Where Are Our Heroes Now?

Volvo for life Awards Winners Continue Volunteering Missions

View Hero Stories at www.volvoforlifeawards.com

(NEW YORK) Feb. 1, 2006 - One year after being named “America’s Greatest Hometown Heroes,” Volvo for life Awards winners continue to make extraordinary efforts in their communities and throughout the nation.

Led by Volvo Cars of North America, the Volvo for life Awards (www.volvoforlifeawards.com) is the nation’s largest search for and celebration of hometown heroes. Each year, the Volvo for life Awards provide winning heroes in the categories of safety, quality of life and environment with charitable contributions of up to $50,000.

Volvo for life Awards heroes that continue to make a difference include:

• This past October, Hope Bevilhymer, of West Jordan, Utah, with her organization “Limbs of Hope” which collects and distributes used prosthetic limbs in land mine ridden countries, made her second prosthetic limb delivery to Cambodia.
• Jose Morales, of Elmhurst, N.Y., has moved J24, his substance abuse recovery center and shelter in Queens, to a new facility that is able to house twice as many clients with new beds, bedding, etc.
• Robina Suwol, a Van Nuys, Calif. mother and creator of “California Safe Schools,” an organization that put in place the most stringent school pesticide policy in the nation, recently met a major goal for her initiative when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill AB 405, banning the use of experimental pesticides on California school campuses.
• Hendersonville, N.C. hero and cerebral palsy patient, Suzie Tipton recently held a benefit concert to raise money for medically related travel expenses for children with special needs through her organization “Suzie’s Closet,” which redistributes secondhand medical equipment to kids and adults with special needs who cannot afford the supplies.
• Jack Orchard, a St. Louis, Mo. ALS patient, expanded his “Extra Hands” program, which enables students to help ALS patients with household chores for two hours each week, to Denver, bringing the total number of chapters nationwide to eight.
• Sitka, Alaska native Lisa Busch’s organization “Sitka Trail Works,” which brings environmentalists and timber proponents together to revitalize her community and the environment, received $1 million from the United States Transportation Bill for trail construction. In 2004 Sitka Trail Works received $500,000 as part of the federally-funded Alaska Trails initiative.

About the Volvo for life Awards

Over the past four years, more than 10,000 other local heroes across the United States have been nominated for a Volvo for life Award. View hundreds of hero stories by logging onto www.volvoforlifeawards.com.

In March, Volvo will announce the names of 100 semi-finalists for the fourth annual Volvo for life Awards and honor their individual accomplishments with a Certificate of Merit. Three finalists in each nomination category will then be selected.

A panel of distinguished judges representing some of the world’s foremost experts on conscience, care and character - including Hank Aaron, Senator Bill Bradley, Richard Branson, Caroline Kennedy, Maya Lin, Paul Newman, Dr. Sally Ride, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and last year’s top winner, Hope Bevilhymer – will name one winner for each of the three categories. The category winners each will receive $50,000 to be donated to the charities of their choice. The remaining six finalists each will receive a $25,000 charitable donation.

On April 12, Volvo will honor the three category winners at the Volvo for life Awards Ceremony in New York City at the Rainbow Room. Each year the event features top music entertainment and a celebrity host, as well as documentaries profiling the category winners. The grand award winner, selected by the judges, will be named “America’s Greatest Hometown Hero” and presented with a Volvo car every three years for the rest of his or her life.

To learn more and to nominate a hero, visit www.volvoforlifeawards.com. A Spanish version of the site can also be accessed at this address.

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Contact:

Kim McMartin,

Haberman & Associates,

612-372-6464

kim@modernstorytellers.com.

Sören Johansson,

Volvo Cars of North America,

949-341-6719,

sjohan44@volvocars.com.

Media:

For photos and more information on the Volvo for life Awards:

http://www.volvocars-pr.com

and

http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com