Helping from The Inside Out
Grassroots Leader to Be Honored for Lifetime of Service

By Kim Bohince

Robert L. Woodson Sr. is the 2005 recipient of the Lenore and George W. Romney Citizen Volunteer Award. One of three keynote speakers at the National Conference on Volunteering and Community Service, Woodson will be presented with this prestigious award during a conference plenary session in Washington, D.C.

The Lenore and George W. Romney Citizen Volunteer Award honors distinguished Americans who have built and sustained a lifetime of volunteering and citizenship. Woodson's extensive history of supporting grassroots organizations and advocating for positive change in disadvantaged communities make him worthy of this recognition.

Woodson is the president and founder of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, an organization created to assist grassroots community leaders of low-income neighborhoods who are successfully addressing problems such as substance abuse, teen pregnancy, youth crime and gang violence, and welfare dependency. He has long been referred to as the godfather of the movement to empower neighborhood-based organizations.

Woodson's activism dates back to the 1960's when he coordinated and implemented national and local community development programs. He has been instrumental in combating the problems of youth in cities and throughout the country by establishing the Violence Free Zone project, a program to reduce gang violence in cities such as Philadelphia, Hartford, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, and the District of Columbia.

For his contributions, Woodson has received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the "Genius" award, in 1990. He sits on the boards of the American Association of Enterprise Zones, the Commission on National and Community Service, and the Commonwealth Foundation. Woodson has also written extensively on the issues of poverty and empowerment.

Established in 1987, the Lenore and George W. Romney Citizen Volunteer Award is given by the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network to distinguished Americans who demonstrate the same spirit of volunteering and citizenship that characterized the lives of the late Lenore and George Romney.

For more information on national awards recognizing volunteers, call the Awards & Recognition hotline, 202-729-8184, or email Awards@PointsofLight.org.