Bill Milliken, Communities In Schools founder and vice chairman, has been selected as a recipient of the 2009 National Jefferson Award for Public Service from the American Institute for Public Service. Milliken was honored in the category of Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged for his nearly 50 years of work helping young people graduate and prepare for life. “This is humbling … God is good,” said Milliken. “Each of us in our own way had a part in making this happen. In accepting this honor, I acknowledge first and foremost the entire CIS family and what we have collectively accomplished.”

Widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize” for outstanding community and public service, the Jefferson Awards were founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr., and Sam Beard, who chaired public service programs under seven U.S. presidents. The awards are based on the simple but powerful premise that one person can make a difference in the lives of others. Past recipients include former President Jimmy Carter, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and youth advocate Marian Wright Edelman. The awards were presented at a gala dinner and ceremony hosted by journalist Chris Wallace in Washington, D.C., on June 16.