***For Immediate Release***

May, 7, 2008

Re: Dorchester Honors Its Model Citizens

(Dorchester, MA) On Friday May 2nd, 2008, SCI Dorchester celebrated its 3rd Annual Model Citizens Awards Ceremony at The Historic Great Hall in Codman Square. This year we honored seven individuals for their exemplary service and commitment to their community. This event was held in conjunction with National Volunteer Week (April 27th- May 3rd) as a way to show appreciation for all the good work our volunteers do everyday.

Model Citizens is an annual award that celebrates volunteers who have contributed their time and talents to their community. An individual or organization nominates each Model Citizen and a review committee consisting of community volunteers then chooses the award recipients. The 2008 Model Citizens Awards recipients included: Dynell Andrews-Blake, Byron Beaman, Marion Bowden, Jamarhl Crawford, Vivian Girard, Arlene Lopes, and Jeff Smith. Ron Bell, Director of the Office of Civic Engagement, was the special guest speaker for the event and he was presented with a special award for his activism and accomplishments in increasing voter registration in our communities.

The event was a fantastic celebration of volunteerism in the Dorchester community. Every volunteer who came to the event received an official certificate of appreciation. In addition to recognizing the Model Citizens, SCI Dorchester and DotWell gave awards to its seven AmeriCorps members: Grace Ejiwale, Jennifer Gerber, Kathy McKenzie-Johnson, Joao Ramos, Carlotta Richardson, Carla Smith, and Kelley Winters.

For more information about the Model Citizens Awards Ceremony please contact Kelley Winters at 617-822-8297 or kwinters@scidorchester.org.

Join the celebration as Boston welcomes home one of its favorite Dance Crew, at the Reggie Lewis Track & Field Center today from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.

SCI Dorchester had the great fortune of getting to know the leader, Ernest "E-Knock" Phillips and his crew in 2004 when they won first place in the Dorchester Idol Talent Show contest at the Great Hall in Codman Square.

Are you civically engaged?

Do you want to get involved, but don't know how?
Then, you should consider attending the first Boston Civic Summit.

The Boston Civic Summit is a first of its kind effort to assemble Boston area civic and community leaders from every neighborhood with the purpose of having an open discussion on how we can strengthen the vitality of the city life by promoting greater civic engagement and fostering dialogue between community groups. The event will be held the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on Saturday, May 3rd from 8:15-3:45 pm .

THE PURPOSE
We can build a better city but only by working together. The foundation for this future is our diverse civil society groups and their leaders whose partnership with the city sustains and improves the quality of life in our communities. But increasingly, the ranks of these groups is thinning, growing older and operating in isolation from other organizations.

This summit will start a conversation on how we can strengthen the overall vitality of city life by promoting greater civic engagement and fostering dialogue between community groups. It will also provide current and prospective community leaders with tools, training and support to better exercise their important civic responsibility.

THE GOALS
1.To begin a conversation on city-wide strategies to improve and expand overall civic engagement and foster better cooperation and communication between communities and neighborhood organizations.
2.To provide current and prospective community leaders with tools, training and support to make their exercise of civic responsibility more effective for city residents.
There will be opportunities to build your social networks, learn and share best practices and find ways to get better involved in your community.
For more event information or to register visit www.bostoncivicsummit.org