Press Release Archives - 543-96 Volunteer Service Awards

Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 22, 1996

Release #543-96

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Jack Deacy (212) 788-2969

MAYOR GIULIANI PRESENTS VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARDS

City Hall -Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today presented 1996 volunteer service awards to several individuals and organizations in a ceremony hosted by the Mayor's Voluntary Action Center (MVAC).The Mayor was joined by MVAC Executive Director Harriette Heller, Melissa Lewis Bernstein, President of the New York City Voluntary Action Corporation, and Sally Pearce and Joan Simon Crespi, co-chairs of the Task Force on Awards and Recognition.

"We're here today to give well deserved recognition to our city's volunteers and to the increasingly important role they play in the life of our New York," Mayor Giuliani said. "Volunteers come from all communities and all backgrounds. They clean up abandoned lots. They run soup kitchens. They offer assistance to persons with AIDS. They counsel the elderly and donate time and resources to help young people learn and grow. Unfortunately, we don't hear enough about them. Today, however, these volunteers, and many others, will be receiving the thanks and recognition they deserve."

The Mayor presented the top individual awards to Michael Harper for his after-school and weekend programs for at-risk adolescents in Manhattan, to Lyndrew Nesmith for his community work as part of the Genesis Crescent Project in the East New York section of Brooklyn and to Vincent O'Neill for getting his Boy Scout troop involved in clean up and environmental programs in Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx. The top group award was presented to Non-Profit Computing, Inc. for its extraordinary pro-bono efforts to bring the computer age and the information highways into our school system. There were also several other citations and honorable mention awards to individuals and groups. (A full list is attached.)

MVAC mobilizes individuals and public, private and not-for-profit organizations to participate in volunteer activities in order to strengthen communities throughout New York City. MCAV recruits and refers volunteers to 5,000 citywide groups, helps develop voluntary action programs to meet community needs, and provides consultation, training and resources on volunteerism. The Center has increased its service level by 20 percent annual over the past six years and maintains America's largest computerized data base of volunteers.