Lauren was nominated by St. Mary's Central High School in Bismarck, and Phil was nominated by PRB Homeschool in Thompson. 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 2008 at that time.

Lauren, a junior at St. Mary’s Central High School, has raised $35,000 over the past eight years for an annual Minnesota motorcycle rally supporting pediatric brain tumor research, and last year helped organize a similar rally in North Dakota. Lauren was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 8, and then suffered a stroke during a biopsy procedure and became partially paralyzed. While undergoing treatment and therapy that eventually enabled her to regain most of her abilities, she learned about the Ride for Kids, a motorcycle rally held every summer in Minnesota to raise money for brain tumor research. “I told my mom that I wanted to raise some money to help find a cure,” she said.

Since she doesn’t ride a motorcycle, Lauren opted to support the event by knocking on doors in her area and singing jingles – she wrote a new one every year – asking for donations. When a local motorcycle club heard about Lauren’s jingles, the members invited her to a meeting that resulted in a decision to hold their own motorcycle rally. Lauren participated in all of the planning for the “Dakota Kids Cancer Ride,” and she and her mother took charge of the promotional activities. The ride, held last August, drew 87 bikers and raised $4,700. “I do this because I consider it a miracle to be here, and I need to do my part to make more miracles happen,” said Lauren. “I’ve been given another chance, and I need to make it count.”

Phil, an eighth-grader at PRB Homeschool, has worked to increase enthusiasm for math and science among young people over the past three years by coaching elementary school students for math competitions, and by writing math and science articles for a regional newspaper’s teen page. “To some, math is an endless battle that makes no sense,” said Phil. “I want people to see that math is much more like a soccer match than a battle – there are multiple ways of achieving the same goal, but most importantly, there is excitement in the process!”

Phil, a former state middle-school math champion, serves as a coach and primary organizer for the Math Masters team at his former elementary school. His responsibilities include recruiting team members, preparing weekly problems for them to practice, and coaching them in math contests. Instead of using textbooks, he creates fun and engaging math games and activities to stoke his students’ enthusiasm and improve their skills. Recently, Phil also revitalized a middle-school math club that was in danger of dissolving. In addition, Phil has written more than 20 articles for the teen page of the Grand Forks Herald, most of them about math or science topics. “Through my coaching and writing, I hope to make more people fans of math and problem-solving – skills that are utilized in all fields and aspects of life,” said Phil.

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:

Ashley Hurley, 18, of Harvey, a senior at Harvey High School, has coached a Special Olympics basketball team for the past five years. Ashley, whose sister Chris is a player on the team and Ashley’s inspiration, helps teach basic skills, coordinates schedules, and manages scrimmages and games.

Ashley Knutson, 17, of Fargo, a senior at Fargo South High School, has volunteered for the past two years at a local thrift store whose proceeds benefit a local hospice. In addition, she is a dedicated volunteer at her church, teaching religious classes, running preschool art programs, organizing children’s programs and summer camps, and playing music at Sunday school and worship services.

“Over the past 13 years, we’ve seen an incredible number of young Americans who have selflessly devoted their time and energy to helping others in their communities,” said Arthur F. Ryan, chairman of Prudential Financial. “The volunteer work of this year’s honorees is as inspiring as any we’ve seen, and we are honored to recognize the amazing contributions they’ve made to their neighborhoods, cities and nation.”

“Congratulations to this year’s state winners in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards,” stated Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “The hard work and determination that these students have exhibited in trying to make a difference in the lives of others is remarkable.”

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 4,500 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’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 5 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.

Co-chairing the national selection committee will be U.S. Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and Arthur Ryan of Prudential. Also serving on the committee will be actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth; 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, 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, Maine, and Kelydra Welcker of Parkersburg, W.Va.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President’s Volunteer Service Awards to nearly 2,800 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 represent the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. The program is part of a broad youth-service initiative by Prudential that includes a youth leadership training program administered by the Points of Light & Hands On Network; a free booklet of volunteer ideas for young people offered through the Federal Citizen Information Center; and a Web site featuring profiles of outstanding youth volunteers, volunteer tips and project ideas for students, an electronic newspaper on youth volunteerism, and more (www.prudential.com/spirit). The Spirit of Community Awards 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 www.prudential.com/spirit, or www.principals.org/prudential.

NASSP is the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders. NASSP 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™, the National Junior Honor Society™ and the National Association of Student Councils™.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, 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 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.