Retired Schoolteacher Among ‘Points of Light’

Following are the people and organizations that have most recently been named to receive President Bush’s Daily Points of Light Award.

The Points of Light Foundation, a Washington charity, assists the president in making the choices and carrying out the award program. More information about the award winners and the program is available at the foundation’s Web site, http://www.pointsoflight.org, or by contacting the foundation at 1400 I Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20005; (202) 729-8184.

The recipients:

2158. Doris McCannon, Washington, a retired high-school social-studies teacher whose volunteer activities include tutoring at Scott Montgomery Elementary School and serving as site coordinator for 25 other reading and literacy tutors at the school.

2159. Volunteer Senior Companions, Chester, S.C., adults aged 60 and older who serve 20 hours a week helping other elderly people in Chester County, S.C., remain independent; their activities, for which they receive a small stipend, include providing companionship and respite care, assisting with chores, and monitoring adherence to medication regimens.

2160. Dewayne Howard, Catoosa, Okla., a retiree who serves as a volunteer with the PAL Program of Rogers County Volunteers for Youth, raises money for the program, tutors students at Verdigris Middle School, and drafts training materials.

2161. Zeyad Elsayed, Sacramento, who administers a center at a local shopping mall that provides free computer training and access and a safe learning environment for schoolchildren, women in welfare-to-work programs, immigrants, and other low-income people.

2162. 11-10-02 Foundation, Chicago, a group that provides scholarships for disadvantaged youths and works to counter harmful racial, social, and cultural stereotypes that prevent young people from realizing their full potential. The group is named for the date of founder Greg Siegman’s upcoming 30th birthday.

2163. Jack Schuh, St. Joseph, Minn., a volunteer leader for the Greater St. Cloud Area Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, who alerts the organization to emerging community needs and recruits volunteers for its activities.

2164. Dare to Dream Kids Care Club of Grinnell School, Derry, N.H., a group of 65 6- to 12-year-olds who meet every six weeks to coordinate and complete a wide range of community-service activities, including conducting toy and food drives to aid needy people and sending books to children in Kentucky and Ohio who lost their homes to floods.

2165. Leela Shankar, Kalamazoo, Mich., a doctoral student who last year volunteered approximately 1,000 hours to help disabled and elderly people through the Growing In-Home Volunteer Effort program. Through the program she provided services such as running errands, planting vegetable and flower gardens, and helping visually impaired college students with coursework.

2166. Camptown Inc., Carmel, Ind., a nonprofit group through which disadvantaged youths from the metropolitan Indianapolis area plan and lead wilderness-adventure trips that are designed to teach teamwork and leadership skills.

2167. Edwin Dankworth, Alameda, Calif., a retired U.S. Navy officer who, after reading about the discrepancy in language development between the children of college professors and those of parents on public assistance, was inspired to create the Smart Healthy Babies Home Visit Program, which serves all new parents in Alameda.

2168. Nita Jones, Inglewood, Calif., a retired accountant who now serves as a full-time volunteer with the Vermont Square United Methodist Church and with AARP California, where she holds the title of associate state coordinator for community operations.