September 30, 1983
The President today announced the third annual President's Volunteer Action Awards, a program designed to honor outstanding volunteers and volunteer groups and to focus public attention on the contributions of the Nation's 96 million volunteers.
The President will present the awards at a White House ceremony in early May. Awards are made in 10 categories: arts and humanities, education, the environment, health, human services, international volunteering, jobs, material resources, public safety, and the workplace.
In a unique cooperative effort between the private sector and the Government, VOLUNTEER: The National Center for Citizen Involvement, a private, nonprofit volunteer support organization, and ACTION, the Federal agency for volunteering, are cosponsoring the program for the third year. Funding for the program is provided by corporate and foundation sponsors.
VOLUNTEER is the primary national organization supporting greater citizen involvement in community problem-solving, providing technical assistance to volunteer-involving organizations, public agencies, unions, and corporations. It works closely with a network of over 225 associated Voluntary Action Centers and more than 1,000 other local, State, and national organizations.
ACTION serves to stimulate voluntarism and to demonstrate the effectiveness of volunteers in addressing social problems. Its major programs include the Foster Grandparent, Retired Senior Volunteer, and Senior Companion programs for the elderly and a variety of programs for youth. ACTION also promotes private sector initiatives by providing short-term grants to innovative volunteer projects in such areas as literacy and drug abuse.
Among the supporters of the 1984 awards program are Aid Association for Lutherans, Avon Products, Inc., Keyes Martin Advertising and Public Relations, Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co., Rexnord and Tenneco, Inc.
President Reagan presented the second annual awards to 17 individuals and groups, one labor union, and two corporations at a White House ceremony on April 13. Official nomination forms can be obtained by writing P.O. Box 37488, Washington, D.C. 20013. The deadline for submission of nominations for the 1984 awards is January 31, 1984.