West Virginia's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 11th Annual National Awards Program; Huntington and Fairmont Students Earn $1,000 Awards, Engraved Medallions and Trip to Nation's Capital.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Honors Also Bestowed on Other Top Youth Volunteers in West Virginia 

Erin Lavery, 17, of Huntington and Jacob Hixenbaugh, 15, of Fairmont today were named West Virginia'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).

Erin was nominated by Huntington High School in Huntington, and Jacob was nominated by Barrackville Middle School in Barrackville. 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.

Erin, a senior at Huntington High School, organized a monthlong nutrition and physical fitness education program that included the use of pedometers by all 1,600 students and faculty at her school. As an athlete and lifelong volunteer, Erin wanted to help classmates and staff members develop a commitment to healthy eating habits and physical activity. "Recent health statistics show that the prevalence of obesity in West Virginia is among the highest in the nation," she noted. "I wanted to take a proactive stand to do something about this."

Erin had heard about a small pilot program using pedometers at a nearby school, and thought that idea could form the nucleus of a comprehensive health education program for her entire school. She developed handouts and a video to introduce her program, and then recruited student volunteers to help her distribute pedometers donated by the county health department to all students and teachers, along with sheets for them to record the number of steps taken each week. To encourage participation, Erin publicized the program through school and community media, and awarded random prizes for turning in completed record sheets. She also hung 252 large posters of nutrition and fitness information all over the school, and arranged for taste tests and fitness demonstrations during lunch. After she had collected and analyzed her data, Erin found that 35 percent of the participants had increased their activity level, and 62 percent said they were more motivated to live a healthier lifestyle.

Jacob, an eighth-grader at Barrackville Middle School in Barrackville, makes and distributes pillows to provide comfort to sick children and elderly nursing-home residents. Jacob, a long-time 4-Her, has accompanied his older brother on many visits to cheer up kids in hospitals and senior citizens in nursing homes. "I wanted to be able to have something to give the patients when we visit them," he said. So he asked his mother to teach him to sew, and began making colorful pillows that he calls "pillow pals."

Jacob raised funds for supplies by organizing a basketball shoot-out and selling tickets at school to see his principal kiss a live pig. He then purchased materials and recruited several other 4-Hers to help sew, stuff and deliver the pillows to hospitalized children and seniors living at a community home. Jacob also has made pillows for Ronald McDonald House residents and young victims of Hurricane Katrina. "I love making other people happy," said Jacob, "and with the help of my pillows I am able to give comfort and security."

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

Russell Hixenbaugh, 16, of Fairmont, a junior at North Marion High School in Farmington, conducts a wide variety of community service activities within a club he calls "Operation H.O.P.E." (for "Helping Out People Everywhere"). Russell and other club volunteers have raised money to fight cancer, muscular dystrophy and diabetes; helped construct houses for Habitat for Humanity; collected stuffed animals for hospitalized children; and taken part in many other volunteer projects.

Paul Zuros, 18, of Weirton, a senior at Weir High School, conducted a project to sort, index and repackage 25,000 photo negatives from the archives of the Weirton Steel Employee Bulletin to preserve important historical images and information about his community's past. With funding from the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center, Paul purchased preservation supplies, recruited and trained 28 volunteers, and supervised 33 work sessions to organize the negatives and package them in acid-free sleeves and storage boxes.

"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.