Awards, Jan 10, 2002

The following awards have been presented for achievement in leadership, management, research, and volunteerism:

Community development.

The Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh has received the 2001 Community Partnership Award from the Mutual of America Life Insurance Company (New York). The award recognizes a community group that has formed a partnership that addresses social issues and can be duplicated elsewhere. The Zone-Based Advocacy program coordinates efforts between the shelter’s legal advocates, the City of Pittsburgh Police Department, and the Allegheny County Office of the District Attorney to promote domestic-violence prevention and early intervention.

Community service. The Robin Hood Foundation (New York) has presented its 2001 Robin Hood Heroes awards for individuals whose work aids low-income residents of New York. The winners are: John Ariza, a volunteer at Abraham House, a residential program for first-time, nonviolent offenders; Marina Bernard Damiba, principal of the Bronx Preparatory Charter School, where she has led successful efforts to raise standardized-test scores; and Anthony DeMaria, a detective with the New York Police Department who investigates child abuse and works with the Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center. The winners each receive a $50,000 honorarium to be designated to the charity of their choice.

Violence prevention. The California Wellness Foundation (Woodland Hills) has announced the winners of the 2000 California Peace Prize for preventing youth violence in the state. Each of the following received a $25,000 prize: Brian Contreras, founder of the 2nd Chance Youth & Family Services (Salinas, Calif.), an outreach program to prevent gang violence; Joan Cuadra, special-programs coordinator at Proteus Inc. (Visalia, Calif.), who works to educate farm workers on health issues; and Constance Rice, co-founder of the Advancement Project (Los Angeles), which established the Los Angeles Urban Peace Prize.

Volunteerism. Operation Smile (Norfolk, Va.) has received the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Italian National Academy of Science) (Rome) for using science in a humanitarian effort. Operation Smile’s volunteer medical personnel donate their services around the world to provide reconstructive surgery for children with facial deformities. The prize comes with a $228,000 honorarium.