The Association of Fundraising Professionals Northeast Indiana Chapter is proud to announce the winners of the 2009 Outstanding Philanthropist Awards! These outstanding philanthropists are individuals and organizations in the local community whose generous gifts of time, expertise, resources, and passion for giving have made Northeast Indiana a better place.
The Awards Luncheon to celebrate and honor these outstanding philanthropists will be held on Thursday, November 12, 2009, from Noon to 1:30 pm at the Landmark Conference and Reception Centre at 6222 Ellison Road, Fort Wayne, IN. The public is welcome to attend the celebration. Tickets are $20 and include lunch. Contact Gary Nahrwold at 260-452-2277 or gary.nahrwold@ctsfw.edu for reservations, or visit www.afpnein.org for more information.
The 2009 Outstanding Philanthropists are:
- Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy (K-12) – St. Charles 4th Grade classes
- Through Saint Charles annual Read-A-Thon, over 90 fourth graders united to raise money to support Turnstone’s adaptive sports and recreation program, which provides opportunities for disabled athletes to participate in such sports as soccer, hockey, tennis, and fishing. Through the Read-A-Thon, the children not only raise money for a worthy cause and learn the importance of giving back to the community, they also learn about humanity, understanding, and acceptance for people with disabilities.
- Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy (college age) – Cortney Shepard
- While on a school-sponsored medical mission to Haiti, Cortney encountered a mother and her emaciated baby, who was surviving on two saltine crackers a day. That encounter sparked a passion in Cortney, and that passion became Formula for Life. Through Formula for Life, Cortney rallies support and organizes fundraisers to raise money to provide infant formula to infants in Haiti. The first $1,500 raised purchased enough formula to provide 4,600 meals for infants.
- Outstanding Philanthropist – Dianne Humphrey
- Dianne Humphrey is a great friend and contributor to countless organizations in Northeast Indiana, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Civic Theatre, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, the Creative Arts Council of Wells County, the Wells Community Boys & Girls Club, SCAN, and many others. In addition to providing generous financial support, she is also “hands on”—serving on boards, hosting fundraising events, and attending performances and local arts events, providing an example that encourages others to take philanthropic leadership roles.
- Outstanding Corporation – Indiana Physical Therapy
- Service to the community is a fundamental part of the business plan of Indiana Physical Therapy. Not only is philanthropy encouraged and supported at every level of the company, it is a value that is developed in employees and sought for in new hires. Since 1998, the company has donated athletic training services and programs to multiple local high schools, the value of which exceeds $300,000 annually; they donate professional physical therapy services to the nonprofit Matthew 25 clinic; they have provided over $40,000 direct financial support, over 120 hours of management and leadership guidance, and more than 216 mentor hours to Big Brothers Big Sisters for Northeast Indiana. Through their dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment to “doing good,” Indiana Physical Therapy proves that time and dollars together can make a big impact.
- Outstanding Nonprofit Leader – Lillian C. Embick, Audiences Unlimited, Inc.
- Lillian Embrick has provided 37 years of unwavering service to the Fort Wayne Community. She has logged in over 86,500 unpaid hours as Founder and volunteer Executive Director of Audiences Unlimited, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to uplifting the lives of nursing home residents through the power and beauty of the arts. Through her concerted efforts to raise funds from private individuals, businesses, civic groups, churches, and foundations, Embrick has successfully sustained an organization that touches and enriches the thousands of lives, providing more than 51,800 programs reaching a total audience of over two million long-term care residents. She has created an organization that is well-managed and financially stable, and has had the foresight to establish an endowment that will substantially assist the organization to hire a paid executive director in the future.
The AFP Board and NPD Steering Committee offers a great big “Thank you!” to this years judges:
- Ben Eisbart, OmniSource Corporation
- Lynne Gilmore, AWS Foundation
- Margaret Sturm, National City Now a part of PNC