Awards, Jun 29, 2006

The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas.

Corporate giving. The Points of Light Foundation (Washington) has presented its annual Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs, which honor companies that actively promote community service among employees. The recipients are Accenture (Chicago), PNC Financial Services Group (Pittsburgh), the Timberland Company (Stratham, N.H.), UPS (Atlanta), and Wells Fargo & Company (San Francisco).

Management. The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (Washington) and the MetLife Foundation (New York) have announced the recipients of the Awards of Excellence in Older Volunteer Program Management. The awards honor nonprofit groups that run outstanding programs to recruit, train, and retain volunteers who are age 50 and older. The recipients:

— Bridging Inc. (Bloomington, Minn.), whose volunteers assist with the problems of homelessness and poverty by providing free furniture and other household items to needy families.

— Interfaith CarePartners’ Care Team Program (Houston), which recruits and coordinates volunteer caregivers to provide home-based support to frail elderly people, to care for patients with dementia so that family caregivers can receive needed respite, and to assist people with HIV/AIDS.

— Senior Gleaners (Sacramento), whose volunteers work to alleviate hunger among, and provide nutritious food to, poor and elderly individuals.

Volunteerism. Volunteers of America (Alexandria, Va.) has given its Ballington and Maud Booth Award for Distinguished Service to Humanity to Dave and Gail Liniger, co-founders of Re/Max International (Denver), for their “outstanding leadership and commitment to making a difference in their community.” The couple was cited in particular for allowing their private land to be used for charitable events benefiting Volunteers of America’s Colorado affiliate.

VOA gave its Good Samaritan Award in Philanthropy to Lakeview Methodist Conference Center (Palestine, Tex.) for its efforts to help more than 70 victims of Hurricane Katrina who have physical and mental disabilities, and presented its Empathy Award to the Times-Picayune, the major New Orleans newspaper, for its service to the community and excellence in reporting about social issues, including the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina on the citizens of New Orleans.