Drama Club for Orphans, Sheriff Who Aids Mentally Ill Among Newest ‘Points of Light’

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

The awards, which are given to those who have done exemplary volunteer work, take their name from President Bush’s description of people who do community service as “points of light.” Some 1,020 people received the honor when Mr. Bush was in office.

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 World-Wide Web site, http://www.pointsoflight.org, or by contacting the foundation at 1400 I Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington 20005; (202) 729-8184.

The recipients:

1154. Adam Hornstine, Moorestown, N.J., a 17-year-old who has raised $7,500 for the Moorestown Alliance for Goodwill and Interest in the Community, a group he founded that organizes food drives, home renovations, and neighborhood-beautification projects.

1155. Eugene Botelho, Eagle Pass, Tex., an octogenarian who tutors more than 200 hours a month at the Eagle Pass Literacy Council, which serves this community where Spanish is the primary language of 90 per cent of local residents.

1156. Merle Hatleberg, Costa Mesa, Cal., a former nutritionist who founded the Some One Cares Soup Kitchen in 1986; the organization today feeds up to 300 people daily.

1157. The Magnusen Family, Costa Mesa, Cal., who have provided foster care to 31 drug-exposed infants and who work to keep babies from being abandoned through “Project Cuddle,” which provides a hotline for young mothers in crisis situations.

1158. Louise Ballisimo, Pittsburgh, an 11-year veteran of the Senior Companion Program, which provides volunteers to accompany elderly people on doctor visits and other errands.

159. Helen Minarik, Parlin, N.J., who has volunteered nearly 9,000 hours at Memorial Medical Center in South Amboy, N.J., seeing to the needs of acute-care patients and organizing records and paperwork for the center’s nurses.

1160. East Harlem Tutorial Program, New York, which has provided tutoring and mentoring programs for children aged 6 to 18 and counseling for college students for more than 20 years.

1161. Lisa-Anne Marie Furgal, Largo, Fla., a 16-year-old who started a youth-services organization three years ago that involves students in food drives and other volunteer efforts.

1162. Mike Neyholt Los Angeles, a three-time All-American swimmer who, after having been paralyzed from the neck down as the result of a motorcycle accident, founded “Swim with Mike,” an annual event that has raised $1.5-million for scholarships for disabled athletes.

1163. Steven C. Tremblay, Cape Elizabeth, Me., a quadriplegic who founded Alpha One, which provides loans for the purchase of wheelchairs and other equipment for disabled people, lobbies the state legislature in behalf of handicapped people, and provides personal assistants for their needs. 1164. Michael G. Roach, Knoxville, Tenn., founder of Inner City Youth Services, which provides young people with tutoring and after-school activities and which refers kids who are experiencing sexual and physical abuse to social-services agencies.

1165. Mount Calvary Youth Drama Guild, Tampa, Fla., a summer theater program that pairs black children in need of adoptive families with staff members who help them rehearse and perform original plays; after the plays are produced, the group forwards inquiries from families interested in adoption.

1166. Andrew P. Meloni, Pittsford, N.Y., the sheriff of Monroe County, N.Y., who volunteers with the Compeer program, which matches volunteers with children and adults diagnosed with, or at risk for, mental illness.

1167. SeniorNet, San Francisco, a network of 141 centers in 35 states that helps elderly people learn basic computer skills, such as sending e-mail and using programs to manage their personal finances.

1168. Tyrone Gaines,Baltimore, who founded the Reservoir Hill Rivalry Community Basketball League, which uses basketball to teach kids self-respect and discipline and which uses the games to encourage youths to join in community-service programs.

1169. PANDA (Parent Aides Nurturing and Discovering with Adolescents) Program, Baltimore, whose volunteers commit to a two-year program through which they counsel at-risk teen-aged parents and help them develop child-rearing skills.

1170. Harley Draven, Visalia, Cal., who was left a quadriplegic after a diving accident and who now works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promote water safety at local schools, the county fair, and other locales.

1171. Wyandanch Homes and Property Development Corporation, N.Y., which has built or refurbished homes for 25 poor families and that provides job-training and education services for people receiving public assistance.