President George W. Bush presented the President’s Volunteer Service Award to Daniel Theodore Ling Kent of Carmel, Indiana in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on May 26, 2005. The ceremony, part of a White House celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, was also attended by President Yudhoyono of Indonesia.
Kent is a 16-year old sophomore honor student at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis. He is the Founder and President of “Senior Connects,” a nonprofit corporation that supplies senior citizens with computer equipment and skills. For several years, Kent taught both seniors and elementary school students how to use computers and the Internet, and one day he realized many seniors lacked the mobility or transportation to come to his classes. When he discovered there were no programs in his area to address this need and that local senior facilities welcomed such a program, Kent founded “Senior Connects.” Kent volunteers about 400 hours a year.
