News Release: Virginia McKnight Binger Awards in Human Service honor 10 outstanding Minnesotans
November 15, 2007 - McKnight names 2007 awardees, working to improve the lives of others.
Ten Minnesotans with long records of service to their communities will receive the 2007 Virginia McKnight Binger Awards in Human Service. The McKnight Foundation will present the awards on Thursday, November 15, 2007, at a private ceremony in Minneapolis.
The $7,500 awards honor Minnesota residents who give their time to improve the lives of people in their communities. Among this year's recipients are advocates for homeless youth and victims of abuse; direct service providers engaging the immigrant and refugee communities; and educators, volunteers, and mentors from a range of fields.
A committee of six people working in human service fields across the state selected the finalists from about 75 nominations.
"These 10 outstanding individuals, many challenged by past hardships, have turned lessons learned from obstacles they've faced into opportunities to help others," says McKnight's board chair Erika L. Binger. "They draw on that earned strength to empower others, through work done selflessly, without desire for recognition, and for little or no pay."
Since 1985, The McKnight Foundation has given the awards each year to recognize Minnesotans who demonstrate the difference one person can make in helping others. The awards are named for the Foundation's former chair and president, Virginia McKnight Binger. Mrs. Binger served the Foundation for nearly 50 years as a board member, as president from 1974 through 1987, and then as honorary chair until her death in 2002. Although her parents, William and Maude McKnight, established the Foundation, it was Mrs. Binger's personal compassion and generosity that set the standard for the Foundation's work.
Candidates for the awards are nominated confidentially by someone familiar with their work. No one may apply for them directly. Counting this year's recipients, 240 individuals, including eight pairs, have received the awards.
ABOUT THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION
The McKnight Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through grantmaking, coalition-building, and encouragement of strategic policy reform. Founded in 1953 and independently endowed by William L. McKnight and Maude L. McKnight, the Minnesota-based Foundation has assets of approximately $2.2 billion and granted about $93 million in 2006. Visit www.mcknight.org for more information about the Foundation and its programs.
2007 AWARDS IN HUMAN SERVICE RECIPIENT PROFILES
Ada Beh of Brooklyn Park directs her volunteer efforts to help recently arrived African women and their families adjust to their new environment, secure housing, and move toward economic self-sufficiency. Ada co-founded the Minnesota African Women's Association (MAWA), a social service organization with a culturally aware staff who serve women from all African countries.
Johanna Christianson of Pelican Rapids volunteers and advocates full time on behalf of immigrants and refugees in her adopted home, Pelican Rapids, to which she moved from Amsterdam in 1976. She participates in Campfire Girls, Global Volunteers, and Women's Venture Club, and is an adult mentor for the Youth Crew, a group of high school students who donate time to community service.
Virginia Clark of Minneapolis helped shape a network of statewide support for kinship caregivers by co-developing the Minnesota Kinship Caregivers Association (MKCA), a national model for kinship caregiving support and Minnesota's only nonprofit focused exclusively on kinship issues. Virginia has volunteered on its board as both president and secretary.
Charlnitta Ellis of Minneapolis devotes her life to informing young people about the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases. Charlnitta served 15 years as director of the HIV/AIDS/STDs prevention and awareness program at The City, Inc., and is involved in outreach to homeless and runaway African American youth and youth in gangs.
Bernice Cowl Gordon of St. Louis Park, at age 91, has volunteered with senior healthcare facilities for more than two decades. She established both the Dr. Moses and Bernice Cowl Gordon Journal Endowment Fund, which publishes a journal documenting Jewish history, and a tuition fund which enables new Russian immigrants to attend preschool and extracurricular programs.
Rachel Kincade of Duluth provides access to housing, education, and employment opportunities to hundreds of low-income, homeless, and runaway youth in Duluth each year as executive director of Life House. During her tenure, Life House has helped establish multiple housing facilities for homeless youth, and the city's supervised housing has increased threefold.
Darcy Knight of Minneapolis offers mentoring and gender-specific activities to teen girls who are emerging visual and media artists through the Arizona Bridge Project, which she established in 1993. Knight has also served on the interagency adolescent female subcommittee at the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Governor's youth and family enrichment initiative.
Barbara Lewis of Minneapolis helps women and children in abuse situations by placing them in permanent safe housing. She works as an advocate with Minneapolis's Domestic Abuse Project and runs her own program, Operation Change, which provides a safe house and resources for abuse victims during the evening hours, when fewer programs offer services.
Mary F. Nelson of Northfield as worked on behalf of youth in Rice County as a mentor an as an editor and designer of parenting and child development publications at MELD, a nationally recognized social service organization. Since 1992, Mary has also been a foster parent; she has housed and befriended upward of 75 children — generally teenage boys, as many as five at a time.
Mark Ochu of St. Cloud fights racism and injustice on behalf of people in St. Cloud. As a founding member of St. Cloud State's Community Anti-Racism Education initiative and as past president of the city's NAACP for three years, Mark has helped people win financial settlements in rights violation complaints. He has also performed internationally as a world-class concert pianist.
Contact
Tim Hanrahan, Communications Director