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Former First Lady Laura Bush congratulates Riley Carney, 16, of Englewood (center) and Ethan Widoff, 12, of Greenwood Village (right) on being named the top two youth volunteers in Colorado for 2009 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Riley and Ethan were honored at a ceremony Sunday night, May 3, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where they each received a $1,000 award. (Photo: Business Wire)

Riley and Ethan were named the top high school and middle level youth volunteers in Colorado 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.

"The young people receiving these awards genuinely care about making a difference in the lives of others and have accomplished so much - in their own communities and around the world," said Mrs. Bush, who delivered the keynote address at last night's ceremony. "I thank and congratulate them for their outstanding volunteer work. Students with this kind of commitment and leadership ability are essential to the future of our nation."

Riley, a home-schooled 10^th-grader, raised nearly $60,000 to build schools and water purification systems in two African villages, and created a literacy center for children at a local women's shelter. The projects were part of Riley's "Breaking the Chain" program, which she launched in 2007 to combat childhood poverty and illiteracy. "I believe that the best way to break the chain of poverty and exploitation of children is through education, and that the most important thing we can do to help children take control of their own lives is to provide them with the ability to read," she said.

After reading extensively about child labor, poverty, and illiteracy around the world, Riley began raising money by soliciting donations through a website (www.linkbylink.org) and a letter-writing campaign. She also sold self-designed T-shirts, produced a video, and conducted a "jeans-day" fund-raiser at her school. The money she raised went to the Free the Children organization so that schools and water purification systems could be constructed for villages in Kenya and Sierra Leone. Her donations also provided medical supplies and income-producing items such as sewing machines and goats for the villages.

Closer to home, Riley used her dog- and baby-sitting earnings and conducted a book drive to set up a children's literacy center at a women's shelter, complete with furniture, games, toys, art and craft supplies, and books. She also purchased more than 850 new books for a state program that provides books to disadvantaged children, devoted many weekend and summer hours to an education program for high-potential, low-income middle school students, and helped with a children's program at a public library, all with the goal of increasing children's literacy.

Ethan, an eighth-grader at Campus Middle School, supports a variety of charitable causes by devoting his birthday parties to volunteer service rather than gifts and games. "Although I'm not the president of the United States or Bill Gates, the birthday parties make me feel I have made a difference in the world at a young age," he said.

Ethan's first charity birthday party honored his cousin, who suffers from epilepsy. With his parents' help, Ethan organized a golf tournament and raised more than $3,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation. On subsequent birthdays, Ethan and his friends have served dinner to homeless people and provided babysitting for their children, raised funds for the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center in Denver, and participated in a 5K fund-raising run/walk for the National Sports Center for the Disabled. Several of Ethan's friends now host their own service birthday parties. "I continue to look for charities that will help make the world a stronger and safer place," said Ethan.

"Riley and Ethan 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 John R. Strangfeld, Chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. "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."

Nearly 20,000 young people submitted applications for the 2009 awards program last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the Points of Light Institute's HandsOn Network. The top middle level and high school applicants in each state were selected in February, and were flown to Washington this week with their parents for four days of special recognition events.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were created 14 years ago by Prudential Financial, Inc. to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since then, the program has honored nearly 90,000 young volunteers at the local, state and national level.

"The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is a fabulous partnership between NASSP and Prudential, allowing us to recognize the outstanding young people in our schools and communities," said NASSP President Larry Bradley. "This year's honorees exemplify the true spirit of helping others and by doing so they give America and the world a promising future, a future filled with compassion and hope."

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, Girl Scouts of the USA, National 4-H Council, the American Red Cross, YMCA of the USA, the Points of Light Institute, and other national education and service organizations.

More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and this year's honorees can be found at http://spirit.prudential.com or www.principals.org/prudential.

In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45 countries around the world. NASSP's mission is to promote excellence in school leadership. The National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society , and National Association of Student Councils are all NASSP programs. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, Va., visit www.principals.org or call 703-860-0200.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) is a financial services leader with 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 approximately 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, visit www.news.prudential.com.

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

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5954196&lang=en

Prudential
Harold Banks, 973-802-8974 or 973-216-4833
On May 4, 8:30 am - 4 pm EDT: 202-955-1155 or -1166