WASHINGTON – The Jobs for America’s Graduates Program, a national nonprofit corporation, presented U.S. Rep. John Baldacci with an award Wednesday night for his support of the organization and the at-risk students it helps.

“It is important to have these programs that shed light on so many young people who wouldn’t have these opportunities otherwise,” Baldacci said in accepting the JAG Government Leader Award.

“They give us all the credit, but I’ve got to tell you, [the students] are great,” he said. “We’re just a reflecting pond of them.”

Students selected to participate in JAG are identified by school counselors or administrators as those who could benefit from one of the organization’s four program models. Programs work with students as early as seventh grade through one year past high school graduation and focus on dropout recovery, dropout prevention and the school-to-work transition.

“We must provide our young people with the opportunities and the incentives to learn and ensure that they receive the education that will allow their full and continuing participation in our dynamic economy,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who received the Economic Leader for Young People award.

The awards were presented at JAG’s seventh annual National Leadership Awards Presentation, a two-day event recognizing program participants and supporters.

Baldacci has done “tremendous” work to keep JAG programs in operation during the eight years he has been involved with the organization, said Jobs for Maine’s Graduates President Pete Thibodeau. That service was highlighted in Baldacci’s response to a young student who placed a call for help to him, Thibodeau said.

Lea Burdick, a 17-year-old junior at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, asked Baldacci for his support when the JMG programs at her school were at risk of being eliminated. Baldacci wrote a letter urging the Foxcroft Academy board of directors to continue JMG programs despite their impending budget cuts. “His letter helped significantly turn the tide,” Thibodeau said. The programs remained in operation.

Baldacci’s selection for the award represents “how closely some of our congressional delegation support JMG and JAG programs in their state,” Thibodeau said.

JMG is the kind of program “that fits certain students well, and it makes them feel very confident,” which helps students stay in school, Baldacci said.

JMG, a state-affiliated organization of JAG, works with more than 2,300 students from more than 40 public and private schools statewide. Students in the JAG programs work in groups of 35 to 40.