GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (March 6, 2006) - Several boys from Lampe, Mo.,(population 2,200) will make their first visit to Washington this weekto join Congress members, public policy analysts and nonprofit leadersin recognizing the winners of Acton Institute's Samaritan Awards.
The boys are participating in the Lives Under Constructionresidential treatment program, which is the recipient of the 2005Samaritan Award Grand Prize for outstanding private, voluntarycharitable service. Lives Under Construction serves mostly teenagers whohave been in trouble with the law and have had serious behavioraldisorders. The program was founded in 1982 by Ken and Sheila Ortman inrural southwest Missouri. The Ortman's report that 92 percent of LivesUnder Construction boys have had no more trouble with the law.
The Boys' Ranch, which won a $10,000 prize, was joined by nine otherhonorees in the 2005 Samaritan Award program: Washington City Mission,Washington, Pa.; Panama City Rescue Mission, Panama City, Fla.; Promiseof Hope, Inc., Dudley, Ga.; Hearts of Christ Youth Outreach Ministry,Memphis, Tenn.; Citizens for Community Values of Memphis, Memphis,Tenn.; Good Shepherd Shelter of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Calif.;Samaritan Inns, Inc., Washington, D.C.; Union Gospel Mission TwinCities, St. Paul, Minn.; and Knox County Christian Women's Job Corps,Knoxville, Tenn. Honorees will be awarded various consultation servicesto assist them in the delivery of effective programming.
The awards program will be held Wednesday, March 8, at the Army andNavy Club, 901 Seventeenth St. NW, Washington. Speakers include KenOrtman; Robert L. Woodson, Sr., founder and president of the NationalCenter for Neighborhood Enterprise; Patrick F. Fagan, the William H. G.FitzGerald Research Fellow in Family and Cultural Issues at The HeritageFoundation; and Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of theActon Institute. The media are invited to attend the reception andawards program, which begins at 4 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m.
The Acton Institute is a nonprofit, ecumenical think tank located inGrand Rapids, Michigan. The Institute works internationally to “promotea free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty andsustained by religious principles.” For more on the Acton Institute,please visit www.acton.org