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West Virginia's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 16th Annual National Awards Program

Lauren was nominated by Point Pleasant High School in Point Pleasant, and Kambria was nominated by C.W. Shipley Elementary School in Harpers Ferry. 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 2011 at that time.

Lauren, a junior at Point Pleasant High School, has been working passionately to prevent or cure cancer for many years, recruiting bone marrow donors, participating in fund-raising events, making speeches to promote awareness, and sharing her own struggle with melanoma. Lauren first became interested in cancer when her city's mayor's baby was diagnosed and needed a bone marrow transplant. "My mother and I wanted to help," she said. "We knew how difficult it was to have a sick baby because my brother was born with hydrocephalus and had brain surgery when he was a year old." Together, they organized a bone marrow drive at their church that resulted in a hundred people adding their names to the marrow registry. Soon afterwards, a good friend of Lauren's mother died of cancer, which added to Lauren's determination to fight the disease.

She began participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life events, eventually becoming assistant captain of a team that has raised more than $86,000, and a chairperson on the county planning committee. She researched what is done with the money raised by Relay for Life, and built a speech around her findings. Lauren also speaks throughout her state to promote bone marrow registration, and to warn young people about melanoma, a skin cancer that she was diagnosed with in 2009, which necessitated several surgeries. In addition, Lauren actively participates in other events that raise cancer funds and awareness, and utilizes her position on the state's Church of God Student Leadership Team to make sure others think about preventing and fighting cancer. "I want to impact as many lives as possible," said Lauren. "Nobody should have to deal with cancer."

Kambria, a fifth-grader at C.W. Shipley Elementary School, loves to help out around her community wherever she sees a need, and has a lengthy resume of volunteer activities to prove it. For example, she contacts local charities every month to find out what they might need, and then uses social-networking sites and e-mail to give friends and neighbors the opportunity to donate. After going through her neighborhood with a big box to collect donations, she uses her own allowance money to buy additional items that are needed. In the past, she has collected canned and other non-perishable food, clothing, toothbrushes and other personal care items, and blankets and pet food for a local animal shelter.

"I love to jump in and help where I see a need," said Kambria. "The feeling I receive when I can make one person's day a little better is so rewarding." Other examples: she helps a single mother with her two kids so that she can study, and plays with a special-needs girl next door so her mother can rest. In addition, Kambria has assisted with a "healthy choices" campaign at her school. "By showing love and compassion to the people in my community, I feel like I encourage others around me to do the same," she said.

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:

Tori Boggs, 18, of Vienna, a senior at Parkersburg High School, founded "Jump Company USA," a non-profit demonstration and competitive coed jumprope team with members ranging from 7 to 22 years old. Tori founded Jump Company USA in 2006 to give kids a chance to work on personal fitness, develop their skills in a competitive environment, and just have fun.

Chelsea Hessler, 18, of Berkeley Springs, a member of the Morgan County 4-H and a senior at Berkeley Springs High School, has founded the "Miss Morgan County Scholarship Program" for girls in grades K-12 to benefit Morgan County Senior Life Services. The program, which has raised $1,200 to support outreach calls to senior citizens, aims to build self-esteem, public speaking ability, and personal development for young girls.

"These award recipients have proven that young people across America are critical to the future of our neighborhoods, our nation, and our world," said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. "Each and every one of these honorees deserve our respect and admiration, and we hope by shining a light on them, they will continue to serve as an example for others."

"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. More than 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 2 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 John Strangfeld of Prudential; Jana Frieler, 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 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Shannon McNamara of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Benjamin Sater of Plano, Texas.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President's Volunteer Service Awards to more than 2,800 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of President Barack 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 95,000 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 Jimmy Carter, Barbara Bush, Magic Johnson, John Glenn, Madeleine Albright, Rudy Giuliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Colin Powell, Peyton Manning, Laura Bush, and Condoleezza Rice. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland and India.

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

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.nassp.org or call 703-860-0200.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/

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

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