Mayor Michael Bloomberg this evening presented 11 awards to volunteers for exemplary volunteer service at the 34th Annual Mayor’s Volunteer Service Awards ceremony.  These awards recognize the achievements of just a few of the hundreds of thousands of people who have contributed their time, energy and resources to make New York City a better place.  This year, a new award has been established to recognize the important contributions made by corporate volunteer groups.  Deputy Mayor for Administration Patricia E. Harris and Mayor’s Volunteer Center (MVC) Executive Director Nazli Parvizi joined the Mayor at Gracie Mansion to present the awards.

“Representing all five boroughs, these award recipients exemplify the spirit of New York,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “It is an honor to be able to recognize these outstanding individuals, but also to acknowledge everyone in the volunteer community who has looked beyond themselves and helped others.  I think these are the most generous people on earth.” 

“New Yorkers are what make New York City the greatest city in the world, and the volunteers honored here today showcase our citizens at their best,” said MVC Executive Director Parvizi.   “Volunteers allow the City to provide the services people depend on by augmenting crucial cultural, educational and social services – whether it’s serving as a docent at one of New York City’s museums or serving meals to the homeless in a soup kitchen.”

The Award Recipients are as follows:

Rosalind Alexander
Through the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Rosalind Alexander offers free tax aid to people who cannot afford to pay for professional assistance as part of the Internal Revenue Service's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly Programs (VITA/TCE). As the New York State Coordinator, Ms. Alexander oversees all AARP tax volunteer activities in an area that includes the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Under her oversight, The TCE program has expanded into underserved neighborhoods in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. She also partnered with the IRS and NYC Department of Consumer Affairs on Saturdays to prepare returns for New Yorkers who had not claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit. Her efforts to ensure that underserved communities of New York have equal access to tax aid make Ms. Alexander an invaluable asset to those she helps.
 

Joan Hartman
For over 25 years Joan Hartman has been involved with the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). Through RSVP's Prejudice Reduction Program, Ms. Hartman teaches elementary school children the importance of understanding and appreciating human differences. Using games, puppetry, group discussions, videos, and problem-solving exercises, Ms. Hartman helps students break down stereotypes of race, age, gender, ethnicity, and physical differences while building student's pride in themselves and their family history. Her dedication to the Prejudice Reduction Program has encouraged seniors to volunteer their time with children and provides a great service for our city's public schools.
 
Peter Hwang
Seeking practical experience between college and law school, Mr. Hwang volunteered tirelessly five days a week at the New York Legal Assistance Group's (NYLAG) LegalHealth Project. Mr. Hwang has been instrumental in allowing NYLAG to serve low-income chronically ill New Yorkers with their legal issues. He started letter-writing campaigns to ensure public housing for his clients, arranged a grant to help pay for a client's medical bills, and helped a breast cancer survivor consolidate her medical debt and create a manageable payment plan. Functioning as a paralegal, researcher, and ad-hoc graphics designer, Mr. Hwang has been a compassionate advocate for his constituents.
 
KPMG
The first annual Mayor's Corporate Volunteer Service Award is presented to KPMG for their “Involve Program”. This program was developed with the philosophy that allowing employees to choose the issues important to them would lead to greater community involvement. Employees in New York City focus on helping children and partnering with the Learning Project Middle School in Lower Manhattan. They have run a book-drive, instituted a reading program, obtained new computer, and volunteered with students in after-school sports programs, homework help, and job shadow days. KPMG volunteers were active with the 9/11 recovery effort through their involvement with New York Cares and at special events such as Family Volunteer Day, the New York Cares Coat Drive, Secret Santa Program, and Spring Clean-up Days. By building a culture of corporate citizenship and devoting resources for employees committed to making a difference, KPMG has taken good business practices further by bringing positive change to New York City.
 
Peter Lor
Having lived in Chinatown for 65 years, Peter Lor sought a way to give back to his community after his retirement. In 1995 he joined the NYU Downtown Hospital as a weekly volunteer helping patients fill out their forms, preparing their charts for doctors, retrieving lab reports and translating for Chinese-speaking patients. Despite his own health problems, Mr. Lor has unfailingly continued his work with the hospital, even learning to speak Mandarin at the age of 72 in order to meet the needs of the changing population served at NYU Downtown Hospital. Mr. Lor is a loyal volunteer to his community, lending his time and support to patients.
 
The Miracle Makers, Inc. Adult Group
The Miracle Makers: Marquee Bright, Marsha Powell, Manuel Ramirez, Kevin Shaw, and Reynaldo Spalding, along with their supervisors, Scheherazade Newton and Judy Moore play an integral role at St. John's Bread and Life Soup Kitchen in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community in Brooklyn. Despite living with developmental disabilities, the Miracle Makers overcome the challenges they face and provide a positive example to those they serve. Not even last winter's blizzards could keep them from volunteering three days a week. The Miracle Workers have proved to be reliable, dedicated, and respected allies in service to the less fortunate.
 

Alma Polanco
Since she discovered Fresh Youth Initiatives (FYI), a Washington Heights-based organization that supports youth community service projects, Alma Polanco has been involved in myriad programs. She has hand-made sleeping bags for the homeless, prepared and distributed sandwiches to the hungry, cleaned up parks, and helped at the FYI Food Bank - just to name a few. She is also a member of two youth-run agencies: Global Action Kids, which corresponds with kids with AIDS in Africa through letters and care packages, and Baby Care Givers, a group of teenagers dedicated to helping less fortunate mothers and their babies in the community. At the young age of 12, Ms. Polanco's dedication, passion and enthusiasm are truly inspiring. She has helped people around the world and in her own community with her kindness and seemingly inexhaustible energy.

Lori Robb
Lori Robb has granted wishes to over 100 sick children in New York City through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Whether the children are meeting with celebrities or being treated like celebrities themselves, Ms. Robb goes out of her way to make sure that the children she meets have a truly exceptional experience. Wish fulfillments make sure that kids get to be kids, even if they spend the majority of their time in a hospital. In addition to helping children, Ms. Robb also helps to encourage and train new volunteers, showing them what a difference they can make in the life of a sick child. She puts her heart and soul into each wish project and is adored by all of the children she has helped over the years, providing them with memories they will treasure for the rest of their lives. 
 
Dr. Brian Sumner
With the help of Dr. Brian Sumner, the Bowery Mission was able to open the doors of Bowery Medical Services in 2002 to meet the medical needs of the homeless by providing free, high quality, comprehensive health care. Plans for the Bowery Medical Services had been in the works, but the Mission was stuck on how to cover liability and malpractice insurance. Dr. Sumner, the volunteer attending physician, extended his own private practice's insurance to cover the building. In addition, he secured medical equipment and through his support network has been able to connect patients to Medicaid facilitated enrollers and expand the number of specialist referrals offered to clients. Dr. Sumner's dedication ensures that those who need medical care the most are now able to receive it.

Jack Tharp
As a liaison to Puppies Behind Bars, the organization that trains inmates to raise puppies to become guide dogs or explosive detection canines, Jack Tharp has worked tirelessly for JP Morgan Chase's annual Global Day of Service. Over the past four years, he has organized multiple weekends for JP Morgan Chase employees who are interested in serving as volunteer puppy sitters. These volunteers are crucial to the effectiveness of the program, thoroughly socializing the puppies to the world at large. Throughout his service as Volunteer Liaison, the number of interested volunteers has more than doubled.
 
John Henry Thomas III
For over 30 years John Henry Thomas III has been a volunteer at the Morris-Jumel Mansion, one of twenty-two members of the Historic House Trust of New York City, a program of the City's Department of Parks and Recreation. Volunteering as a docent, his passion for history provides visitors with a thorough look at Manhattan's oldest house, sharing anecdotes about the many historically important people who lived there. In addition to serving as a volunteer docent, Mr. Thomas also tends the Mansion's garden. As a lifelong resident of Washington Heights, Mr. Thomas is a tireless advocate for the preservation of the Mansion and enhances the quality of life for the surrounding community by providing a peaceful garden oasis in the midst of the hustle of everyday life. His rich, animated tours and desire to share his knowledge have elevated the profile of the Morris-Jumel Mansion.
 
The Mayor’s Volunteer Center’s mission is to help make every New Yorker a volunteer.  The Mayor’s Volunteer Center connects individuals, corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations in order to provide people with meaningful volunteer opportunities that significantly improve the quality of life in New York City.