President Names Woman as One of America’s Unsung Heroes
Kim Bobo of the Nat’l Interfaith Worker Justice Group Named Daily Point of Light

Kim Bobo, director of the Interfaith Worker Justice earned recognition as a Daily Point of Light for September 19, 2000, by both President Bill Clinton and former President George Bush, which is an award given each weekday to honor an individual or organization that makes a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others.

As founder and director of IWJ, “Kim Bobo fights tirelessly for justice for low-wage workers in America, and is the driving force behind a unique program that boosts the religious community’s involvement in the everyday struggles of workers,” said Crystal Hill of the Points of Light Foundation.

Interfaith Worker Justice is a nonprofit organization that educates, organizes, and mobilizes the religious community on issues and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits, and working conditions for workers, especially low-wage workers. “I am grateful for the award, but I am more grateful for the opportunity to do the work,” said Kim Bobo. “God has called me to seek justice for all workers and I am honored to work with so many dedicated leaders around the nation.”

The organization has built a nationwide network of people of faith who are taking action in their communities to support workers’ right to organize for a voice on the job. There are many people of faith and community activists who volunteer their time on behalf of helping workers and it is also great place for college students and retirees to volunteer. For more information can be found at their website, www.nationalinterfaith.org.

Ms. Bobo both lives and works in Rogers Park. The national office is located in Rogers Park in a Presbyterian Church at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr. Ms. Bobo, a native of Cincinnati, founded the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues in 1991. Then, in 1996, she founded the Interfaith Worker Justice.

The Points of Light Foundation, founded May 1990, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization devoted to promoting volunteerism. The Washington, D.C.-based Foundation promotes community service through partnerships with a nationwide network of more than 450 Volunteer Centers and alliances with corporations, non profits, government agencies, individuals and the media. President Bill Clinton and President George Bush jointly chose the first two recipients.