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

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- McKay Yancey, 18, and Sarah Kurzu, 13, both of St. Louis, today were named Missouri'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).

McKay was nominated by Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, and Sarah was nominated by Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School in St. Louis. 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.

McKay, a senior at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, commissioned the manufacture of gray silicone bracelets reading "Diabetes - Hoping for a Cure" and then sold them on the Internet, raising more than $25,000 for diabetes research. When McKay was asked to take part in a diabetes walk a few years ago, she wanted to help, since she and her brother are both diabetics. But "it didn't seem right asking people for money just because someone walked," said McKay. So she began looking for another way to contribute to the cause.

Thinking about the popularity of champion cyclist Lance Armstrong's yellow bracelets, McKay decided that she could sell bracelets, too - only hers would be gray to symbolize the gloom of diabetes and the hope for a cure. She designed specifications and a motto for her bracelet, and then asked several manufacturers for bids to produce it. To pay for the initial order, McKay used some of her savings and the money set aside to send her brothers to summer camp (she had persuaded them not to go). Finally, she developed a Web site (www.diabetesbracelet.com) to promote her product and take orders. People from as far away as Norway and Australia have been among her customers. "This project has shown me that this disease doesn't just affect the lives of people in my house, it is all over the world," McKay said.

Sarah, a seventh-grader at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, has raised nearly $2,500 by making and selling "angel" earrings in order to buy toys for children in the hospital. Sarah began her project in August 2004 after meeting a young girl who was waiting for a heart transplant at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "When I visited her, I was struck by how much even little things like a stuffed animal would cheer her up," said Sarah. "I thought that it would be great if every child in the hospital could have toys to play with."

Having just learned how to make jewelry at camp, Sarah decided to make earrings. She visited jewelry stores to get ideas for a design, used babysitting and birthday money to purchase the supplies, and then began making her earrings by hand every afternoon and weekend after completing her school homework. The earrings, in the shape of a guardian angel who watches over sick children, were sold at craft fairs and a local jewelry store, and the proceeds were used to buy toys for the play area and waiting rooms at Children's Hospital. Since then, Sarah's entire seventh-grade class has begun helping her sell her earrings.

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

Jonathan Arnold, 17, of Gallatin, a junior at Gallatin R-V High School, led a project to restore a Civil War cannon and establish a Veterans Walk of Honor for Daviess County. Jonathan helped raise more than $30,000 to fund the project, supervised the work of 100 volunteers, designed the Walk of Honor, and coordinated the dedication ceremony.

Leanna Baumer, 18, of Hartville, a member of the University of Missouri Extension 4-H and a home-schooled senior, is working to increase the voice and involvement of young people on University of Missouri county extension councils throughout the state. Among her other activities, Leanna has helped to conduct three youth focus groups and is training youth in youth/adult partnerships.

Ashley Kelsey, 18, of Hermann, a member of the Girl Scouts-Heart of Missouri Council in Jefferson City and a senior at Hermann High School, personally sewed 60 tote bags, filled them with personal care items, and then donated them to troubled girls living at Missouri Girls' Town. Ashley obtained material for her bags and the items to put inside them by contacting local businesses for donations.

Julia Rubin, 18, of St. Louis, a senior at Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield, has spent the past three years chairing her school's chapter of Ready Readers, a Missouri volunteer tutor program that arranges for young adults to read to at-risk preschool children to promote literacy. In addition to volunteering as a reader herself, Julia coordinated a collection drive that yielded 600 books for the program, and was recently named the Ready Readers Volunteer of the Year.

Julia Shuck, 18, of Perry, a member of the Monroe County 4-H in Paris and a senior at Mark Twain High School in Center, has led a 4-H Clover Kids club for the past five years in a variety of meetings and activities. Julia offered to take over when there was no adult leader, and has since led a group of elementary students in craft-making, food preparation, community service projects, and other activities.

Tessa Vellek, 12, of Columbia, a sixth-grader at Columbia Independent School, created a non-profit organization to collect books, clothing, toys, food and toiletries for schools, libraries, shelters and those affected by disasters. Among the numerous events she has organized, Tessa coordinated a walk/ride event that raised $140,000 to benefit 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.