Awards, Nov 19, 1998

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

Disabled. The Prince Charitable Trusts (Chicago) has presented its 1998 Henry B. Betts Award to Lex Frieden, senior vice-president at the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (Houston) and a key figure in conceiving and drafting the Americans With Disabilities Act when he was executive director of the National Council on Disability (Washington), from 1984 to 1988. The award is presented annually to an individual who has improved the quality of life for disabled people; it is accompanied by a $50,000 prize.

Humanitarianism.The Aetna Foundation (Hartford, Conn.) has given its 1998 Aetna Voice of Conscience Award to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics (Washington) in 1968. The award, which provides $50,000 to a charity of the recipient’s choice, has been given annually since 1993, when it was created in honor of Arthur Ashe. Aetna also presented the 1998 Voice of Conscience Employee Award to Ruby Brown, a customer-service professional in Aetna U.S. Healthcare’s Fresno, Cal., office, for her work to help battered women navigate court hearings and obtain the shelter and other services they need. A $25,000 award will be made in her behalf to the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (Portland).

Literacy. Literacy Volunteers of America (Syracuse, N.Y.) has presented its 1998 National Literacy Leadership Award to Charles R. Lee, chairman and chief executive of the GTE Corporation (Stamford, Conn.), for his company’s sustained support of literacy programs.

Non-profit management. The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management (New York) has presented its 1998 Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation to the Common Ground Community (New York) for its Times Square Jobs Training Program. The program provides job training and social services for people living in the Times Square, a formerly dilapidated, 652-unit building that was acquired by this organization several years ago and renovated into single-room-occupancy units for homeless and low-income people. It will receive a $25,000 prize. Two additional programs were recognized for their innovative management: Illinois Action for Children (Chicago) for its Diligent Search Center, which uses volunteers to help expedite the adoption process for children in Illinois, and Lutheran Social Services of New England (Natick, Mass.) for the Good News Garage, which reconditions donated cars and provides other transportation services to help low-income people in Vermont’s Champlain Valley take advantage of employment opportunities.

Women. The Sara Lee Foundation (Chicago) has presented its 1998 Sara Lee Frontrunner Awards, which recognize women who excel in and inspire others in their fields, in four categories. Each award carries a $50,000 prize, which is given to a non-profit organization of the recipient’s choice. The winners and the charities they designated:

— The Arts: Isabel Allende, the Chilean author of such best-selling works as The House of the Spirits and Paula; Ms. Foundation for Women (New York).

— Business: Muriel Siebert, founder and president of the discount-brokerage firm that bears her name and the first woman member of the New York Stock Exchange; Girls Inc., Economic Literacy Initiative (New York).

— Government: Donna Shalala, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and the first woman chancellor of a “Big 10″ university, the U. of Wisconsin at Madison; National Women’s Law Center (Washington).

— Humanities: Elaine R. Jones, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the first black woman to be elected to the American Bar Association’s Board of Governors; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Women in Prison Project (New York).