Literacy Advocate, 18 Others Receive ‘Points of Light’ Awards

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

The recipients:

1201. Marie Hartman, Brazos Valley, Tex., who for the past six years has provided respite care, food, books, and clothing to people at the Hospice of Brazos County.

1202. Tropical Elementary School, Merritt Island, Fla., whose volunteer-run Tropical Elementary Publishing Center helps students type up stories they write and bind them into a book, complete with cover art designed by the student.

1203. Steve West, Blount County, Tenn., co-founder of the First Wheels Program, which works with local automobile dealers to provide used cars to people making the transition from welfare to employment so that they can get to their new jobs.

1204. Conejo Clinic, Thousand Oaks, Cal., an all-volunteer program that provides medical and legal assistance to people who cannot afford private care.

1205. Interfaith Mission of Sussex County, Ocean View, Del., a housing organization that provides counseling to homeowners, operates two learning centers, and is in the process of building 24 rental units in Georgetown, Del.

1206. Christina Ivazes, Grass Valley, Cal., a part-time teacher at an alternative school who encourages disadvantaged youths to participate in “Adventure Playground,” a youth center currently in development that will be built primarily by adolescents.

1207. Thomas Fisher, Waxahachie, Tex., an 90-year-old literacy advocate who established “Read Aloud Waxahachie,” and other programs through which adult tutors help children develop a love for books and reading.

1208. Daniel Bryant, Pasadena, Tex., a student at the University of Houston and a teacher at St. Pius Catholic School who started a program to educate children about water safety and to teach them cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

1209. Kristine Schmitz, Kensington, Md., a 16-year-old volunteer who tutors children with behavioral problems and who works with “Girls Rule!,” a group that promotes self-esteem among fourth- and fifth-grade girls.

1210. Daniel Weiss, Deerfield, Ill., who founded Amizade, an organization that recruits volunteers to deliver health care and other vital services in Brazil and Bolivia, and to work on conservation projects in the Yellowstone National Park region.

1211. Stephanie Garcia, LaGrange, Ga., a high-school sophomore who, after her uncle died from AIDS, coordinated a weeklong campaign to raise awareness of the disease and to educate her schoolmates and her community about H.I.V. prevention.

1212. Bishop Raymond Napper, Hinesville, Ga., who created “Superchurch,” a mobile place of worship that provides outreach church services, and who organizes a military-style program that helps school dropouts and other at-risk youths obtain high-school-equivalency degrees.

1213. Village to Child, Columbus, Ohio, a mentor program started in 1993 by staff and board members at Ohio Dominican College that works to increase the number of students from adjacent low-income neighborhoods who attend college.

1214. The Umbrella Project, Phoenix, an art program through which children decorate umbrellas with images of peace and healing; the organization has reached youths in foreign countries and recently established a mentor program that recruits artists.

1215. Michael Clark, Ogden, Utah, a neonatologist who produced a videotape for teen-agers about the perils of smoking, and who gives presentations at elementary schools on the health risks associated with tobacco use.

1216. Nathaniel Kissel, Montgomery, Ala., a 17-year-old literacy tutor who founded “Tomorrow’s Voices,” which recruits teen-agers to collect and distribute books to children.

1217. James Ketelsen, Houston, who manages and secures financing for Project GRAD, a year-round academic program at 24 elementary and middle schools in Houston neighborhoods with high rates of crime, drug use, and unemployment.

1218. Penny Poe, Oklahoma City, a retired teacher who founded “Putnam City Care . . . Share,” a program that collects donated clothing for children, provides food to hungry youngsters, and delivers holiday packages to low-income families.

1219. Stewart Gordon, Baton Rouge, La., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Earl K. Long Medical Center who volunteers extensively on issues related to child abuse and missing and exploited children.