Award winners embody volunteer spirit
Seven are finalists for volunteer of the year
A little Beaver County girl has become a big advocate for the cause of arthritis, marshaling support that helped raise $6,000 for the Arthritis Foundation.
An Aspinwall teen who mowed hundreds of yards in his neighborhood turned over all of his earnings to help create a community park.
And a Franklin Park man has worked 30 years to help steer black middle school and high school students toward success.
These folks uphold the ultimate spirit of volunteerism and are among seven local citizens selected as finalists for Most Outstanding Volunteer of the Year as part of the 2014 Jefferson Awards of Public Service program — considered the Nobel Prize of public service.
The seven were tapped from 48 local Jefferson Awards winners, including the efforts of volunteer groups. This year’s Team Award goes to the Best of the Batch Foundation, led by Charlie and Tasha Batch.
All will be honored at an invitation-only awards ceremony on May 4 at Heinz Field in the Hyundai Club West Lounge, where the Most Outstanding Volunteer will be announced.
The winner will represent Western Pennsylvania at the national Jefferson Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., this summer.
A collection of local agencies and foundations will donate $1,000 on behalf of each finalist to the charity that he or she represents.
Locally, the Jefferson Awards program is administered by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette with sponsorship by Highmark and BNY Mellon.
Beginning today, the Post-Gazette will be running profiles of each finalist and the Team Award recipient. Here they are:
• Ronald Lawrence Growing up in the racially divided Deep South, Ronald Lawrence of Franklin Park was fortunate to have parents who pushed their four children to work hard and attend college. He wanted to convey that same work ethic and confidence to disadvantaged black youth in the Pittsburgh area when he helped found 100 Black Men of Western Pennsylvania Inc. nearly 30 years ago. Now 69, he serves as president of the organization that has helped hundreds of young people succeed.
His profile runs today in Sunday Magazine. • Megan Yunn The 30-year-old from Bethel Park recognized a problem and took action. She founded the nonprofit Beverly’s Birthdays after she encountered a homeless girl who had never had a birthday party. In 2014, with the help of private donations and a grant, she hosted 64 parties for more than 150 children. “With every party I walk away changed,” she says.
Her profile will run in Monday Magazine.
• Mariah Aquino-Truss
At 9, she’s the youngest finalist. Four years ago she was diagnosed with a form of rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition that causes joint pain and swelling. She has become an active volunteer for the Arthritis Foundation, donating about 10 hours a month. Among her contributions, Mariah and her family of Patterson Heights, Beaver County, have organized a fundraising carnival each year that has raised $6,000.
Her profile runs Tuesday in Magazine & Health. • Che Esch During the summer of 2011, a teenager pulling a lawnmower and red wagon through Aspinwall streets became a familiar sight. Che Esch was cutting up to 20 lawns a week and handing over his earnings to help pay for the purchase of a new riverside park. Later he helped rehab an old shed on park property into a facility for ice skate rentals and hot chocolate sales. Now 17, he’s spent hundreds of hours helping Aspinwall Riverfront Park take shape.
His profile runs in Wednesday Magazine. • Darlene Scalese Darlene Scalese, 55, of West Mifflin says she is blessed because her son returned home safely from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. So she’s givi n g away those blessings to other troops who have come home and need assistance. Whether it’s spearheading “Welcome Home” kits or creating a Santa shopping experience at Christmastime, she is spreading joy through her volunteer work with Operation Troop Appreciation.
Her profile runs in Friday Magazine. • Carol McCaskey As a teacher for 30 years, Carol McCaskey knew that several students didn’t have enough to eat at home and how it affected their well- being. Now retired, she created Backpack Initiative to Fight Hunger in 2013 to assist students in the Deer Lakes School District by sending them home with nourishment over the weekends. She hopes to expand the program to the summer months, too. It’s just one of the many volunteer efforts that this 70year-old participates in.
Her profile runs in Saturday Magazine.
• Juliana Kochis
Not only did 18-yearold Juliana Kochis organize several programs, including anendof- summer carnival, to help people assisted by the Center for Hope in Ambridge, she has inspired others to help, too. Now that she is a college student in upstate New York, the legacy of her work continues back home while she lends her hand to philanthropic efforts at Cornell University.
Her profile runs May 3 in Sunday Magazine.
• Best of the Batch Foundation (Team Award)
Established in 1999 by former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch, the organization provides support for underprivileged youth through afterschool programs, scholarships, playground restoration and sports and leisure activities. More than 3,300 children in six counties are helped annually. His wife, Tasha, is the foundation’s executive director.
The foundation’s profile runs on May 4 in Magazine.