Thursday, February 8, 2007; Page DZ17
Student Wins BRICK Award
David Fajgenbaum, a 21-year old Georgetown University student, is one of 12 recipients of the 2007 BRICK awards. Organized by the not-for-profit Internet company Do Something, the national award honors young people across the country who act in response to a problem in their communities and thereby make a difference in the world.
A 6-foot-3 quarterback and senior in the School of Nursing and Health Studies, Fajgenbaum founded the nonprofit National Students of AMF (Ailing Mothers and Fathers) after his mother died of brain cancer in 2004. "AMF" has two meanings: The letters also represent his mother's name, Anne Marie Fajgenbaum.
  FAJGENBAUM |
Fajgenbaum said he started Students of AMF after he made a promise to his mother to help other Georgetown students who were grieving for a dying parent. Since then, his promise has grown into an incorporated group with five full-time staff members, interns, a 10-person professional board of directors and recognized chapters at universities across the country. The organization provides a network of early intervention and peer counseling to students who may otherwise feel isolated by grief and loss.
The 2007 BRICK awards, once dubbed by CNN the "Oscars of youth service awards," will be handed out April 10 in New York at an event featuring celebrities, athletes and musicians. As a BRICK award winner, Fajgenbaum will receive a $10,000 community grant.
Boone Named Director
Anniglo F. Boone has been named executive director of the Consortium for Child Welfare, a coalition of 16 private nonprofit groups that aim to improve child welfare services in the District.
Boone, a licensed clinical social worker, has dedicated her career to improving child welfare services by emphasizing the importance of advocacy, public policy, research and practice. She began her career as a direct services social worker at the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency and most recently served as research consultant to the agency and the National Association of Social Workers. She has conducted research in several areas, including the disproportionate number of black children on child welfare and in kinship care.
A graduate of Bowie State University, Boone also received a doctorate from the Howard University School of Social Work, where her dissertation received national recognition from the Society of Social Work and Research.
Lido Club Honors Its Own
The Lido Civic Club of Washington, an organization that celebrates Italian American heritage and culture, honored several of its members last month at the Capital Hilton.
Michael Vitale, John DiGregorio and Angelo Puglisi were recognized for reaching the 50-year milestone as members of the club.
Vitale, a retired lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission, served as club president in 1962. During this period of racial upheaval in the United States, he also faced challenges associated with the spread of communism around the world.
DiGregorio was the club's president in 1968, an extremely difficult year in the United States because of the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the continued U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
As a long-standing member of the club's advisory board, Puglisi has played a key role in promoting the club's philanthropic efforts.
John B. Salamone, national executive director at the National Italian American Foundation, was named Man of the Year. The award, presented by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, honors his accomplishments for Italian Americans.
-- Compiled by JILLIAN S. JARRETT
