2014 Outstanding Community Impact Award Winners
Leah Nawrocki ~ Aquinas College
Aquinas College senior Leah Nawrocki’s community service
involvement has been phenomenal. With majors in Psychology
and Spanish, Leah has consistently dedicated countless hours of
service to a variety of issues during all four years of her college
experience.
As a Spanish major, she was offered the opportunity to volunteer
with Safe Kids Greater Grand Rapids, and quickly realized the
need for Spanish speakers. She went on to be trained as a Child
Passenger Safety Technician and was able to help fill out
paperwork and interpret for other technicians.
Leah has also focused her efforts on volunteering at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Salvation Army, Gilda’s
Club, and the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society, for which she assembled a team and raised over $8,000! Leah states,
“one of my life passions is to encourage and provide proper growth and educational opportunities for children. For
this reason I intend to pursue a career as a Certified Child Life Specialist.”
Leah has chosen The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to be the recipient of her $200 donation.
Jessica Mac Vane ~ Grand Valley State University
Jessica has demonstrated a deep commitment to her community with over 800
hours of direct service during her collegiate years. As president of PALS Student
Mentors, she motivates and inspires mentors to change the lives of the youth
they work with. PALS Student Mentors receives mentees from community
partners in Grand Rapids. She has increased the number of schools they work
with and the number of mentees has increased from 100 to 160!
Jessica states, “I have been with my mentee for 3 and a half years and I know
first-hand how at least an hour a week really can change a child's life for the
better. Not only have I changed his life, but he has opened my eyes to the world
and made me a better person.”
Additionally, Jessica is active in Best Buddies, Alternative Breaks, Alpha Psi Sigma
Criminal Justice Honor Society, and member of Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society. In
addition to Jessica’s impressive community contributions, she has maintained dean’s list standing during her entire
collegiate experience. She is earning a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology and is exploring options for
graduate education.
Jessica has chosen PALS Student Mentors to be the recipient of her $200 donation.
Roxann Lawrence & Raven Fisher ~ Kalamazoo
College
Roxann and Raven are Civic Engagement Scholars for
Community Advocates for Parents and Students (CAPS), a
grassroots organization that aims to help racially and
economically underprivileged children at Interfaith Homes
achieve a university education through the Kalamazoo Promise.
During their tutoring, they realized that parental/guardian
involvement was lacking so they applied for and received a grant and collaborated with community partners to
establish a day of workshops for the parents/guardians and events for their children. Today, there is a parenting
board at CAPS who organize and plan events in the community.
Their nominator stated, “Ms. Lawrence and Ms. Fisher recruit, train, supervise, evaluate and facilitate structured
reflection with 25-30 of their peers who work through courses, as volunteers, and as work-study students in the
program. In addition to leading their peers, they work alongside community partners to develop curriculum, plan
field trips, and recruit K-12 students and their families to join CAPS.”
Roxann and Raven have chosen Kalamazoo Push for Learning to be the recipient of her $200
donation.
Antigone Senn ~ Madonna University
Antigone exemplifies the mission of Madonna University. Antigone’s
involvement in civic engagement is centered on her passion to serve as an
agent of change by addressing nutrition and wellness needs for people of all
ages and abilities.
Antigone returned to school as a post degree student, wife and mother, to
pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a dietitian. Antigone created a
partnership between the Madonna University Dietetics department and the
Plymouth-Canton, Autism Spectrum Disorder Program, by approaching the
instructors and offering to teach nutrition and cooking lessons. Her one Friday
per month lessons soon grew to physical activity lessons and a field day
celebration in the spring. She also offered resume building and interviewing skills to assist in job placement and
created curriculum to accommodate all levels of abilities. She has recruited and trained many volunteers to assist
with programming and helped the program become a recipient of a community outreach through the Ford
Community Corps program, now in it’s second year of working with the ASD students.
Antigone stated, “Though the ASD students are segmented by functional levels in their home classrooms, these
barriers seemed to disappear in the kitchen and through various physical activities. All students, regardless of
ability, have been able to participate and learn through a curriculum created for all levels of cognition.
Antigone has chosen Women in Transition to be the recipient of her $200 donation.
Jamilah Alhashidi ~ University of Michigan-Dearborn
Jamilah Alhashidi believes that making a difference in one person’s life is just as
valuable as helping hundreds. She believes in advocating for those with disabilities.
Jamilah serves as the president for the Alliance for Disability Awareness, vice
president for Autism Speaks U and participates in several e-boards.
Jamilah has devoted countless hours to planning fundraisers for numerous
organizations, hosting parties for Special Olympics athletes, volunteering at a
nursing home and soup kitchens, and more. Most recently, she organized a
fundraising dinner with Autism Speak U, welcoming 300 guests to raise money for
a local elementary school that serves autistic children. Between the funds raised
at the dinner and her successful application for a Bagale Scholarship, she was able
to help purchase athletic equipment for the school, providing a new opportunity for autistic children to engage
safely in physical activities that were previously unavailable at their school.
Jamilah states, “Many students are activists towards causes that affect them directly or indirectly. Fortunately, no
one in my family has been touched with a disability, but why does that need to be the case for me to care. I seek
to give a voice to the voiceless and gain understanding on aspects of disability.”
Jamilah has chosen Special Olympics-Dearborn to be the recipient of her $200 donation.
Jonathan Wong ~ Wayne State University
Jonathan Wong, a third year medical student, founded the Wayne
State University School of Medicine’s newest student organization,
Street Medicine Detroit (SMD), which delivers health care and
related services directly to the city’s homeless who are often
service resistant and staying in temporary shelters or living on
streets. SMD embodies the concept of compassionate, accessible
and cost-effective care for a population that otherwise would not
be served medically.
Jonathan connected with community agencies that work with the
homeless in order to learn more about homeless services and advocacy, but to also determine an ideal fit for
partnership. The Neighborhood Service Organization embraced his vision and provided a nurse practitioner and
outreach specialists. In addition, he encouraged more than 100 WSU medical students to volunteer for Street
Medicine Detroit. The students take to the streets of Detroit twice a week to bring services to the homeless.
Jonathan states, “It was my hope that led to a vision that says no disparity is insurmountable, that a small action
today can create a huge impact tomorrow, and that we can challenge and change attitudes towards homeless
individuals.”
Jonathan has chosen Neighborhood Service Organization to be the recipient of his $200 donation.