Awards, Jan 29, 1998

The following awards have been presented for work in philanthropy, fund raising, volunteerism, and non-profit management:

Children and families. The National Association of Social Workers (Washington) has presented its National Lifetime Achievement Award to David S. Liederman, executive director of the Child Welfare League of America (Washington), for his decades of work in behalf of poor and at-risk children and families.

The Children’s Defense Fund (Washington) has honored Nancy (Bitsey) Folger for her long-time support of C.D.F. and of the Capital Children’s Museum, the Black Student Fund, and other Washington-area groups.

Community service. The McKnight Foundation (Minneapolis) has presented its 1997 Virginia McKnight Binger Awards in Human Service to 11 Minnesota volunteers. Each award carries a $7,500 prize. The recipients: —

Marjory Aldrich of Buffalo, who advocates in behalf of abused children, the elderly, and other needy people and who founded the Minnesota Chronic Fatigue Immune Disorder Syndrome Network and the Center for Victims of Professional Abuse.

— Jim Christy of Minneapolis, who created competitive athletic and community-education opportunities for disabled children and adults. — Dianne Kimm of Pelican Rapids, who organizes services to settle and integrate Vietnamese refugee families into her rural community.

— Allan Law of Minneapolis, who founded Minneapolis Youth Recreation, a group that provides inner-city youths with counseling, trips to professional-sports events, clothing, and other services and supplies.

— Sue Liedl of Tenstrike, who developed conflict management and resolution programs for local students that actively involve them in promoting non-violence.

— Larry Cloud Morgan of Minneapolis, who works to preserve the Ojibwa Indian language and culture through his work as a playwright, peace activist, storyteller, and historian.

— William Radueg of Deer River, who, at the age of 90, spends five to six hours each day volunteering at the Homestead Nursing Home and who founded a local support group for people with family members suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

— Raeann Ruth of St. Paul, who runs Portage for Youth, an organization that provides at-risk adolescent girls with mentors and instruction in the arts, computers, nutrition, photography, and other subjects.

— Frankie and Velma Tyson of Minneapolis, who overcame years of drug use and poverty to become positive forces in their neighborhood through such activities as helping neighbors to find jobs, battling drug and gang activity, and starting up a drill team for neighborhood youths.

— Peggy Wells of Minneapolis, who maintains the HOPE Food Center, which distributes fresh fruits, vegetables, breads, and pastries twice a week to needy people in the Twin Cities.

Grassroots leaders. The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (Winston-Salem, N.C.) has presented its 1997 Nancy Susan Reynolds Awards honoring North Carolinians who have worked largely without recognition and, in some cases, for causes that lack broad public support. The winners: Chenay Costen of Sunbury, founder of several social-services and educational programs for poor black residents offive rural northeastern counties; Mother Mary Benignus Hoban of Belmont, a Catholic nun originally from Ireland who founded Holy Angels, a nursery for severely disabled children; and the Rev. Harrison T. Simons of Oxford, the rector of two Episcopal churches — one predominantly black, the other white — who helped guide his community through tense racial confrontations during the 1970s and who continues to work for improved race relations. Each award carries a cash prize of $25,000, of which $5,000 goes to the individual and $20,000 to charitable organizations designated by the winners.

Higher education. The Council of Independent Colleges (Washington) has given its 1998 Award for Philanthropy to the James Irvine Foundation (San Francisco) in honor of its commitment to CIC member colleges.

Leadership. The Heinz Family Foundation (Pittsburgh) has announced the recipients of its 1997 Heinz Awards, which recognize outstanding leaders in five areas. Each recipient receives an unrestricted $250,000 prize.

— The Arts and Humanities: John Harbison of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge), a composer and teacher who has written three string quartets, two symphonies, two operas, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning cantata, ”Flight Into Egypt.’’

— The Environment: Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute (Snowmass, Colo.), a physicist who has done extensive work to alert the public and policy makers about energy efficiency and renewable energy resources that are safe and profitable.

— The Human Condition: Carol Gilligan of the Harvard U. Graduate School of Education (Cambridge, Mass.), a professor who has challenged traditional assumptions about human psychological development and about male and female behavior.

— Public Policy: Ernesto J. Cortes, Jr., of the Industrial Areas Foundation (Chicago), a community organizer who has worked to increase citizen participation in the political process and has organized community groups that represent more than 500,000 low-income families in the Southwest.

— Technology, the Economy, and Employment: Ralph E. Gomory of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a foundation president and former research director at IBM who has advocated the beneficial role of technological innovation in economics.

National service. President Clinton has presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 15 Americans, including the following individuals active in non-profit advocacy and philanthropy:

— Arnold Aronson, founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (Washington), a lobbying organization for civil-rights groups.

— Brooke Astor, president of the Vincent Astor Foundation (New York) and a long-time donor to libraries, museums, and other cultural organizations.

— Justin Dart, Jr., a disability-rights advocate whose work resulted in passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

— James Farmer, a civil-rights activist who founded the Congress of Racial Equality (New York) in 1942. — Frances Hesselbein, president of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management (New York) and chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (New York) from 1976 to 1990.

— Wilma Mankiller, an advocate for American Indian rights and the first elected woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.

— Margaret Murie, an environmental activist whose work with the Wilderness Society (Washington) led to the passage of laws to protect Alaskan wilderness.

— Mario Obledo, a Latino-rights advocate who helped found the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (Los Angeles).

— David Rockefeller, a philanthropist who has directed grants through several Rockefeller family funds and who helped found the International Executive Service Corps (Stamford, Conn.).

Philanthropy. The Columbus Foundation (Ohio) has presented two awards:

— The 1997 Columbus Foundation Award, which recognizes non-profit groups and their creators, went to the Buckeye Ranch (Columbus), its Buckeye Service Board, and Leslie A. Bostic, who helped shape this organization that provides treatment programs for emotionally disturbed children and youths. — The 1997 Harrison M. Sayre Award, which recognizes local philanthropic leadership, went to the Battelle Memorial Institute (Columbus), a company that specializes in scientific research and development, for its employee volunteer programs and support of educational and arts groups in central Ohio.