Two West Virginia Youth Honored for Volunteerism at National Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Pays Tribute to Young Heroes as Part of Four-Day Recognition Events

WASHINGTON -- Two West Virginia students, Eric Yurko, 16, of Bridgeport and Kelsie Marple, 13, of Salem were honored in the nation's capital last night for their outstanding volunteer work during the presentation of The 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people - along with 100 other top youth volunteers from across the country - received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, at the 13th annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception, held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Eric and Kelsie were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in West Virginia last February. In addition to their cash awards, they received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week's recognition events.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 13 years ago by Prudential Financial, Inc. to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since then, the program has honored more than 80,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.

"Eric and Kelsie are inspiring examples of young Americans who care deeply about the needs of others and who have taken the initiative to help meet those needs," said Prudential Chairman Arthur F. Ryan. "By honoring them, we hope not only to give them the recognition they so richly deserve, but also to inspire others to follow their example."

Eric, a junior at Bridgeport High School and a member of the Harrison County YMCA in Clarksburg, built a new playground at the Harrison County YMCA to replace an unsafe and deteriorating play area. "Not only was the playground in horrible condition," said Eric, "it also was not handicapped accessible, which I learned was now a requirement for the YMCA's day care programs." Eric first had to convince YMCA officials that he could complete such an ambitious project. Then, he mailed nearly 600 letters to individuals and businesses soliciting donations, made presentations to local organizations and government officials, and applied for grants.

Once he had raised $30,000, plus another $15,000 worth of materials and services, he ordered new playground equipment and recruited volunteers to help him remove the old play structures and the ground surface around them. Next, they dug holes, poured concrete, assembled the new equipment, and installed a rubberized surface and new landscaping. The new playground, encompassing two age-appropriate play areas, is not only safer and handicapped accessible, but also is able to accommodate many more children at one time. At the dedication, "I saw how incredibly excited the kids were about the playground, and that made all the hard work, the stress and the tension worthwhile," said Eric.

Kelsie, an eighth-grader at Doddridge County Middle School in West Union, gave up much of her summer vacation last year to serve as a youth volunteer at a six-week educational program for 40 children from rural and low-income communities across West Virginia. "I love to read, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to encourage younger children to read," Kelsie said.

As a youth volunteer, Kelsie read one-on-one to the children, helping them sound out and pronounce words. She also used her artistic talents to show children how to draw different objects, and helped out with other art and writing activities. At breakfast and lunchtime, she set tables, served food, and cleaned up. "My main goal was to have a good time and to make sure the learning process was just as much fun for the kids," Kelsie said. While working in the program, Kelsie also assisted with a walkathon to collect canned goods for a local food pantry and articles of clothing for a local church.

Applications for the 2008 awards program were submitted last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers affiliated with the Points of Light & Hands On Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state and the District of Columbia were announced in February. These 102 State Honorees are in Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.

Ten of the 102 were named America's top ten youth volunteers for 2008 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters today. These National Honorees received additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies for the schools that nominated them, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for charities of their choice. [The ceremony can be viewed at www.prudential.com/spirit.]

The ten National Honorees are:

Kristen Allcorn, 18, of Sedalia, Mo., who founded a soup kitchen that provides a hot evening meal five days a week, serving needy residents at tables as if they were eating in a restaurant. Called The Community Cafe, Kristen's kitchen has served more than 12,000 meals since December 2006.

Kristin Brandt, 17, of Lock Haven, Pa., who rallied her school and community to help her build a two-bedroom modular home on her school grounds. After 16 months of fund-raising and construction, the house was hauled 1,200 miles to Mississippi, where it was presented to an 80-year-old woman who had lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.

Bria Brown, 13, of Miami Gardens, Fla., a five-year cancer survivor who recruited friends, classmates and her Girl Scout troop to help her conduct a drive in her community to collect teddy bears, which she personalizes and delivers to other young cancer patients to bring them hope and encouragement.

Shanna Decker, 17, of Plainview, Minn., who has made more than 600 visits to young cancer patients over the past nine years to give them hope and inspire them with her own cancer experience, which resulted in a leg amputation. She also is a frequent speaker at events across the country, and has participated in activities that have raised more than $120,000 for sick and disadvantaged kids.

Talia Leman, 13, of Waukee, Iowa, who started an organization called "RandomKid" that seeks to educate, motivate and unify young people around the world to work on a broad spectrum of pressing needs. Her projects have raised money for hurricane victims, helped build a school in Cambodia, and provided clean water in Africa.

Jenna Machado, 17, of Boulder, Colo., who founded a nonprofit organization to increase awareness about depression and suicide prevention, after a cousin took her own life. Jenna has delivered community presentations on the warning signs of depression and suicide, conducted an education program in middle and high schools, and raised money to provide treatment sessions for at-risk teens.

Riley Miller, 14, of Bowling Green, Ky., who has organized an annual citywide day of lemonade sales for the past three years to raise money for childhood cancer research, after losing two little brothers to leukemia. Last year, Riley managed 200 volunteers and 29 lemonade stands, collecting more than $19,000 and bringing her three-year total to $50,000.

Kaylee Marie Radzyminski, 16, of Cleveland, Tenn., who collects CDs and DVDs and sends them out every week to American soldiers serving in combat zones. More than 200 organizations across the country have joined her "Tunes 4 the Troops" campaign, and over 170,000 discs have been shipped to boost the morale of U.S. troops overseas.

Mark Rinkel, 12, of Aurora, Colo., who raised more than $16,000 to provide medical service dogs for his little brother and other children suffering from type I diabetes. To raise the money, he operated a lemonade stand at community events last summer, and built a Web site to solicit donations.

Joey Rizzolo, 13, of Paramus, N.J., who organized a "Freedom Walk" last September that drew more than 450 local residents to join in remembering the lives lost on 9/11, including many in his own town. Joey's event also was dedicated to thanking first responders, U.S. service members and veterans for saving lives and protecting our freedom.

The national selection committee that chose the ten National Honorees was co-chaired by U.S. Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and Arthur Ryan of Prudential. Also serving on the committee were actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of the America's Promise Alliance; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light & Hands On Network; 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; Kathryn Forbes, national chair of volunteers, American Red Cross; Neil Nicoll, president and CEO of YMCA of the USA; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; Barry Stark, president of NASSP; and two 2007 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Kelly Davis of West Bath, Me., and Kelydra Welcker of Parkersburg, W.Va.

NASSP President Barry Stark said: "The young people in this country are capable of doing some extraordinary things given the time and the opportunity. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is one of the great showcases of their amazing acts of kindness and selflessness. We are pleased to once again join Prudential in honoring them for their accomplishments."

In addition to the organizations above, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards are supported by the American Association of School Administrators, the National Middle School Association, the National School Boards Association, the Council of the Great City Schools, the National School Public Relations Association and many other national youth and service organizations.

More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year's honorees can be found at 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], the National Elementary Honor Society[TM], and the National Association of Student Councils[TM]. For more information on NASSP, NHS, NJHS, NEHS or NASC, visit www.principals.org.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $631 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2008, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping more than 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company's well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit www.prudential.com.

[Editors: full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallions are available at www.prudential.com/spirit.]