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

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

Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota to co-chair National Selection Committee that will name America's top 10 youth volunteers in May

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Bridget Alldritt, 17, of Chisago City and Robert Rasmussen, 13, of Hutchinson today were named Minnesota'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).

Bridget was nominated by Chisago Lakes High School in Lindstrom, and Robert was nominated by Hutchinson Middle School in Hutchinson. 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.

Bridget, a senior at Chisago Lakes High School, is the co-founder of an annual summer camp for children stricken with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, and is an active ambassador for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). Bridget has suffered from chronic ulcerative colitis since she was 9 years old, and has endured more than 30 hospitalizations, six surgeries, countless medications, dietary restrictions, and a lot of missed school time. "After attending Bible Camp one summer and having to leave after one night because of lack of medical support and knowledge of my disease by the staff, I was very upset and thought I would never be able to attend camp and have fun like healthy kids," she said.

As a result, six years ago Bridget and her mother developed a six-day, all-volunteer summer camp that gives young colitis and Crohn's patients in the upper Midwest the chance to have medically supervised fun at a relatively low cost. The camp, said Bridget, is "the one thing that this stupid disease has done that is positive!" With support from CCFA, Bridget and her mother also created their area's first support group for afflicted kids and their parents. In addition, Bridget manages an annual "bowl-a-thon" that has raised nearly $50,000 for CCFA, and speaks at pediatric conferences and charity events on behalf of the foundation. "I am dedicated to easing the pain and suffering of as many children living with these diseases as possible," she said.

Robert, a seventh-grader at Hutchinson Middle School, made more than 600 cement markers to place at the graves of all U.S. veterans in a local cemetery, providing a permanent memorial to their sacrifice. Robert came up with the idea while attending his town's Memorial Day service last spring. "I learned that they recognized veterans by putting a flag on their graves during Memorial Day weekend," he said. "The following day the flags came down and the recognition was over, and I wondered why we don't have a better way of honoring and remembering veterans the rest of the year."

Robert contacted numerous organizations and businesses for support - and he got plenty of it. The American Legion donated copper stars, a local cement company provided cement, and a hardware store supplied wood and screws to make molds. With the help of a family member, Robert made the 30-pound markers, transported them to the cemetery, dug holes for them, and laid them in the ground at the gravesites of all veterans in the cemetery, some of whom served in the Civil War. "I feel it's important to remember the legacy of our veterans," he said. "The freedom they fought for is the freedom we enjoy today."

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

KayCee Bosek, 18, of Garfield, a member of the Douglas County 4-H in Alexandria and a senior at Brandon High School in Brandon, helped lead a local effort to sew adaptive clothing for injured American soldiers returning from the war in Iraq. Working in conjunction with a national organization, "Sew Much Comfort," KayCee mobilized 4-H members to sew 200 boxer shorts, 100 T-shirts, 100 shorts and other articles of clothing, which they delivered to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Cadorette, 17, of Shoreview, a senior at Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, created a volunteer organization in 2003 to provide for the needy in her community and abroad. Sarah's "Teens of Heart" group has raised $1,000 to help build a school in China, collected 700 pounds of food for food pantries and victims of Hurricane Katrina, conducted community drives that provided holiday toys to local children and school supplies to orphans in Tanzania and Afghanistan, raised money for AIDS research and prevention, and cleaned up local parks.

Daniel Crichton, 18, of Eden Prairie, a senior at Eden Prairie High School, designed and programmed a Web site for the Eden Prairie Boys Basketball Association, and has maintained and continually updated the site over the past three years. Daniel's work saved the organization thousands of dollars in Web design fees.

Maya Suresh, 17, of Vadnais Heights, a senior at Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, raised $1,000 and collected hundreds of school supplies, articles of clothing, toiletries and other items for an orphanage and nursing home in India. In addition to personally delivering the items, Maya also volunteered at the orphanage, where she taught children spoken English and traditional Indian dance. She is currently raising funds for a new building for the orphanage.

Kyla Tripp, 17, of Maple Grove, a member of the Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis in Brooklyn Center and a senior at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, planted a wildflower garden at the Eastman Nature Center of the Minnesota Three Rivers Park District. Kyla, a nature lover, also designed two costumes for youth education programs that show how animals and insects adapt to their environments.

Katie White, 18, of Rochester, a senior at Mayo High School, served as co-leader of her school's "Operation Hometown Gratitude," a project that sent more than 1,000 care packages to American soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Katie has spent as much as 30 hours a week over the past year and a half shopping, promoting, fund-raising, packing and shipping the care packages.

"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.

"It is gratifying to see these young Minnesotans being honored for their volunteer work," said Senator Coleman. "It's an honor for me to serve as co-chair of the national selection committee, and it is wonderful to see so many outstanding young individuals willing to give their time and energy for something that will benefit their neighborhoods and communities. Whether they're helping our brave soldiers or the less fortunate in their communities, these students embody the true spirit of volunteerism and leadership that makes all Minnesotans proud."

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.