Washington, D.C. - For the fourth year, outstanding volunteers from across the country will be honored with a MetLife Foundation Older Volunteers Enrich America Award. Administered by n4a, the awards recognize and build awareness of the exemplary contributions of older adults and encourage other older adults to contribute their knowledge, skills and time to enrich society through volunteerism.

The Call for Nominations is underway with volunteer programs nominating outstanding volunteers in three categories: Community Champion, Mentor and Team Spirit. The awards recognize volunteers who are working to make their community a better place to live, working with youth and their families and helping other older adults.

"We are pleased to join n4a in offering a fourth round of awards," said Sibyl Jacobson, president, MetLife Foundation. "The award winners' stories inspire individuals of all ages and remind us of the wealth of commitment and talent that exists in the older population that can be marshalled to strengthen communities."

"It has been n4a's great pleasure the past three years to discover extraordinary older volunteers and tell their stories through this program," notes n4a CEO Sandy Markwood. "At a time when so much of our daily news is troubling, we look forward to honoring 25 individuals whose selfless efforts on behalf of others help us see the good that people can do."

Twenty-five volunteers will be honored at an award ceremony on April 28, 2006, in Washington, D.C. Each honoree will receive an engraved gift acknowledging his or her achievement, and the honoree's organization will receive a monetary award to help further its work.

Additional information about the MetLife Foundation 2006 Older Volunteers Enrich America Awards program, including a nomination form, can be found on the n4a web site at http://www.n4a.org/metlife_awards.cfm. The deadline for receipt of nominations by n4a is December 9, 2005.

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The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) is the leading voice on aging issues for Area Agencies on Aging across the country and a champion for Title VI-Native American aging programs in our nation's capital. For more information about n4a, visit .

MetLife Foundation, established by MetLife in 1976, supports educational, health, civic and cultural organizations. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.metlife.org.