America Selects Eugene Resident Lorraine Kerwood as One of the Nation's Top Hometown Heroes

NextStep Founder, Kerwood, Who Makes Refurbished Electronics Available to Disadvantaged Communities Reaches Finals of 6th Annual Volvo for life Awards

Celebrity Judges Will Select and Unveil Top Four Winners March 19 at Volvo for life Awards Ceremony in New York; One Hero Will Receive a Volvo Car for Life

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 heroes in the 6th Annual Volvo for life Awards (http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/). The polls are officially closed and Eugene's Lorraine Kerwood is among nine finalists for this prestigious award.

The final decision now rests in the hands of a distinguished panel of celebrity judges who are experts on care, conscience and character -- Hank Aaron, Sen. Bill Bradley, Maya Lin, Dr. Sally Ride, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Mae Jemison and Edsel Ford. The judges will now review Kerwood and eight other finalists' nominations to select the program's top three winners in the categories of Safety, Quality of Life and Environment and the Volvo for life Awards grand award winner.

Kerwood, who created an electronics recycling and distribution center, NextStep, which brings refurbished computers to disadvantaged communities, is one of three finalists being honored in the Volvo for life Awards environment category. Kerwood is guaranteed to receive $25,000 in charitable contributions from Volvo and if she's named the winner in her category, her award will be $100,000. If named grand award winner, she will receive the added bonus of a Volvo car for life.

If Kerwood is selected as a category winner, Volvo will fly her and her fellow winners 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.

"I feel honored that my community nominated me for this prestigious award," Kerwood said. "With this help from Volvo our non-profit NextStep Recycling will continue to empower the most marginalized individuals in our communities both locally and internationally. Daily, recipients of our computers let us know how access to this technology has changed their lives. Our goal at NS is to level the playing field for all people through the tools of computers, Internet access and other electronic devices."

More About Lorraine Kerwood

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States generated 2.6 millions tons of electronic waste in 2005, only 12.6 percent of which was recycled. Lorraine Kerwood, 47, has set out to improve this statistic. Her computer recycling and distribution center, NextStep, brings refurbished computers to disadvantaged communities and benefits the environment by reducing electronic waste. While attending the University of Oregon, Kerwood taught herself how to rebuild computers, which she then gave to people who couldn't afford them. With her new skill set, and her passion for helping the disadvantaged, Kerwood established NextStep. The organization has recycled more than 800 tons of electronic waste and placed 11,000 computers in disadvantaged communities in the United States and abroad.

More than 500 computers have been shipped to rural Guatemalan schools, orphanages and non-governmental organizations. This has drawn the attention of corporate, government and academic institutions. Tulane University studied NextStep's computer labs built in partnership with rural Mayan communities. They determined that the labs improved the lives of more than 5,000 Guatemalan children.

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. Additionally, the Butterfly Award is given to an exceptional child hero. 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. The award is in honor of Alexandra 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 select the winner from three finalists.

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

  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:
  -- 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.

  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.
  -- Dallas Jessup, 16 of Vancouver, Wash., wrote and produced "Just Yell
     Fire," a film for women of all ages illustrating simple self-defense
     strategies to defend against an attack, kidnapping or sexual assault.