NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Saturday, October 6 will mark the 12th anniversary of Global Volunteer Day, Prudential Financial's premier event for giving back to communities. Since 1995, more than 250,000 volunteers have devoted more than 1.5 million hours to complete more than 6,800 projects around the globe. As part of this year's campaign, an expected 32,000 volunteers will complete about 800 projects in more than 12 countries.

"Being a good corporate citizen is a responsibility that we take very seriously at Prudential Financial," said Arthur F. Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc. "Our Global Volunteer Day is an important opportunity for our employees to personally give back to their local communities."

Prudential's Global Volunteer Day was first held on October 28, 1995. Beginning with 5,000 employees participating in 100 projects, the daylong celebration has grown to include the participation of more than 32,000 volunteers at more than 800 locations in 12 countries. Since the program's inception, Prudential employees, along with their families, friends and business clients, have contributed 1.592 million hours of personal time to this annual effort. Based on the $18.77 hourly value for volunteer time set by the Points of Light Foundation, Prudential's employee efforts so far have a cumulative value of $29.8 million.

"Many Prudential Financial employees are dedicated volunteers making a difference in the communities where they live and work all year long," said Gabriella Morris, vice president of Community Resources for Prudential and president of The Prudential Foundation. "What makes Global Volunteer Day special is witnessing what can be accomplished in just one day when so many our employees join together with their families, clients, and friends to make a difference."

Global Volunteer Day includes many forms of volunteer service, from rebuilding a home for an elderly neighbor to preparing meals at shelters to assisting those affected by natural disasters. As part of Global Volunteer Day, projects that meet selected criteria earn a $1,000 Challenge Grant provided by The Prudential Foundation to the partnering nonprofit organization. To date, 1,928 projects have earned Challenge Grants totaling more than $1.928 million given to partnering organizations.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU - News), a financial services leader with approximately $648 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2007, has 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 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, please visit www.prudential.com.

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Source: Prudential Financial, Inc.

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