Award Recipients

For more than 20 years, Leonard J. Young, Jr. has passionately served the people of Delaware by promoting, educating and volunteering in public health and wellness initiatives. He strives to make a positive, lasting difference in the lives of others by encouraging his fellow man to obtain regular preventive health screenings and incorporate healthy practices into their daily lives. Mr. Young spends countless hours preparing for health awareness events and his leadership and participation in numerous public health efforts is extensive. He also educates the community and youth groups on the hazards of substance abuse, the need for responsible sexual behavior and how to detect and prevent violent behavior in personal relationships.

In his local community, Wake Forest, Thomas Walters has been a city councilman and director of the Chamber of Commerce, served on the board of the fire department, mentored the high school Key Club, sponsored programs that benefit non-profit organizations and sponsored hundreds of youth athletic programs - but his passion is the YMCA of the Triangle. For the past 11 years, he has helped create several programs that are helping local families. Thomas has been instrumental in making the WeBuildPeople program into what it is today - providing life-changing experiences for children, teens, adults and families through YMCA tutoring, mentoring, camping, aquatics, sports, wellness and many other vital programs and services - assuring that no one is turned away due to lack of funds.

Paula Pratt Tomlin works tirelessly to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease. Diagnosed in 2001 at the age of 43, Paula is passionate in the fight against this disease. She has been an active member of Young Parkinson’s of Indiana since 2003 and volunteers for Rock Steady Boxing. In 2004, she co-founded and serves as President of Parkinson’s Awareness Association of Central Indiana (PAACI). These organizations seek to help address the unique issues of Parkinson’s patients, their families and their care partners. Paula is an author and national speaker and helps to educate and support other people with Parkinson’s, to raise awareness, and to help raise money for much-needed research to find a cure.

Emily Stinehart became active in community service after her family was assisted during challenging times. She volunteered at countless events, including local coat checks, recycling drives, bake sales and library programs, while still in high school. As a University of Toledo student, Emily volunteers and provides leadership within the Circle K organization, a student-based group that fosters volunteerism in tandem with a local Kiwanis Club. Currently serving as district secretary, Emily is running for lieutenant governor in the northwest Ohio district. Through her service with Circle K, Emily has interacted with the following organizations: the Josina Lott Center, Toledo Head Start Program, Cherry Street Mission and Six Cent Initiative.

In 2002, Brandy Sabatini Regan’s six-week-old infant son, Cole, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), the leading cause of death in young children. His brief 21 months of life was filled with chemo, multiple surgeries, blood/platelet transfusions, life support and 16 months of hospitalization. Cole displayed a fighting spirit throughout his life and Brandy continues her involvement with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) – the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services - in his honor. Brandy is very active raising funds for LLS. She has participated on Telethons and helped raise $2 million. In 2007, Brandy joined Team in Training, ran her first marathon and raised $5000 for LLS.

As an apprentice lineman, Gino received a burn injury in 1982. As a result of this injury, he learned of the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF), which enhances the quality of life for burn survivors and promotes burn prevention education. Gino became a donor to AARBF. He also began to volunteer with AARBF’s Ambassador Program, which helps raise funds through speaking engagements at companies. Gino then became a peer resource counselor for others who have gone through similar injuries, helping them in their recovery process. He serves as Vice President of AARBF’s Executive Board and in this role, is responsible for oversight of the foundation’s policies and plays a critical role in the financial health of AARBF.

Liz Pascual is an operating room nurse whose core values and sense of being revolve around helping others. Liz is dedicated and committed to the Faith and Practice ministry. Their medical mission trips to Guatemala provide needed medical supplies and support to those who would not otherwise have such access. Since 2002, Liz has taken a mission trip each year, including two separate trips in 2008. Liz also volunteers 3 to 4 evenings per month at the Good Samaritan Health Clinic, a free medical clinic in Garden City that provides volunteer medicine to the working poor. Liz is also extremely involved with the music ministry at St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church and Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

John Papazoglou is committed to serving the homeless in his Dallas community John has been successful in creating and leading an on-going program that serves meals to approximately 225 homeless men, women, and children each month, in partnership with ARAMARK client, Baylor University Medical Center. Once a month, John plans menus, secures food donations, arranges transportation and organizes a team of both ARAMARK and Baylor volunteers who prepare, deliver and serve lunch to the homeless through the Cornerstone Baptist Church Homeless Outreach Ministry. John actively recruits volunteers and works to make volunteers feel appreciated. Over the last eight months, this program has fed approximately 1,500 men, women and children. More than 140 people have volunteered in excess of 560 hours of time to this cause.

Susan Maxam’s commitment to helping the underprivileged and trying to safeguard our environment began during her college years when she spent time in Latin America working in refugee camps, orphanages, prisons and shantytowns. She has since been engaged in innumerable activities to benefit many causes, both local and global, and has involved her family, students, and colleagues. At Pace University she introduced a mandatory service component into the curriculum, participated in ongoing projects benefitting the Westchester Women’s Shelter, led Earth Month activities, and co-founded the Peace and Justice Committee. She also volunteers for Jua, a non-profit organization providing solar lighting to rural Kenyan schools. This summer, she’ll travel to Kenya with her family to work with Orphans International and Jua.

For the past six years, Sam Maugans has devoted himself to the fight against cancer through his volunteer work with The Breathing Room Foundation, a nonprofit organization that strives to provide families living with cancer with a “bit of breathing room” from their daily struggles, with the hope that they can concentrate on regaining health. On average, Sam volunteers more than 60 hours per month, relieving the burdens of families living with cancer. In 2008 alone, Sam impacted the lives of 523 families. He was also elected President of the foundation for his many, hands-on efforts. Additionally, Sam leaves no stone unturned in fundraising or helping to expand the foundation’s capacity for service.

Greg Lynch started volunteering at the age of twelve for “Cincinnati Young People’s Theater.” After his theatre stint, he moved on to other service projects including raising money for cancer research; serving on the Board of West Park Retirement Home; building playgrounds in Cincinnati along with 1000 Hands Playgrounds; mentoring business students at Miami University through their Buck Rodgers Leadership Program; and helping people with significant disabilities succeed in the workplace through Project Search. He also participates in a variety of volunteer efforts (cleaning, painting, landscaping, fundraising, etc.) through Give Back Cincinnati, a nonprofit organization focused on enhancing Cincinnati’s communities by promoting volunteering and fostering the development of young leaders through participation in civic engagement activities.

In December 2003, Teresa Kirkhoff and her husband lost a child during the second trimester of pregnancy. Inspired by the compassionate care she received, Teresa and a group of women who shared a similar experience founded the Caring Companions Volunteer program at St. Francis Hospital’s Women and Children’s Services in the summer of 2006. These volunteers are trained and certified as RTS (Resolve Through Sharing) caregivers, enabling them to provide high-quality bereavement support. As caretakers and moms, they reach out to provide comfort and care to mothers and their families through extremely difficult times and to guide grieving parents through their darkest days.

Louise Johnson’s caring spirit leads her to serve the homeless, seniors, poor and youth, both locally and globally. Louise volunteers at the Upper Room serving food to the homeless and collecting clothing and blankets for them. Louise also visits nursing homes – sharing food and companionship with the residents. Louise is an advisor for Erie Chapter of DeMolay and Rainbow Girls, organizations dedicated to preparing young men and women respectively, ages 12 to 21 to lead successful lives in the community. Louise has made two mission trips to Ghana, West Africa, where a mission hospital has been constructed to serve the people of the village of Ankasse. While in Ankasse, she worked with children in the schools.

Chrissina Herbert has been an inspiration to Montgomery County volunteers through her leadership and participation in Allstate’s Clarksburg MCO Helping Hands committee. This employee volunteer group has participated in numerous projects including: collecting food items for the Manna Food Center; raising funds for pediatric cancer research through an Alex’s Lemonade Stand; seeking donors for the American Red Cross Blood Drive; and collecting blankets for the homeless shelter. Through her Board participation on the Corporate Volunteer Council, Chrissina has networked with county businesses and serves as a resource to them for setting up volunteer committees. In addition, she has led discussions between non-profits and business leaders in the county on ways to increase volunteerism.

For more than 32 years, Carolyn Fronapel has volunteered at St. Lawrence O’Toole Parish in a variety of roles. As a member of the Cluster Planning team, Carolyn helped develop a plan to ensure the future success of the church and the communities it serves. Carolyn is also the volunteer coordinator for the parish’s Food Bank program, helping to manage new applicants, scheduling the food delivery team and following-up with participating families. Carolyn helps provide meals for more than 20 Parish families. Carolyn’s service also includes day-to-day tasks such as the training and scheduling of Eucharistic ministers, writing of prayers and singing in the church choir. Carolyn’s passion for helping others has truly made a difference in the St. Lawrence O’Toole community.

Lynn Falanga manages the daily operations of the National Grid Community Volunteers (Community Volunteers) and is the main contact between the agencies they serve, the community, and the volunteer group. In 2005, the Community Volunteers began a partnership with Island Harvest, the third largest food rescue organization in the U.S., to assist them in their mission to end hunger on Long Island. With an initial group of 10 employees, the Community Volunteers served as the bridge between those who have surplus food and those that need it. Today, 150+ Community Volunteers give up their lunch hours Monday – Friday to pick up surplus food and deliver to a network of community-based non-profit organizations that distribute the food to the needy.

Patricia Fennell is committed to service beyond her daily job – specifically her service to the Kingdom Care Reentry Network, where she serves as a volunteer and board member. The Kingdom Care Reentry Network was organized in 1999 to reduce repeat criminal offenses and help ex-offenders in Philadelphia successfully return to society following incarceration. In 2008 alone, Pat contributed more than 100 hours of her own time to this worthy cause. She has become an integral part of the Kingdom Care team, and is described as “essential and invaluable.” Pat is also an active member of several community boards such as Philadelphia Youth Aid Panel (YAP), AIDS Fund, and Southwest Belmont Community Association.

Jeff has melded his childhood passion for science with his desire to improve education, by helping Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT) to grow its programs. RAFT helps students learn math and science, through giving teachers the techniques and materials to provide hands-on learning experiences in the classroom. He initially led a pro bono growth strategy and now serves as Board Chairman. He plans to help RAFT expand in California and Colorado, enabling them to reach an additional 4000 teachers in the next 2 years. Previously, Jeff volunteered with InnVision, Silicon Valley’s largest provider of services to homeless and at-risk families. There, he created multiple events, such as one-day shelter makeovers where volunteers remodeled centers for homeless families and the mentally ill.

As a dietetics student at UIC, Peggy Balboa‘s philosophy toward her volunteer efforts is health and disease prevention through sound nutrition. She helped develop a pictorial “Food Access Guide” for Heartland Alliance Health Outreach – assisting newly arriving refugees in danger of poverty and food insecurity. She also developed a program to provide nutritional information training for men and women living with HIV/AIDS at Bonaventure House. In addition to these programs, Peggy volunteered as a SHIP counselor for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, working directly with senior citizens to help them interpret and choose the appropriate Medicare coverage for both their medical needs and prescription drug plans.

Sarah Anthony is an active member of Heinz Helps, the corporate volunteer organization at Heinz.  For the past three years, she has volunteered for Girls Hope of Pittsburgh and currently serves as president of the Young Leadership Board (YLB).  Girls Hope helps academically capable and motivated children-in-need to meet their full potential and become women for others by providing value-centered, family-like homes, opportunities and education through college.  A private, non-denominational program, Girls Hope welcomes young women of all backgrounds from Southwestern Pennsylvania.  As president, Sarah oversees all fundraising and mentoring events.  The goal of each mentoring event is to foster an environment that builds self-esteem, self-awareness, communication and team building while focusing on education and goal planning.