Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today presented this year's annual Mayor's Volunteer Service Awards in a ceremony at City Hall. The awards honor outstanding members of New York City's volunteer community who were nominated by not-for-profit organizations and schools and selected for recognition by a panel of judges.

Joining the Mayor were Deputy Mayor for Community Development and Business Services Rudy Washington, Executive Director of the Mayor's Voluntary Action Center (MVAC) Harriette Heller; and Task Force on Awards and Recognition Co-Chairs Mitzi Bhavnani and Pam Fishman, and Reverend Thomas S. Krafinski, C.M.

"There are 44 honorees today who dedicate their time, energy, and ingenuity to a cause larger than themselves," Mayor Giuliani said. "This event is a celebration of the volunteer spirit, which is so important to the wellbeing of our City. I would like to thank everyone here who is involved in MVAC -- your work makes New York City a better place."

Harriette Heller said, "The honorees today were selected from a pool of hundreds of extraordinary people who are committed to improving the lives of their fellow New Yorkers. I want to thank them for their dedication to helping others and recognize them for the selfless examples they set for all New Yorkers."

Approximately 4,000 agencies and schools throughout the City submitted hundreds of nominations for the outstanding volunteers. Thirteen preliminary judges then participated in the selection process, and four of these judges chose the finalists. Mayor Giuliani presented certificates to all of today's award recipients.

The Gold Apple Award went to Sachiko Nakagome for providing services to victims of domestic violence through the New York Asian Women's Center of Manhattan. Ms. Nakagome is recognized for her efforts to organize activities, raise funds, assist clients and increase awareness of the problem of domestic violence in the Asian community.

Silver Apple honors went to a.b.c. (advocates for better communication), the American Red Cross in Greater New York Youth Group, Nichelle Brown, Wlater B. Elvers, Kevin R. Medina, Vincent Polidoro, and Staten Island School Reading Volunteers.

Bronze Apple Awards were given to Licia Belinck, the Bridge Street A.M.E. Missionary Society Free Food Program, Mavis Chu, Frank J. Keating, Philip Klein, DDS, Laurie Leonard, Joe and Antoinette Martino, Rose Merone, the Narrows Botanical Gardens, Kathleen Roe, Ines Tejada, RN, MSN, OCM, and Elizabeth Tunks.

Mayor's Voluntary Action Center
The Mayor's Voluntary Action Center (MVAC) mobilizes individuals and organizations -- public, private and not-for-profit -- to participate in volunteer activities. MVAC maintains the largest database of volunteer assignments in the country, and matches volunteers seeking a meaningful work experience with the appropriate agency seeking a volunteer. It is a clearinghouse for the referral of volunteers to over 2,500 public and voluntary agencies throughout New York City. MVAC also provides state-of-the-art training in volunteer management. In addition, MVAC runs the Clothing Bank, Clothes for the Homeless and Needy which is a program that distributes new clothing to agencies and organizations that serve people who are homeless and in need throughout New York City.

For more information on volunteering, contact the Mayor's Voluntary Action Center at 212-788-7550 or visit the web at www.nyc.gov/volunteer.

www.nyc.gov