NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- New York Life Insurance Company designated May as the Company's first Global Month of Service and had over 3,500 employees and agents volunteer in their local communities where the company does business on more than 200 community projects in eight countries to champion the Supporting Youth Worldwide theme. Volunteers gave over 50,000 hours of voluntary service - the equivalent of 29 people working full-time for an entire year and the estimated value of this volunteer time is more than $1 million.*

New York Life designated May as Global Month of Service, to expand its long-standing tradition of giving back, providing New York Life employees, agents, family members, friends and policyholders an opportunity to make a global impact in local communities.

"Global Month of Service builds on both New York Life's commitment to families, communities and businesses, as well as our active, dedicated volunteer efforts year-round. I am enormously proud of the response of New York Life volunteers who demonstrated what a real difference we can make in our communities and made our first Global Month of Service a success," said Ted Mathas, chairman, president and CEO of New York Life. "These are challenging times for many people around the world, and together New York Life employees, agents and their families provided valuable services and assistance to youth in the communities in which we live and work."

"Our International agents and employees truly embraced New York Life's first Global Month of Service and turned out in large numbers to contribute their time and energy to the communities we serve," said Dick Mucci, chairman and CEO, New York Life International. "I'm proud of the impact we've made on the lives of young people and this important work continues all year long through our community social responsibility programs in all of our markets."


The theme for this worldwide community service initiative: Supporting Youth Worldwide was the inspiration for our volunteers to support nonprofit community programs that impact youth. Highlights of New York Life's 2009 Global Month of Service are:

United States: In multiple locations, New York Life volunteers participated in a variety of projects and activities. For example:

In New York, volunteers partnered with organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, City Year New York, Children for Children, Bereavement Center of Westchester, Junior Achievement and New York Cares. Volunteers provided books for students, beautified schools, held financial literacy workshops, led educational field trips, organized and staffed community service fairs for students and the local community, and hosted a camp supply drive for Comfort Zone Camp, a bereavement camp for children.

In New Jersey, volunteers worked with Special Olympics of Hunterdon County to organize and staff the annual track and field event; created gifts for pediatric patients at Hackensack Medical Center; hosted a book drive for students at Link Community School; and beautified the Easton Area Community Center.

In Florida, volunteers partnered with America's Second Harvest; beautified Upper Tampa Bay Park; assisted with a Special Olympic fundraiser; participated in a Give Kids the World event; and hosted a scrapbooking event for Alpha House, an organization that serves pregnant women in crisis and their families.

In Texas, volunteers created and delivered craft kits to Children's Medical Center of Dallas and Cook Medical Center at Fort Worth; hosted activity parties for the pediatric patients and their families at Children's Hospital of Texas; and hosted an infant supply drive and beautified a local facility for LifeWorks.

In Minneapolis, volunteers created and delivered blankets for Bundles of Love, an all-volunteer organization that provides clothing, bedding, and necessities for infants in need; and collected and packed food for Feed My Starving Children and Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People.

In Ohio, volunteers hosted a child-healthy food drive for Ohio Children's Hunger Alliance and volunteered for "I Care Beautification Day."

In Washington, D.C., volunteers hosted a dinner for the children and their families who are staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Washington D.C.

Asia and Latin America: New York Life International volunteers hosted fundraisers to support local child-related initiatives, beautified local schools, hosted child-focused activity days, organized child-health fairs, participated in literacy projects, planted vegetable gardens, and made quilts for critically ill children. New York Life International Asian Operations in China, Thailand, India, Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong participated in the first annual Global Month of Service. Seguros Monterrey New York Life employees and agents will be hosting their Global Month of Service projects in October.


New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings from all four of the major credit rating agencies. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life's family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments** provides institutional asset management and retirement plan services. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as institutional and retail mutual funds.

Visit New York Life's Web site at www.newyorklife.com for more information.

* Independent Sector calculates the hourly value of volunteer time based on the average hourly wage for all non-management, nonagriculture workers as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 12 percent increase to estimate for fringe benefits.

** New York Life Investments is a service mark used by New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC and its subsidiary, New York Life Investment Management LLC.



New York Life

Lacey Siegel, 212-576-7937

Lacey_S_Siegel@newyorklife.com

or

Sloane & Co.

Amanda Kiely, 212-446-1896

Akiely@sloanepr.com

Source: New York Life Insurance Company