15th Annual Search Under Way for Texas' Top Youth Volunteers

State Honorees Receive Cash Awards, Medallions and Trip to Washington, D.C., for
National Events

Sachse and Hutto Youth Were Texas' Honorees in 2009
AUSTIN, Texas--(Business Wire)--
Over the past 14 years, Prudential Spirit of Community Awards have been given to
nearly 5,800 middle and high school students across Texas for helping the less
fortunate, promoting health and safety, protecting the environment, and serving
their communities through many other volunteer activities. This week the search
begins to identify more young Texans who have made meaningful contributions to
their communities over the past 12 months, as the prestigious awards program
kicks off its 15th
year.

These awards, presented nationwide by Prudential Financial, Inc. in partnership
with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), honor
outstanding community service by young people in grades 5 through 12.

"Young people who take the initiative to serve their communities through
volunteerism are a great source of strength for our nation, and give us ample
reason to be optimistic about the future," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John
R. Strangfeld. "We want to recognize them, encourage them, and hold them up as
role models for all young Americans."

Young volunteers can apply online at http://spirit.prudential.com or at
www.principals.org/prudential. Applications must be completed by November 2,
2009, then printed out, signed and submitted to a middle or high school
principal, Girl Scout council, county 4-H agent, American Red Cross chapter,
YMCA, or affiliate of HandsOn Network. Those without Internet access can get a
paper version of the application form by calling 877-525-8491 toll-free.

Participating schools and local organizations will select Local Honorees in
early November and present them with Certificates of Achievement. These Local
Honorees also will receive the President`s Volunteer Service Award if they have
contributed the minimum number of volunteer hours to qualify (50 hours for age
14 and younger, 100 hours for those older). All Local Honorees are then reviewed
by a state-level judging committee, which will name the top two candidates from
each state and the District of Columbia - one high school student and one middle
level student - as State Honorees on February 9, 2010. These State Honorees will
receive $1,000 awards, engraved silver medallions, and an all-expense-paid trip
to Washington, D.C., with a parent for four days of recognition events May 1-4,
2010. Runners-up at the state level will receive bronze medallions or
Certificates of Excellence.

In Washington, a distinguished national selection committee will name 10 of the
102 State Honorees as America`s top youth volunteers of the year. These National
Honorees will receive additional awards of $5,000, gold medallions, crystal
trophies for their nominating schools or organizations, and $5,000 grants from
The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their
choice.

Patrick Foster, 18, of Sachse and Shelby Romero, 12, of Hutto were Texas' top
youth volunteers for 2009. Patrick, Texas' top high school youth volunteer, was
honored for co-founding a nonprofit organization that has raised nearly $300,000
in merchandise and cash donations to support American troops serving overseas.
Shelby, Texas' top middle level volunteer, was recognized for organizing a
charity bicycle ride and other events that have raised nearly $400,000 for a
horseback-riding therapy center for disabled children. Shelby also was named one
of the program`s ten National Honorees for 2009.

"The rewards that an individual receives from serving his or her community
aren`t often tangible, but they are lasting," stated Gerald N. Tirozzi,
executive director of NASSP. "We are pleased to once again join with Prudential
in recognizing this nation`s youth volunteers, offering the honorees both
tangible and memorable tokens of appreciation for the work that they`ve done."

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represent the United States` largest
youth recognition program based solely on community service, and have honored
nearly 90,000 young volunteers at local, state and national levels since the
program began in 1995. 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 Institute; a free booklet of volunteer ideas for young
people offered through the Federal Citizen Information Center; and a website
featuring profiles of outstanding youth volunteers, volunteer tips and project
ideas for students, an electronic newspaper on youth volunteerism, and more
(http://spirit.prudential.com). The Spirit of Community Awards program also is
conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Ireland.

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/.

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

Copyright Business Wire 2009