,000 worth of books and $2,000 in cash for packing and shipping costs, Ana contacted the Colombian Ministry of Education to find a school that needed a library. "I gave more than just books to those children," she said. "I gave them the chance to escape reality when needed, the opportunity to dream, and a moment of happiness."

Raven, a sixth-grader at Creekside Middle School, tutors homeless children and collects books, school supplies and funds for the national School on Wheels organization. "I am motivated to volunteer because I know how important school is to me and I want everyone to be able to get educated whether they are homeless or not," Raven said. She learned about Schools on Wheels from a television program, and after researching the organization on the Internet, she contacted program officials and was soon training to tutor kids each week at a homeless shelter in downtown Indianapolis. "I help the homeless students with their homework," she said. "When they don't have homework, I help them with numbers, math and writing."

Raven also solicited donations of books, school supplies and funds by creating and distributing flyers, presenting a speech to her class, and then setting up decorated boxes and piggy banks for donations. Then she recruited volunteers to help collect and deliver the donations to School on Wheels. When her family lost most of their possessions in a fire, Raven realized how important her project was. "I finally began to understand what some people go through every day after this sudden tragedy."

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

Kellie Conrad, 18, of Indianapolis, a senior at Cathedral High School, helped her mother organize a summer art camp for disadvantaged children in inner-city Indianapolis. Then, as "Art with a Heart" grew to include after-school and Saturday classes throughout the year, Kellie founded a student board of directors to recruit and manage teenage volunteers for the program.

Brittany Cook, 18, of Bourbon, a member of the Marshall County Chapter of the American Red Cross in Plymouth and a senior at Triton High School in Bourbon, implemented an emergency preparedness program for local second-grade students. Brittany raised money to buy and assemble emergency kits, designed a skit and presentation to illustrate the importance of emergency planning, and delivered the presentation and kits to more than 80 second-graders.

Savannah Holderman, 16, of Mishawaka, a home-schooled sophomore, has volunteered for the Multiple Sclerosis Society for the past 10 years. She has raised thousands of dollars for research and local programming by participating in the society's annual walkathon, and increased public awareness of MS through presentations to schools, community groups and health fairs.

Amber Lafever, 16, of Indianapolis, a junior at Warren Central High School, created and leads the "Red-Head Helpers," a teen volunteer group that collects donations of food, clothing, medicine and personal health items for disadvantaged people in inner-city Indianapolis. Amber distributes her collections through the Good News Ministry Mission, and also helps raise public awareness of the needs of the poor by speaking to local groups.

Claudia Montes, 17, of Indianapolis, a senior at Northwest High School, leads a school organization that provides bilingual information and assistance to immigrant students at her high school in an attempt to encourage them to a pursue post-secondary education. Claudia recruits members, organizes meetings and cultural activities, gathers and distributes information, and tutors and mentors students needing assistance.

Gautham Vaidyanathan, 16, of Granger, a junior at Penn High School in Mishawaka, established an organization called "Lean On Me" that collects donations of money, clothing, toys and medical and school supplies for sick and needy children around the world. Gautham has raised $10,000 for tsunami victims in Asia, sent $5,000 and 100 boxes of school supplies to orphanages in India, and collected more than 1,000 stuffed toys for hospitalized children in Indiana and young victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"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.