Honor Your Hometown Hero: Nominations Now Being Accepted for Celebrate Our Communities! Community Service Awards
Community Foundation Pledges $10,000 in Grants for Local Charities
(January 28, 2008) Who is your hometown hero?
That’s the question residents of Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington are again being asked to contemplate as the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain seeks nominations for its third annual Celebrate Our Communities! awards program.
The awards – one each to be presented in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington – honor an outstanding grassroots volunteer in each community. The Community Foundation supports the program with $10,000 in grants to local charities; each of the four award recipients earns the right to designate a $2,500 grant to a local charity of their choice, subject to approval of the Foundation board of directors.
“This is a program that has really struck a chord; people enjoy the opportunity to recognize those in their community who do so much but are so often overlooked,” says Community Foundation President Jim Williamson. “We look forward to a new batch of outstanding nominees this year.”
Recipients last year were: Helen deRito (Berlin) for her work with The Junior Woman’s Club of Berlin and with children at Hubbard School; James Jones (New Britain), a student mentor and volunteer coach who also works with numerous city programs that assist low-income families; Joseph Plourde (Plainville), a tireless volunteer at the Plainville Community Food Pantry; and Jill Notar-Francesco (Southington), a long-time PTO volunteer who also was instrumental in establishing the Southington Science and Math Initiative.
deRito awarded her $2,500 grant to the Junior Woman’s Club of Berlin. Jones’ grant was awarded to the Boys & Girls Club of New Britain, while Plourde’s grant went to the Food Pantry. Notar-Francesco assigned her grant to the Southington Science and Math Initiative.
The Celebrate awards have four objectives: To raise awareness of the importance of volunteerism and community service; to offer recognition to deserving volunteers who have made a difference in their communities; to provide financial support to local charities; and to raise awareness of the important work that the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain does in its four service communities.
Residents in each town will nominate candidates, and recipients will be selected by separate committees of community leaders in each community. Committee co-chairs and members will be announced in February.
The Herald of New Britain and The Citizen Newspapers of Berlin, Plainville and Southington are co-sponsoring the Celebrate Our Communities! awards. Also supporting the program are the Chambers of Commerce in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington, and the United Way of Southington.
Nomination forms are now available by visiting the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain website at www.cfgnb.org. Nomination forms are also available in ads running in each newspaper throughout February. The nomination deadline is February 29. Recipients are expected to be announced and presented with their awards at events in each community beginning in late March.
There is a change in this year’s nomination guidelines: No longer must a nominee be a resident of the town in which the award will be presented. Nominees must simply have a demonstrated track record of volunteer community service benefiting the town in which they are nominated. In-kind or compensated service is not eligible. Elected officials and paid staff of community service agencies and organizations are not eligible.
All nominations must include: The nominee’s name, address, telephone and e-mail; the nominator’s name, address, telephone and e-mail; and a typed or handwritten testimonial on a single, 8.5” by 11” sheet of paper. Testimonials should describe the scope and nature of the nominee’s community service, the agencies/organizations for which the nominee volunteers and the positive impact the nominee’s service has made upon his or her community.
Nominations must be received by the Foundation or submitted by FAX to (860) 225-2666 by February 29. Please mail nominations to the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, 74A Vine Street, New Britain, CT 06052. For questions or more information, please call (860) 229-6018.
Established in 1941, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain connects donors who care with causes that matter in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. It does this by raising resources and developing partnerships that make a measurable improvement in the quality of life in each of these communities.
For more information on the Foundation, please call (860) 229-6018 or visit www.cfgnb.org.
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