Nurse Who Tendered Aid in Brazil Among Recent ‘Points of Light’ Honorees

Following are the people and organizations that have most recently been named to receive President Clinton’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 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:

1483. Vecinos Unidos/Neighbors United, Herndon, Va., a tutoring and mentor program to prevent social and academic failure, aimed at an ethnically diverse group of students; the organization also distributes donated clothing to needy families and computers to other communities starting similar programs.

1484. Davine Schwarz, West Islip, N.Y., who has volunteered for 25 years at the West Islip Public Library in a variety of roles, from running the bookmobile to serving as president of the Board of Trustees.

1485. Neighbor to Neighbor, Prescott Valley, Ariz., a volunteer organization that offers living assistance to disabled, elderly, and homebound people in rural areas; the program has expanded to more than 100 volunteers performing approximately 5,700 hours of service each year.

1486. Mountain Trails Youth Ranch, Monte Vista, Colo., which runs the Juvenile Restitution Program for young offenders, through which they can earn money to pay their court-ordered restitution by constructing nature trails in public parks.

1487. Cinda Seamon, Hilton Head Island, S.C., who in 1986 started a rape-crisis center because the nearest such center was 50 minutes away; assistance is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and now includes a support group.

1488. Shanda Borgen, Niagara, N.D., a teen-aged volunteer for the Grand Forks Mission who has organized bake sales, educational programs on homelessness, holiday gift projects, and won a $1,000 grant from Wal-Mart.

1489. Stephen Tang, Boston, who joined in efforts to provide health care to low-income, Chinese-speaking Boston residents that eventually became the South Cove Community Health Center; inspired by his involvement, Dr. Tang, a former electrical engineer, returned to school to earn a medical degree and continues to serve multiple roles on South Cove’s board.

1490. Diane Vibhakar, Little Rock, Ark., a volunteer for the Little Rock School District’s Volunteers in Public Schools who has given time to every volunteer project the district operates, especially the “Reading Is FUNdamental” program.

1491. Kathleen Mahoney, Boston, a nurse who has volunteered with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, spending three years in rural Boa Vista, Brazil, and surrounding villages, treating the local population.

1492. Parole Rotary Club Books of International Goodwill Project, Annapolis, Md., which collects and ships donated books to students in needy domestic and foreign communities for academic and leisure reading.