America Selects Vancouver Teen as One of The Nation's Top Hometown Youth Heroes

'Just Yell Fire' Creator, Dallas Jessup, Reaches Finals of 6th Annual Volvo for life Awards for Creating Self Defense Program

Judges Will Select and Honor the Winner at March 19 Volvo for life Awards Ceremony in New York

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 18 -- For the past nine weeks hundreds of thousands of members of the American public have been casting their votes online to decide the country's favorite hometown youth heroes in the 6th Annual Volvo for life Awards (http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/). The polls are officially closed and 16-year-old Dallas Jessup is among three finalists for the prestigious Alexandra Scott Butterfly Award.

The Butterfly Award is given to an exceptional child hero and is in honor of Alex Scott, a Volvo for life Awards winner from Wynnewood, Pa. who, before passing away at age 8 from cancer, raised more than $1 million for pediatric cancer research through lemonade sales and other fundraising activities. Alex's parents, Liz and Jay Scott, select the winner.

Jessup, who wrote, produced and starred in "Just Yell Fire" -- a film instructing women on how to protect themselves from predators, is one of three finalists being honored in the Volvo for life Awards' Butterfly Award category. She is guaranteed to receive $10,000 in charitable contributions from Volvo and if she's named the winner, her award will be $25,000.

If Jessup is selected as the winner, Volvo will fly her to New York to be honored at the world famous 42nd St. Cipriani's during the Volvo for life Awards ceremony on March 19, 2008. The program's grand award winner will also be announced that evening.

"Most big changes happen in the world when committed people, working for an important cause, are supported by their communities," Jessup said. "Volvo's support of Just Yell Fire is ensuring that even more of America's daughters are empowered to fight back against abduction and date rape."

More About Dallas Jessup

Jessup may only be a teenager, but she delivers quite a punch. She uses her own expertise in martial arts to help train and empower other young women to stand up for themselves against predators. Jessup is a Tae Kwon Do black belt and Filipino Street Fighting instructor, who was moved to action after becoming aware of the prevalence of sexual assault and abduction of young women. Jessup had the idea of writing and producing a film to illustrate simple ways to defend against attack. She took her experiences in martial arts and created a simple self-defense strategy accessible to women of any age or size. To date, over 325,000 copies of "Just Yell Fire," Jessup's film, have been downloaded or distributed for free.

"It's not that women don't want to stand up for themselves, it's that they don't know how," said Jessup. "Hopefully, we'll help save a generation of girls from sexual assault and abduction."

Now that the film is complete, Jessup continues her work by urging politicians to include self-defense as a mandatory component of physical education in schools.

About the Butterfly Award

Children who are no older than 16 as of October 15, 2007 are eligible to receive this award, which includes a $25,000 donation to a charity selected by the winning child hero and his or her family. The remaining Butterfly finalists each receive a $10,000 contribution.

About the Volvo for life Awards

Since 2002, Volvo Cars of North America has identified more than 18,000 everyday heroes in its annual Volvo for life Awards (http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/) and has contributed millions of dollars to their causes. Three individuals are recognized annually in the award program's Safety, Quality of Life, Environment categories. Each winner in these categories receives a $100,000 contribution to the charity of his or her choice. The program's grand winner receives an added bonus of a Volvo car for life. The remaining six Safety, Quality of Life and Environment finalists receive donations of $25,000 to the charities of their choice.

  The other finalists in the 6th Annual Volvo for life Awards are:

  Butterfly Award:
  --  Zach Bonner, 10 of Valrico, Fla., founded the Little Red Wagon
      Foundation, Inc., an organization that collects and donates backpacks
      filled with food and school items to disadvantaged children
      nationwide.
  --  Rocco Fiorentino, 11 of Voorhees, N.J., has been blind since birth and
      works with the Little Rock Foundation, a nonprofit organization
      established by his family to provide resources for children, parents,
      therapists, and educators who are facing issues related to blindness.

  Safety:
  --  Marilyn Adams, 57 of Earlham, Iowa, founded Farm Safety 4 Just Kids
      and set out on a mission to promote safe farm environments across the
      country and eliminate farm-related child health hazards, injuries and
      fatalities.
  --  Ronald Dundon, 58 of Kalamazoo, Mich., founded the AED (Automatic
      External Defibrillator) Fund of Kalamazoo County to help increase the
      chances of survival for future sudden cardiac arrest victims in
      underserved communities.
  --  Through his program "Driver's Edge," Las Vegas-native Jeff Payne, 40,
      teaches thousands of youth how to avoid vehicle accidents and drive
      safely.

  Quality of Life:
  --  John Dau, 35 of Syracuse, N.Y., has raised $700,000 to improve
      healthcare and literacy in southern Sudan.
  --  Matthew Sanford, 42 of Orono, Minn., founded Mind Body Solutions, a
      nonprofit organization dedicated to revolutionizing the rehabilitation
      process.
  --  Darius Weems, 18 of Athens, Ga., works to raise money and awareness
      for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) research through "Darius Goes
      West," a documentary that chronicles his courageous journey across
      America.

  Environment:
  --  Lorraine Kerwood, 47 of Eugene, Ore., created an electronics recycling
      and distribution center, NextStep, which brings refurbished computers
      to disadvantaged communities.
  --  Zander Srodes, 17 of Cape Haze, Fla., has educated more than 5,000
      students about sea turtle conservation through a series of educational
      presentations called "Turtle Talks" which he developed along with a
      children's activity book on the subject.
  --  Charles Turner, 48 of Sedley, Va., founded the Blackwater-Nottoway
      Riverkeeper Program, which mobilizes individuals to patrol rivers
      looking for signs of pollution and educate others about the importance
      of clean, wild waterways.