The President's Award, sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation and the Corporation for National Service, was created in 1982 to honor outstanding individuals and organizations engaged in volunteer community service directed at solving critical social problems and to call public attention to the contribution made by the nation's 94 million volunteers.

President Clinton presented the medallions to 21 recipients, including individuals and small grassroots groups. GE and Lenscrafters, Inc., were the only corporate recipients of the award.

In the words of actor Edward James Olmos, 1994 chairman of National Volunteer Week, who assisted in the ceremony:

"These outstanding volunteers bring the human touch, the individual, caring approach.... They bring a sense of entrepreneurship that encourages and allows for individual approaches to diverse problems... These volunteers are the promise of our nation"