Diedre was nominated by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System in Mobile, and Jake was nominated by Highlands School in Birmingham. 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.

Diedre, a junior at Murphy High School, produced and starred in a dance benefit entitled “IMAGINE Me: Image in Me” to raise awareness among teenage girls about body image and self-esteem. “This project was born after I encountered a negative experience as a ballerina of color and was denied an opportunity to perform a ‘pointe’ role because of my ‘body type,’” said Diedre. When other girls with the same body type, but different skin color, were cast in pointe roles, Diedre decided to stage her own production and send a message that “regardless of how you look and what people say, be who you are and be the best ‘you’ possible,” she said. “What an exciting way to overcome my personal pain by channeling it into something positive.”

Diedre secured a venue for the event, recruited 28 African-American dancers, selected costumes, and choreographed a program that included ballet, jazz, pointe and African dance. She then scheduled months of rehearsals; promoted the production with flyers, brochures, mailings, and an article in a local newspaper; and prepared a PowerPoint presentation based on research into girls’ body image and self-esteem. More than 300 people attended Deidre’s benefit, which raised over $2,000 to support a local YWCA chapter and to provide scholarships to a nonprofit dance studio. “When I began, I was hurting, and doubting my self-worth and value. The fact that I contributed to a positive message about myself and girls who look like me made me feel even more proud,” said Diedre.

Jake, a seventh-grader at Highlands School, has volunteered for the past three summers at Mitchell’s Place, a summer school for children with special needs. “I have two brothers who are autistic, and one of them goes to summer school at Mitchell’s Place,” said Jake. “After seeing how disadvantaged my brothers are, I began to think: How could I help?” Then he heard that teachers at the school were looking for volunteers. “I figured that if they needed help, I would give it to them,” Jake said.

Initially, the teachers gave Jake simple assignments such as handing out snacks. But Jake wanted to do more, and soon was spending eight hours each day helping the children paint, draw, read, participate in sports and playground activities, play musical instruments, and do math. Jake even recruited some of his friends to volunteer. “What I got out of my work was a greater ability to help special-needs children excel. I learned that no matter how hard something is, you can do it – no matter what,” said Jake, who is looking forward to volunteering at Mitchell’s Place again next summer.

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

Grant Atkinson, 16, of Alabaster, a sophomore at Thompson High School, is raising money to erect a bronze statue to honor Civilian Conservation Corps workers who developed state parks and public lands in Alabama. When completed, the statue will be placed at the highest point in Alabama, in Cheaha State Park.

Julie McCall, 18, of Pelham, a senior at Hope Christian School, leads a project through her high school’s Key Club to distribute “goody” bags to adult chemotherapy patients at area hospitals twice each year – just before Christmas and in the spring. Julie, whose mother underwent chemotherapy as a cancer patient, has coordinated this project for more than three years.

Stephenie McGucken, 18, of Phenix City, a senior at Central High School and a member of the Russell County Red Cross, organized an anti-smoking campaign that involved educating school children about the dangers of smoking, encouraging the City Council to ban smoking in public places, and urging teens to take a “no-smoking pledge.” Stephenie worked with fellow students and other community organizations to create “Kick Butts Day,” school presentations and other elements of her campaign.

Katie Rigdon, 17, of Talladega, a senior at Coosa Valley Academy in Harpersville and a member of the Talladega County Red Cross, has been helping special-need students participate in athletic activities since she was in the fifth grade. She teaches the students swimming, bowling and track and field skills, and helps coordinate athletic competitions at the state and local levels.

“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. For more information, please visit www.prudential.com