Who's who of Westchester leaders turn out to honor top volunteers
TARRYTOWN — About 600 people turned out Friday morning for Westchester's annual celebration of volunteerism and to honor seven of the region's most dedicated volunteers.
Volunteer New York's "Volunteer Spirit Awards," in its 44th year, has evolved into perhaps Westchester's premier "who's who" event, with public officials, business leaders, nonprofit heads and others filling a large ballroom at the Westchester Marriot to cheer some inspiring volunteer work.
"We don't believe that volunteerism is a nice to have," said Jeanette Gisbert, executive director of Volunteer New York, a nonprofit founded almost 74 years ago to mobilize volunteers to help address a range of socio-economic challenges in Westchester. "We believe it is an essential building block" to create a vibrant, equitable county.
Volunteer New York last year connected over 300 nonprofits with 35,000 volunteers who contributed 445,000 hours of service, according to the organization.
Friday morning's awards breakfast, always proceeded by a period of coffee sipping and hobnobbing, was sponsored by Regeneron, the locally-based biotech pharmaceutical giant that is expanding its main facility, straddling the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, by nearly a million square feet.
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Volunteer Spirit awardees span generations
The winners of this year's Volunteer Spirit Awards were:
Youth Leadership Award: Mouhamadou Alou. The 2023 Mount Vernon High School graduate, whose family came to New York from Niger in 2020, said that learning English forced him to become more of an extrovert. As a result, he created the "Knights Boutique" at his school, where students can access free clothes, school supplies and toiletries. The boutique continues. He is now studying nursing.
Going Green Award: Michael Penziner. He and his late wife, Judy, spent decades volunteering for nature organizations in the Westchester region. Penziner, now 92, began volunteering at the Rye Nature Center in 1997, writing booklets to help visitors identify trees and plants. He also gave many tours of Wildflower Island, part of Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, and at the New York Botanical Garden. On Friday, he talked about the urgency of helping people to understand the threat of global warming.
Quality of Life Award: Laura Romeo Sobel. A veteran volunteer, Sobel founded an organization called Dance for a Difference. She leads free dance classes, with donations going to over 25 nonprofits. Sobel said that the ripple effects of acts of kindness and compassion are far and wide. "You may find the difference you make is more substantial and more purposeful than you ever could have imagined," she said.
Education & Literacy Award: Jim Isenberg. He co-founded Grandpas United with the White Plains Youth Bureau in 2018, looking to unite grandpas to help mentor boys and young men. The group of over 100 grandpas now work with the White Plains schools, police and courts. Five other cities in Westchester have started Grandpas United groups and Isenberg hopes the program will spread beyond New York.
Social Advocacy Award: Colleen Brathwaite. The former chair of the Westchester Women's Agenda, which tries to improve the lives of women, is a well-known figure across the country. "We have documented the vast inequities that exist in this affluent county, especially for women who look like me," she said. Brathwaite also co-founded the Westchester Racial Equity Collaborative, seeking to bring together groups to address racial inequities, and pushed Westchester County to revamp policies to achieve racial equity in its workforce.
Resiliency Award: Matthew Ricker. Having lost his hearing at the age of 2, Ricker mentored children in the deaf community. He later received a cochlear implant and speech therapy and speaks often about overcoming challenges. He supports small businesses in the New Rochelle and hosts events for the city's Chamber of Commerce.
2024 Legacy Award: Valerie Mason Cunningham. Cunningham has served on Volunteer New York's board for nine years, including three as chair. Her leadership is regarded by colleagues as transformative. Cunningham is known for insisting "I'm sensational by choice" — a line that drew knowing laughs Friday. She's also served as an advisor to many groups, including Yonkers-based Sister to Sister International. "Volunteerism is our shared language of hope…it is the heartbeat of change," she said.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester NY top volunteers honored at annual Spirit Award event
