The 2009 Tony Awards will include a new honor, the Isabelle Stevenson Award, to be given to a member of the theater community for philanthropic efforts.

The award, named after the former president of the American Theatre Wing, will go to a person “who has made a substantial contribution or volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations.”

“Isabelle Stevenson truly exemplified the role of a volunteer, leading the Wing for more than three decades out of her passion for the theater, not for any reward,” Howard Sherman, the Wing’s executive director, said Wednesday.

The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, the trade organization of Broadway theaters and producers, present the annual Tony Awards. The 2009 ceremony will be broadcast June 7 by CBS from Radio City Music Hall.