"At Prudential, we remain

steadfast supporters of our employees' and retirees' desire to play an

active role in their communities," said Gabriella Morris, president

of The Prudential Foundation and vice president of Community Resources

for Prudential. "We applaud the accomplishments of all of this year's

Community Champion award winners as they embody the spirit of volunteerism

and a heartfelt commitment to helping others."

DiMatteo devoted an average

of seven hours per month in volunteer services to the Fayette Community

Hospital during 2001. She volunteered at the information desk and was

responsible for giving visitors directions, answering phones and delivering

flowers to patients. Because the information desk is at the front entrance

of the hospital, DiMatteo ensured that all patients and visitors received

a positive first impression and the assistance they needed to make their

stay as pleasant as possible.

The Fayette Community Hospital

provides maximum health care support to the community. Hospital volunteers

aim to assist staff, patients and visitors in any way possible to ensure

that everyone receives the best quality of service.

Rickicki, a volunteer with

the Fayette Community Hospital Auxiliary, devoted an average of eight

hours per month to the organization. Her volunteer services included membership

outreach and updating the membership directory. She acted as an assistant

to the auxiliary president as well. In addition, Rickicki served on the

fund-raising golf tournament committee. The mission of the Fayette Community

Hospital Auxiliary is to assist in promoting the health and welfare of

citizens of the community through various ways approved by the Fayette

Community Hospital's board of directors.

Prudential Community Champions

grants include 35 Golden Star Awards of $5,000 each, seven All-Star Team

Awards of $5,000 each, 275 Shining Star Awards of $1,000 each, 12 Rising

Star Team Awards of $500 or $250 each, 493 Rising Star Awards of $250

each and 31 awards to employees in Argentina, Canada, England, Italy and

Japan totaling $14,000.

"Prudential Financial's

Community Champions is a prime example of solid business practice and

commitment to the community," said Charles H. Moore, executive director

of the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), the only

national forum of business CEOs with an agenda exclusively focused on

corporate giving. "This long-standing campaign provides an excellent

model of good citizenship to other major corporations around the globe

and emphasizes employee volunteerism as an ongoing responsibility and

successful program way of life."

"The Community Champions

Program offers us a terrific opportunity to recognize our employees while

providing much-needed funding for the good causes they support,"

said Mary O'Malley, vice president of Prudential's Local Initiatives Division.

"Not only is the relationship between the volunteer and the non'-profit

organization strengthened, but also the local community as a whole benefits

from the combination of volunteer hours and monetary award."

Founded in 1977, The Prudential

Foundation is the nonprofit grant-making organization of The Prudential

Insurance Company of America. It is part of Prudentials Community Resources

Division, a strategic combination of three units: The Foundation, which

strives to build children and families' self-sufficiency; Local Initiatives,

which coordinates employee volunteerism and fosters community partnerships;

and the Social Investment Program, which originates and manages socially

beneficial investments.

Prudential Financial companies,

with approximately $557 billion in total assets under management and administration

as of June 30, 2002, 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, securities brokerage, banking and

trust services, real estate brokerage franchises and relocation services.

For more information, visit www.prudential.com.