Fourteen Recipients And Two Corporations To Be Honored At Lighthouse International's Second Annual Volunteer Recognition Award Ceremony
For Immediate Release
Further Information: Leslie Gottlieb
(212) 821-9760
NEW YORK, NY - May 19, 2008 - - Fourteen outstanding volunteers and two exemplary corporations will be honored by Lighthouse International at its second annual Lighthouse Volunteer Recognition Award Ceremony on Thursday, May 22, 2007 at 6:00 pm at Lighthouse International, 111 East 59th Street, New York (between Park and Lexington Avenues). Linda Schmidt, reporter with WNYW-FOX 5 News, will be Master of Ceremonies at the event which celebrates the dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers who continually support the Lighthouse mission of enabling people who are visually impaired to live productively.
Recipients include a young woman who inspires musicians in the Lighthouse Music School, a reader who selflessly reads to people who are visually impaired, Board members who lead major fundraising events and major American corporations that support our programs.
According to Tara A. Cortes, PhD, RN, President and CEO Lighthouse International, "We are very fortunate to have a strong and dedicated team of 1,500 volunteers of all ages who assist us in many vital ways. Our volunteers are the heart of our organization and reflect the sprit of what we do."
Chosen from a pool of dozens of nominees and selected by an "all volunteer committee", the 2008 award recipients are:
Arlene R. Gordon: The Winifred and Edith Holt Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service:
The highest volunteer recognition award is given to Arlene R. Gordon for distinguished service. She has been a member of more than a dozen different Lighthouse Board committees, and a tireless volunteer who comes in early and stays late. Arlene who was a member of the Lighthouse staff for 25 years before retiring, has spent the last 18 years on the Board of Directors, chairing several of its committees. She brings perspective, deep commitment to our mission and the ability to step outside a committee's singular focus to see "the big picture." In addition to providing leadership and counsel at the Board level she enabled the Lighthouse to receive a $1.5 million grant.
Joel B. Mounty: Philanthropy Award
Board of Directors Vice Chair, Joel B. Mounty co-founded the Lighthouse
International Annual Golf Classic, which has raised more than $1 million for the Lighthouse over the last six years. As a leader in the Westchester business community and Chair of our Advisory Board there, he works to solicit sponsors, engage players and insure that the event is a success. His business acumen and personal touch have added immeasurably to what is now a tradition each spring. For 25 years he has been the consummate Lighthouse International ambassador, encouraging personal friends and professional colleagues to join in his commitment.
Peggy Kaufman and Dorothy Cohen: The Judy Van Nostrand Leadership Award
POSH® Co Chairs Peggy Kaufman and Dorothy Cohen individually and as a dynamic duo, have made an extraordinary contribution to help make POSH® the success it is with increased revenue, setting the bar higher each year and leading to even new heights. Their creative ideas, endless energy and single-minded dedication to soliciting quality merchandise, attracting name designers and enlisting volunteers has created a winning formula, which has enabled the Lighthouse to expand POSH® beyond an annual fashion sale to a successful year-round POSH® brand. POSH® is now a 365-day-a-year enterprise at the Lighthouse, including POSH® Interiors, the POSH® Store in Westchester and a POSH® Sale in Palm Beach.
Melinda Porter and Nancy Kennedy: Partnership Award
Melinda Porter and Nancy Kennedy worked side by side to help launch our inaugural POSH® Palm Beach Sale. It was a huge undertaking - the first event combining a dinner dance with a two-day fashion sale - in an entirely new community for the Lighthouse. Due to their leadership and enthusiasm, it was a success. They created POSH® as a signature fashion event for Palm Beach.
Gordon Innes: Recording Service Award
Gordon Innes, has been a skilled and caring Recording Services volunteer for six years. He is, in fact, the "go-to" person when the material is technical in nature, whether that's an HMO handbook or a science text. He handles them all with a clear, commanding voice. He is a dedicated and generous volunteer who students often turn to for tutoring when they are studying for their GED. He is also an exam scriber, ensuring students get full credit for their responses - and their degrees.
Bruce Burton: Reading Service Award
Reading Services, the Lighthouse signature volunteer program, is dedicated to making printed material accessible to people without sight. For eight years, Bruce has been here every day of the week, reading everything and anything - from mail to help people with vision loss with everyday activities and college assignments to help students achieve academic success to business documents that enable someone to remain productive on the job and literature for a client who wants to read for leisure. He helps people achieve their full potential. A caring, energetic reader, Bruce is also willing to make "house calls" or accompany a client to lunch - embodying the spirit of volunteering at its finest - going wherever someone is in need of assistance.
Jessica Alisdairi, Lily Erezuma and Blanche Hogquist: Special Events Award
Working for two years behind the scenes in the POSH® workroom, three women - Jessica Alisdairi, Lily Erezuma and Blanche Hogquist - have stepped into the spotlight as the 2008 POSH® Co-chairs. With unique talents they also have worked seamlessly together and enable POSH® to continue to be the highly successful event it has been for 37 years
Julio Lopez: General Support Services Award
"Commitment" is the first word that comes to mind for Julio Lopez. After having worked on staff in our Braille Department for 14 years before retiring in 1994, he quickly began his now 14-year-long volunteer career in the same place - with the same dedication to service. A certified braillist, he has been a linchpin in our efficient Braille operation, which includes brailling and typing documents, collating, binding and assembling documents, even boxing up the material for mailing. His expertise and seasoned knowledge of the machinery is matched by his generosity and loyalty both to his former colleagues and to the many people with vision loss we serve.
Travis Howe: General Support Services Award
Travis Howe is a significant contributor to Lighthouse International, specifically to the success of our Comprehensive Music Program for Young People. And he's been here without fail every Saturday, 36 weeks per year, since 2004. Dedicated, friendly and upbeat, Travis helps students during class with their equipment and special needs, ensuring full participation. And he guides them to and from their different classes and locations, as well as deftly lending the extra hand needed at recitals that often draw 100 audience members. He has a unique ability to connect with all children, and his reassuring manner and kindness smooth the way for them to shine. Travis, is also Chair of our Young Leadership Committee.
Annie Zhang: Youth Volunteer Award
Since 2004 our youngest award winner, Annie Zhang, has put her heart and soul into volunteering for our Comprehensive Music Program for Young People, where her brother Andrew is enrolled. On time and extremely reliable, Annie is known for her kindness and positive attitude, which is contagious. Wherever she goes, smiles follow. Annie gently encourages students to pay attention and do their best in class and helps to set the tone for a friendly and welcoming learning environment. She proactively takes on new responsibilities with energy and has been a source of support to our Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School staff and new volunteers in the very best way: she leads by example. Her volunteer experiences have also inspired her brother and all the students.
IBM: Corporate Partnership Award
In addition to volunteer contributions, corporate support is crucial to fulfilling our mission. For the last year, we have benefited enormously from an association with one of the leading technology companies in the world: IBM. This visionary company is dedicated to developing humanitarian solutions through the use of technology. And IBM has shown its generosity and commitment to the Lighthouse in numerous ways, including significant participation in our annual fundraising gala, providing a cash grant and donating six Young Explorer computer workstations to our Child Development Center, where preschoolers with and without vision loss sit side-by-side learning together. IBM is a first-rate corporate citizen dedicated to education and to improving computer accessibility for people with impaired vision. Our partnership continues to deepen through IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, where researchers are collaborating with the Lighthouse Advanced Assistive Technology Laboratory to test the first-ever computer video game adapted for users with vision loss.
Goldman Sachs: Corporate Community Partnership Award
Goldman Sachs, long recognized as one of the world's outstanding financial institutions, is unique among its peers in demonstrating a keen sense of social responsibility and commitment to the community. Goldman Sachs regularly recruits a large cadre of employees to volunteer at Lighthouse International, playing key roles as volunteers in our POSH® Sale, as well as in our reading and youth services. The company's commitment makes it easier for us to host events and run programs during the day, when it's most difficult to secure the services of volunteers. In 2008, nearly 90 employees have helped in many ways including repainting our reading rooms and a tandem bike ride with teenagers from our Saturday Youth Transition Program in Central Park. Goldman Sachs, which also supported our Reading Services through a generous gift, has been a steadfast partner dedicated to furthering our mission of helping people of all ages overcome the challenges of vision loss.
Founded in 1905, Lighthouse International is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to preserving vision and to providing critically needed health care services to help people of all ages overcome the challenges of vision loss. Through services, education, research and advocacy, the Lighthouse enables people with low vision and blindness to enjoy safe, independent and productive lives. For more information about vision loss, its causes and what you can do about it, contact Lighthouse International at 1-800-829-0500 or visit www.lighthouse.org.
###