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North Dakota's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 15th Annual National Awards Program

Kayla was nominated by Washburn High School in Washburn, and Chase was nominated by North Central Public School #28 in Rock Lake. 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 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 2010 at that time.

Kayla, a senior at Washburn High School, launched a ministry called "Make a Change" that produces concerts featuring live music and inspirational talks to help steer teens away from destructive behavior. "When I was 13, I lost a best friend to suicide," said Kayla, who suffered from her own depression and thoughts of suicide following the tragedy. Afterwards, "I realized how many people are silently going through almost the exact same thing, and I wanted to be there for them," she said.

So, four years ago, Kayla created a "Make a Change" site on her MySpace page and started reaching out to kids in need of someone to talk to. As the responses grew, Kayla enlisted friends to help counsel her online acquaintances and then to begin hosting concerts with live bands and motivational speakers in Bismarck and other cities. Kayla and her fellow volunteers now put on one or two concerts a month, and donate the proceeds from ticket sales to ministries around the world that inspire them. They also continue to mentor and counsel kids who struggle with drugs, alcohol, self-abuse, and other issues. "Becoming the change you want to see in the world is one of the most rewarding things," said Kayla.

Chase, a home-schooled eighth-grader, has been volunteering to clean and maintain his small town's swimming pool for the past four years to help keep the town alive in the face of a dwindling population. Chase's town has lost 80 percent of its population over the past 20 years, and when its park board decided in 2005 to close the pool due to a lack of funds and volunteers, Chase's mother agreed to manage it. "I knew she needed my help to make this work," said Chase. "As a child, I used the pool a lot, and I thought it would be important to keep the pool running so other kids would have the pool, too."

Each spring, Chase helps clean, scrape, and paint the pool. Every day during the summer, he sweeps the bottom and skims leaves, garbage, and bugs off the top, and then covers it to conserve heat. He also helps conduct lessons for beginning swimmers. At the end of the season, he winterizes the pool by draining lines and storing solar panels and pool toys. In addition, he works as a waiter at an annual pool fund-raiser. The swimming pool is now self-sufficient and is continuing to serve as an important recreational gathering place for families and young people. "By keeping the pool running, we have proven that small towns don't have to die," said Chase.

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

Taylor Payer, 17, of St. John, a junior at Turtle Mountain Community High School in Belcourt, organized a community service club at her school dedicated to tackling one significant volunteer project a month throughout the school year. So far, Taylor and the club's 20 members have hosted a bake sale and raffle to support breast cancer awareness, and participated in a "Pay it Forward" youth service tour.

Rebecca Power, 17, of Bismarck, a senior at Bismarck High School, is an active member of a local service group called "Make a Change," which hosts concerts and motivational presentations to discourage kids from destructive behavior. Rebecca, who helps plan the monthly events, also serves as a counselor and makes herself available to other teens needing help to overcome difficulties.

"People as caring and committed as these young students are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nation," said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. "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."

"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 these student leaders because 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 affiliates of HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. Nearly 5,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which 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 3 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 Strangfeld of Prudential; Steven Pophal, president of NASSP; Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of the Points of Light Institute & Hands On Network; Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of the America's Promise Alliance; Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council; Pamela Farr, the American Red Cross' national chair of volunteers; Elson Nash, associate director for project management at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Michael Cohen, president and CEO of Achieve, Inc.; and two 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shardy Camargo of Orlando, Fla., and Colin Leslie of Rye, N.Y.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will distribute President's Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President Obama. 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. Since the program began in 1995, more than 90,000 young volunteers nationwide have been honored at the local, state or national level. Many prominent public figures have assisted in saluting these honorees over the years, including President Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and Laura Bush. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Ireland.

For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit spirit.prudential.com.

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. In the United States, the company's 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.news.prudential.com.

Editors: Graphics depicting the award program's logo and medallions may be downloaded from spirit.prudential.com.

Prudential
Harold Banks
973-802-8974 (office)
973-216-4833 (cell)
harold.banks@prudential.com