Volunteer Pilots Are Among Those Honored With ‘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:

2028. Olathe Noon & Santa Fe Trail Rotary Clubs, Olathe, Kan., which started the Rotary Reading Program in 1998. The program enlists Rotary volunteers to read and discuss books every month with elementary-school students.

2029. Kathleen Murray, Townsend, Del., a partially blind woman who provided five years of home care for a terminally ill family member. Ms. Murray, a former volunteer at Covenant House, plans to perform community service at locations in 12 different states, starting next January.

2030. Department of Juvenile Justice Faith Initiative, Daytona Beach, Fla., a church-based volunteer group that provides counseling and religious education to youths involved in the juvenile-justice system.

2031. Montgomery County Agricultural Center, Gaithersburg, Md., which recruits young volunteers to organize and conduct its annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair.

2032. Corinne Bulla, St. Petersburg, Fla., a volunteer with the St. Petersburg Police Department who performs various public-education and administrative duties, advises the public on local police events and activities, and maintains the Pinellas Trail, a public path for walking and skating.

2033. Miracle Flights for Kids, Green Valley, Nev., a group of volunteer pilots who transport sick and disabled children living in rural areas to sites where they can receive specialized health care.

2034. Star Wallin, Hattiesburg, Miss., who created Project CARE, a student organization that provides relief to needy local families through food and clothing drives and other services.

2035. Humana Teens Against Tobacco Use Volunteers, Louisville, Ky., a volunteer group that raises awareness of the dangers of smoking among students in Jefferson County, Ky., public schools.

2036. Vista ElderCARE Volunteers, Waukegan, Ill., a program of Vista Health that provides elderly people with in-home visits, transportation services, and respite care.

2037. Judith Eschweiler, Brooklyn, N.Y., who serves as a tutor in reading, writing, and test preparation for New York City public-school students through the Learning Leaders program.

2038. Melissa Petry, Azle, Tex., a 13-year old Girl Scout who established Our Kids Care, a youth group whose activities have included providing food, medicine, toys, and other supplies to needy people and teaching younger children about community service.

2039. Arnold Royalty, Owensboro, Ky., a brain-cancer survivor who provides respite care for the Hospice Association and serves as a literacy instructor for the Kentucky-Reads AmeriCorps program.

2040. Volunteer Service Clearinghouse, Aberdeen, S.D., a student group that assesses community needs and resources and connects youth volunteers with community-service opportunities.

2041. Knoxville Utilities Board Employees, Tenn., who perform numerous community services, including work for Project Hope, which helps poor and elderly people heat their homes and pay their utility bills.

2042. TeamVOLS, Knoxville, Tenn., a student-run program at the U. of Tennessee that enlists volunteers to serve at more than 75 local organizations on a regular basis.

2043. Put Your Heart Into It…Clothe-a-Child Marathon Group, Kirtland, Ohio, an annual two-hour aerobic “marathon” started in 1994 to benefit the Clothe-a-Child Charity, which pairs volunteers with needy children for a shopping trip.

2044. Lisann Peters, Arlington, Tex., who organized a program to provide school supplies to local children and who founded the AWARE Foundation, which presents awards to outstanding teachers in the Arlington Independent School District.

2045. Depressive and Manic Depressive Association of Toledo, Ohio, an organization started in 1999 to raise awareness of depression and manic depression as treatable illnesses, to improve access to treatment for depression, and to advocate related research.

2046. Wade Demers, Oak Hill, Fla., a disabled Vietnam War veteran who provides transportation and helps organize activities for residents of the Emory L. Bennett Veterans Nursing Home.

2047. The Rev. William Mason, Tulsa, Okla., a retired clergyman with the United Methodist Church who helped establish support programs for alcoholics and after-school tutoring programs for children. Mr. Mason also led a successful campaign to ban pornographic materials from a local chain of stores.

2048. Docia Fish, Willits, Calif., a 91-year-old woman who has served as a tutor and mentor for children through the Foster Grandparent Program for the past 12 years.

2049. Impact Urban America, San Diego, an organization that collaborates with churches, employers, and entrepreneurs to provide housing, jobs, and life-skills training to disadvantaged people in central San Diego.

2050. Milan Skrtic, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., who created a program that uses the stock market to teach mathematics to local middle-school students.