Business Editors/Education Writers
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About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its ninth year, is conducted by Prudential Financial, Inc. in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
More than 20,000 high school and middle level students nationwide submitted applications for this year's program. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country were eligible to nominate a student for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs, Camp Fire USA councils and Volunteer Centers were also eligible to nominate student volunteers for the awards program.
All local honorees were 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. State honorees each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in 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, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2004 on May 3, 2004.
The awards are part of a broad initiative created by Prudential to encourage young people to become involved in community service. Other elements of the initiative include The Prudential Youth Leadership Institute, a community leadership training program for high school students and a variety of educational materials for young people and teachers relating to youth volunteerism.
Prudential Financial companies, with approximately $421 billion in total assets under management as of September 30, 2003, serve individual and institutional customers worldwide and include The Prudential Insurance Company of America, one of the largest life insurance companies in the U.S. These companies offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, property and casualty insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension and retirement related services and administration, asset management, banking and trust services, real estate brokerage franchises and relocation services. For more information, visit www.prudential.com.
Editor's Notes: Wes Somerville is the onsite event coordinator for Prudential Financial and may be reached the day of the reception via cell phone at 215-272-0132.
Prudential Financial executives are available for interview to discuss Spirit of Community and additional community outreach efforts.
Logos are immediately available upon request.
A post-event news release with photography and profiles of each of the student volunteers will be available after the honoree reception.
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