NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Saturday, October 2, more than 25,000 Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) employees and their families and friends will be helping their communities by participating in the company’s 16^th annual Global Volunteer Day. In addition to donating their time and talent to community service organizations located all over the world, each volunteer will have one dollar donated on their behalf by The Prudential Foundation to plant trees.

“Global Volunteer Day is more important than ever," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "These challenging economic times and the after-effects of natural disasters are continuing to have a deep impact, and many people really need our assistance. Global Volunteer Day brings us all together in ways that truly make a difference in the lives of the people who most deserve a helping hand.”

Prudential’s Global Volunteer Day was introduced in October 1995 to celebrate employees’ volunteer activities. That year, more than 5,000 Prudential associates and their families and friends worked on 100 volunteer projects in the United States and Japan. Last year, more than 22,000 people participated in 800 Global Volunteer Day projects in the United States and nine other countries where Prudential has a business presence.

This year, The Prudential Foundation will donate $1 to the Global ReLeaf Project of American Forests for each registered Global Volunteer Day participant in any community service activity that day. “A tree will be planted in environmentally important forests across the globe for each dollar donated,” said Gabriella Morris, vice president, Prudential Community Resources and president of The Prudential Foundation. “Planting a tree is a powerful symbol of hope -- and another opportunity to show our commitment to healthier communities now and in the future.”

Over the past 16 years, Prudential employees and their families, friends and business clients have contributed 1.9 million hours of personal time on Global Volunteer Day. Based on the current $20.85 hourly value for volunteer time set by the Independent Sector, the activities on Prudential Global Volunteer Day have a cumulative value of more than $30 million.

“What began 16 years ago with just 5,000 volunteers has grown many times over to become a centerpiece of Prudential’s community programs,” said Morris. “The popularity of Global Volunteer Day illustrates the shared belief that links our employees throughout the world – the importance of giving back to our communities.”

Prudential Global Volunteer Day projects include beautifying local parks, cleaning up school playgrounds, building homes, preparing food for the needy, caring for animals at a local shelter, holding a car wash for charity, mentoring children, and many other activities. The Prudential Foundation and Prudential award $1,000 Challenge Grants to nonprofit organizations for Global Volunteer Day projects that meet certain criteria. To date, 2,507 projects have earned $2.5 million in Challenge Grants for their partnering organizations.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $690 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2010, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.