United Way honors its top volunteers
UNITED WAY IN THE NEWS
Web-posted Apr 25, 2006
By NATALIE LOMBARDO
Of The Oakland Press
Louis Mahoney has a deal with God.
If Mahoney, 76, continues maintaining a dozen homes for the clients of Angels' Place - a Southfield-based organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities - then he can have fun afterward.
"If I keep volunteering, then God lets me keep playing golf," Mahoney, of Bloomfield Township, said with a laugh.
Mahoney, eight individuals and two groups were honored for exceptional volunteer work by the United Way for Southeastern Michigan and more than 1,000 guests Monday. Many honorees from the luncheon at the Detroit Marriott in the Renaissance Center are from Oakland County.
A retired engineer for Automatic Tool and Cam in Hazel Park, Mahoney lent his expertise to help build and uphold Angels' Place homes. He also founded a medical clinic last year at St. Leo's Soup Kitchen in Detroit, with the help of the American Association of the Order of Malta. He secured doctors to volunteer their time and equipment to serve the homeless.
"I do it because it makes me feel good. I get to know the residents at Angels' Place because they're desperately in need of help and it's nice to be needed," Mahoney said.
Jo Ann Wallace, 61, said it didn't feel right to receive an award for something she loves to do. She put in 600 hours last year with the Detroitbased AFSCME Local 345's community services and women's committees as well as the Detroit AFL-CIO community services committee.
The time is worth it to Wallace, of Southfield, because her work inspires the people she helps to give back.
"It's like pay it forward. There's not one person who hasn't said Œthank you' or Œyou've helped me.' And then they go help other people," she said.
Wallace coordinated numerous projects in the Detroit area in which volunteers paint homes for low-income and disabled people. Each Christmas, she organizes gift basket giveaways for families in need - last year, about 500 were distributed. A union member for 30 years, she counsels members in need and helps them locate resources.
For the past decade, Jean Kolod, 52, has been a docent or children's tour guide at the Detroit Institute of Arts. She initiated a book drive that brought in 10,000 books for White Elementary School in Detroit. The drive ended with the creation of a library and book club within the school. Recently, she organized a silent auction and raised $3,000 to keep a Detroit Institute of Arts essay contest in place, when funding was in danger.
"Bringing art into the lives of many children in the community who don't get that in schools is a passion for me," Kolod, of Rochester Hills, said, adding that it's magical to see children view the museum for the first time. "A love of what I do keeps me going."
Guest speaker Evern Cooper Epps, president of the UPS Foundation, said the event is not just to honor current volunteers.
"It's also to encourage other individuals and organizations to commit to a life of service. We all take from the communities where we live and work so when we have the opportunity to give back, we should do so," said Cooper Epps, of Atlanta, Ga.
Joyce Siegel of Huntington Woods was recognized for her varied work with the National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Detroit Section, and Ernie Cooper of Lathrup Village was honored for his efforts as a call center supervisor for Common Ground Sanctuary, a nonprofit crisis intervention agency in Bloomfi eld Hills.
Employees at Daimler-Chrysler Financial Services in Farmington Hills were awarded for choosing to forgo a holiday party last year in favor of working with the Farmington Hills-based Boys and Girls Republic to give the agency an "extreme makeover."
A volunteer for the Detroit Urban League, Beverly Whitehead of Auburn Hills attended the luncheon to honor her fellow volunteers.
"It's important to recognize people in the community who are so generous with their time, talents and unique contributions," she said.
Web-posted Apr 25, 2006
By NATALIE LOMBARDO
Of The Oakland Press
Louis Mahoney has a deal with God.
If Mahoney, 76, continues maintaining a dozen homes for the clients of Angels' Place - a Southfield-based organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities - then he can have fun afterward.
"If I keep volunteering, then God lets me keep playing golf," Mahoney, of Bloomfield Township, said with a laugh.
Mahoney, eight individuals and two groups were honored for exceptional volunteer work by the United Way for Southeastern Michigan and more than 1,000 guests Monday. Many honorees from the luncheon at the Detroit Marriott in the Renaissance Center are from Oakland County.
A retired engineer for Automatic Tool and Cam in Hazel Park, Mahoney lent his expertise to help build and uphold Angels' Place homes. He also founded a medical clinic last year at St. Leo's Soup Kitchen in Detroit, with the help of the American Association of the Order of Malta. He secured doctors to volunteer their time and equipment to serve the homeless.
"I do it because it makes me feel good. I get to know the residents at Angels' Place because they're desperately in need of help and it's nice to be needed," Mahoney said.
Jo Ann Wallace, 61, said it didn't feel right to receive an award for something she loves to do. She put in 600 hours last year with the Detroitbased AFSCME Local 345's community services and women's committees as well as the Detroit AFL-CIO community services committee.
The time is worth it to Wallace, of Southfield, because her work inspires the people she helps to give back.
"It's like pay it forward. There's not one person who hasn't said Œthank you' or Œyou've helped me.' And then they go help other people," she said.
Wallace coordinated numerous projects in the Detroit area in which volunteers paint homes for low-income and disabled people. Each Christmas, she organizes gift basket giveaways for families in need - last year, about 500 were distributed. A union member for 30 years, she counsels members in need and helps them locate resources.
For the past decade, Jean Kolod, 52, has been a docent or children's tour guide at the Detroit Institute of Arts. She initiated a book drive that brought in 10,000 books for White Elementary School in Detroit. The drive ended with the creation of a library and book club within the school. Recently, she organized a silent auction and raised $3,000 to keep a Detroit Institute of Arts essay contest in place, when funding was in danger.
"Bringing art into the lives of many children in the community who don't get that in schools is a passion for me," Kolod, of Rochester Hills, said, adding that it's magical to see children view the museum for the first time. "A love of what I do keeps me going."
Guest speaker Evern Cooper Epps, president of the UPS Foundation, said the event is not just to honor current volunteers.
"It's also to encourage other individuals and organizations to commit to a life of service. We all take from the communities where we live and work so when we have the opportunity to give back, we should do so," said Cooper Epps, of Atlanta, Ga.
Joyce Siegel of Huntington Woods was recognized for her varied work with the National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Detroit Section, and Ernie Cooper of Lathrup Village was honored for his efforts as a call center supervisor for Common Ground Sanctuary, a nonprofit crisis intervention agency in Bloomfi eld Hills.
Employees at Daimler-Chrysler Financial Services in Farmington Hills were awarded for choosing to forgo a holiday party last year in favor of working with the Farmington Hills-based Boys and Girls Republic to give the agency an "extreme makeover."
A volunteer for the Detroit Urban League, Beverly Whitehead of Auburn Hills attended the luncheon to honor her fellow volunteers.
"It's important to recognize people in the community who are so generous with their time, talents and unique contributions," she said.
Labels: civic engagement
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