Sarah Kramer Named NASW Public Citizen of the Year

Indiana humanitarian honored for her charitable efforts

Washington-- The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is pleased to name Sarah Kramer as the 2005 Public Citizen of the Year for advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations.

Ms. Kramer has consistently acted with courage, demonstrated outstanding leadership, and exemplified social work values and ethics throughout her volunteer career. She began her advocacy efforts writing action letters on behalf of Amnesty International. To continue these efforts, she visited death row inmates to offer support and encouragement and she works closely with the Indianapolis Coalition Against the Death Penalty.

Ms. Kramer also saw a need for advocacy on behalf of gay and lesbian citizens of her small Midwest town of Columbus , IN. She spearheaded the effort to create the Gay/Straight Alliance, an organization that raised money and awareness for the global AIDS pandemic, as well as held Stop the Hate vigils, attempting to stop violence against homosexual people.

For Ms. Kramer, advocacy and education do not simply end at the Columbus city limits. She joined Friends of Haiti, a program that creates self-development projects. Some of these projects include women’s cooperative programs, adult literacy programs, a water purification program, and a school sponsorship of hundreds of children and youth in Haiti . The Friends of Haiti program is a collaborative effort between St. Bartholomew Catholic Parish in Columbus and St. Ann ’s Parish in Limonade , Haiti .

In addition to these efforts, Ms. Kramer is the longtime leader of Columbus Peace Fellowship, helping people to understand the global issues that divide people. She directs Face-to-Face dialogues, bringing diverse populations together to find common ground on divisive issues. She has also coordinated the Empty Bowl Project, raising money to feed the poor, and has supported the Bike Aid program by hosting bikers each summer at her home as they travel across the country to learn about social issues.

“Sarah has enriched our community by educating and advocating,” says Betsy Siegman, ACSW, LCSW, clinical social worker at Quinco Behavioral Health. “She works with existing organizations and develops new methods of increasing public knowledge about human equity.”

To interview Ms. Kramer, please contact NASW Communications at media@naswdc.org. For more information about NASW, please visit www.socialworkers.org.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 150,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.