“Circle of Life” Brings Just Reward
Celebrate Southington! Award Recipient Learned Early to Give Back
(March 28, 2008) The “circle of life,” as Merinda DePaolo calls it, has a way of taking a meandering path sometimes; you never know if and when life will come full circle.
For Merinda, though, there’s never been any doubt that the circuitous path of life was one worth pursuing. And this somewhat ambiguous geometric equation has been affirmed for Merinda, at least in some measure, with her selection as recipient of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain’s 2008 Celebrate Southington! community service award.
“For me, it’s just the way you are brought up, that you are supposed to give back to your community,” says the modest Merinda, a retired social worker for the Southington Public Schools. “It’s the circle of life.”
Merinda will be honored with her award on Thursday, April 24, at the United Way of Southington’s Community Stakeholders Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. at The Orchards at Southington. For information, call (860) 628-4565.
Merinda has been giving back to Southington, her hometown, her entire life. As a social worker in the school system for many years, she consistently went far and beyond her job description to help Southington families and children, particularly those from Hatton Elementary and DePaolo Middle Schools. She started the “DePaolo Cares” program which helps students and their families; began the “Homework Club” at Hatton and DePaolo in which older students would volunteer to mentor younger children; and has organized teams to provide Thanksgiving and holiday baskets for families in need – if donations were insufficient, Merinda would go out and purchase the food herself.
Merinda’s work for Southington families goes beyond her role in the school system. She has been a board member at the Margaret C. Griffin Child Development Center of Southington for more than 27 years; has served on the Southington Youth Services Juvenile Review Board; and she has personally purchased YMCA memberships and sponsored weeks at Camp Sloper for children who could not afford it. Further, she has been instrumental in volunteering for the Southington Visiting Nurse Association, helping to develop a five-year plan to meet the healthcare needs of people of all ages.
“You couldn’t have picked a better award winner,” says Carol Smith, director of the Margaret C. Griffin Center, which collectively nominated Merinda. “She is the epitome of what the requirements to receive this award are. She has quietly given her whole life to helping Southington, from the youngest to the eldest.”
Other nominees for this year’s Celebrate Southington! award, all Southington residents with extensive histories of community service, were Regina Ciss; Stuart Estra; Louise Gagne; Shirley Mason; Carole Milano; Chet Potrepka; Paul Rosin; Kathleen Stevens; and Madeline Zoni.
Co-Chairing the 2008 Celebrate Southington! Award Selection Committee were Patricia Walden, vice president of BHC, Inc. and Southington Care Center, and Joe LaPorte of the Town’s Board of Park Commissioners. Serving on the committee along with Walden and LaPorte were: Richard Corcoran, Executive Director, United Way of Southington; Harry Kyle, Associate Editor, Southington Citizen; Andrew Meade, retired president and CEO, Lori-Lock, Inc., and a member of the Community Foundation board of directors; John Myers, Executive Director, Southington-Cheshire Community YMCAs; Susan Smayda, director of the Southington Library; and the Rev. Victoria Triano, director of pastoral care at Southington Care Center and a member of the Community Foundation board of directors.
As award recipient, Merinda earns the right to designate a $2,500 grant award from the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain to a Southington charity or community service organization of her choice. That selection will be announced at the award presentation.
The Celebrate Southington! Award is part of the Foundation’s four-town Celebrate Our Communities! community service awards program in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. 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.
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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