Florida Marlins Baseball Team Receives ‘Points of Light’ Award

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

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

The recipients:

2108. Mark Ball, Mesquite, Tex., who worked with the Texas Department of Transportation to create Precious Cargo, a program to improve traffic safety around schools; communities provide the materials and the state provides labor and equipment.

2109. Florida Marlins Baseball Club, Miami, through which team players, coaches, and staff members participate in the Adopt-a-Classroom program at public schools; contribute to the World of Baseball, a curriculum-enhancement project; and sponsor Books and Bats, a reading program that rewards participants with tickets to Marlins baseball games.

2110. Dorothy LeCain, Palm Harbor, Fla., a longtime volunteer at Hospice of the Florida Suncoast who works with patients who are unable to communicate verbally; she also serves as an “11th-hour” volunteer, caring for patients whose death is imminent while also comforting their families and caregivers.

2111. Paws Across Texas, Fort Worth, an all-volunteer organization that brings trained dogs to interact with mentally ill and disabled people, chronically ill children, and others who can benefit from therapeutic contact with canines.

2112. Nichelle Brown, Far Rockaway, N.Y., a decade-long volunteer and performer with the All Stars Talent Show Network, a youth-development program that uses artistic performance as an alternative to violence and destructive behavior in poor New York neighborhoods, and as a means for personal and social growth.

2113. Gail Shapiro, Wayland, Mass., founder of the Womankind Educational and Resource Center, which offers six-week classes in basic money management for women and girls and which teaches other organizations to operate similar programs.