"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 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

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.