Volunteers Make A Difference In Their Communities

For extraordinary efforts in serving others through volunteerism, 10
middle and high school students from across the country were named
America's top 10 youth volunteers for 2006.

For extraordinary efforts in serving others through volunteerism, 10
middle and high school students from across the country were named
America's top 10 youth volunteers for 2006.

Ranging in age from 11 to 18, the National Honorees in The Prudential
Spirit of Community Awards received personal awards of $5,000, plus
$5,000 grants for the charities of their choice. Among the winners were:

• Evan Alicuben, 17, of Hilo, Hawaii, who spearheaded a project
that placed "personal emergency dialers" in the homes of nearly 50
senior citizens in his community, to enable them to call for help
quickly and easily in case of emergency;

• Ellie Ambrose, 12, of Nashville, Tenn., who organized an annual
carnival and a 5K race that together have raised more than $40,000 over
the past two years for sick and disadvantaged children in Africa;

• Alexander Lin, 13, of Westerly, R.I., who led a student
community service group in a multifaceted project to reduce the adverse
environmental impact of discarded consumer electronics-or
"e-waste"-through recycling, public education and legislation;

• Savannah Walters, 13, of Odessa, Fla., who is waging an
extensive, multistate campaign called Pump 'em Up to conserve energy
resources and reduce pollution by urging drivers to keep their tires
property inflated and thereby burn less gasoline; and

• Ajay Mangal, 18, of Pascagoula, Miss., who lost nearly all of
his possessions when Hurricane Katrina flooded his coastal city, yet
devoted himself to distributing emergency supplies to other victims
immediately after the storm, and helped many families clean out their
homes in the following weeks and months.

Other honorees made significant contributions to their communities by
building a radio station and creating "barn quilts" to boost tourism.
Still others founded a successful inner-city service organization for
young people, worked to keep lead-tainted toys off of store shelves and
started a nonprofit foundation that has collected and distributed
personal-care products and other items to needy kids in the local
community and around the world.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary
School Principals, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards were
created to encourage youth volunteerism and to identify and reward young
role models. For more information about the awards and this year's
honorees, visit www.prudential.com/spirit.

Ten student volunteers have turned dedication into results, improving
their communities and the world at large.