New York City Resident Honored with the Daily Point of Light Award at National Conference of Volunteering and Service

ATLANTA, June 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Katy Keck of New York, NY was one of four honorees recognized with the Daily Point of Light Award from Points of Light Institute. Keck was honored June 28 at a gala event in New York City at the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service, co-convened by Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service. 

Katy Keck believes that every child needs a mentor, and is working hard to make that a reality. Keck is a volunteer leader with Infinite Family (IF), an organization that connects teens and pre-teens in South Africa with adults internationally, using online video-based mentoring.

With an estimated 55 million youth affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, Keck felt it was critical to connect a caring adult mentor to children who often grow up alone.  She believes that by creating these connections, children will begin to define their lives by what they have to gain, not what they've lost.

Keck has been the lead volunteer for Infinite Family since it began.  With her professional background in event planning, she has produced all the organization's fundraising events. For each event, she pulls together a large group of volunteers and dozens of sponsors and in-kind donors. Over the course of three years, her efforts generated more than $200,000 in donations.

As a young organization, IF benefits from Keck's leadership in fundraising, developing marketing and communication tools, and her ability to recruit volunteers and mentors. Through her leadership, Katy Keck has inspired her friends, family and business partners to become active change agents, positively impacting youth in South Africa.  

The Daily Point of Light Award honors individuals and groups creating meaningful change in communities across America.  The award, established by former President George H. W. Bush, recognizes volunteer efforts in the following service areas: environmental stewardship, education, empowering youth to serve, building healthy communities and improving economic viability of local communities.

Three other Daily Point of Light award-winners were recognized for creating meaningful changes in their communities across America. Delores Powell of Buffalo, NY received the award for her work with PUSH Buffalo and the resulting Extreme Makeover: Neighborhood Edition that built Delores a new home, AND renovated another 119 homes in her community. Shannon Lambert of Minneapolis, MN received the award for creating Pandora's Project, an online resource that supports 20,000 sexual abuse survivors worldwide. New York State's First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson received the award for her three years of volunteering at hospital emergency rooms, counseling injured domestic violence victims. She's also created a state-wide initiative that challenges middle-school students to exercise more and eat healthy foods.

For more information on the Daily Point of Light Awards, contact Saxon Seay at [email protected]. For more information on the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service, visit http://www.volunteeringandservice.org.

About Points of Light Institute

Points of Light Institute inspires, equips and mobilizes people to take action that changes the world. The Institute has a global focus to redefine volunteerism and civic engagement for the 21st century, putting people at the center of community problem solving. We are organized to innovate, incubate and activate new ideas that help people act upon their power to make a difference. Points of Light Institute operates three dynamic business units that share our mission: HandsOn Network, MissionFish and the Civic Incubator. For more information, please see www.pointsoflight.org.

SOURCE Points of Light Institute